[BjoernKW]

Absolutely. I can't say much about the transition from employee to independent consultant because I haven't had a traditional job in more than 10 years.

I'd say that not only is independent consulting going to be sustainable for years to come but it's actually going to grow both in total business volume and in terms of importance for the software industry and the economy at large.

It's getting harder for companies both to keep full-time employees occupied with meaningful tasks in the long run and to make use of specialist expertise on the other hand. Both of these problems lend themselves to being solved by independent consultants.

In my experience those that drift back into traditional employment eventually also didn't follow the consultancy path intentionally and purposefully in the first place but drifted into that rather haphazardly, too. If you want to have long-term success in this business (or in fact any kind of business) you need to do it purposefully and have a focus on marketing and sales.

[drogonmead]

Thanks for the reply. It looks like you've managed to carve out a successful practice.

Another reply states that I'd have to spend 25% - 50% of my time getting clients. Is that the case with you? Was it the case when you started out?

[BjoernKW]

Yes, 25% is the least amount of your time you have to spend on marketing and sales in order to keep up a sustainable business and that's absolutely the case for me. When I started out I didn't do as much. Not because I didn't need to but because this was a lesson I yet had to learn. So, yes by all means, do start with that kind of marketing and sales effort right from the beginning.