[ensemblehq]

I’ve been consulting for 4 years with considerable success so you could say it’s kinda “freelancing long term”. Whilst I originally was stressed about the need to constantly seek new projects/clients, it’s stabilized a little bit and I have built up some savings to at least give me a buffer. For managing internal stress, I’ve turned to Buddhism to help keep me going through tough times but also realized that reputation and client base has played a key role in me keeping this up long term.

My client base is a mix of startups and enterprises. Enterprises have given me longer term projects and have deeper pockets which reduces income unpredictability. The good work that me and my team does also provides us with good referrals and case studies that we can talk about with future customers.

As a solo consultant at the beginning of the journey, I adopted the mindset of being a 1 person business and acted like a business which meant doing sales/marketing activities (i.e. built partnerships, strategize to focus on value propositions, act like an advisor) to keep things going.

Happy to answer more questions!

[dngit]

Thanks for sharing your journey, it's very inspiring. I'm curious, how did you find your first enterprise clients, and what strategies helped you secure long-term projects? Any advice for building that initial trust as a solo consultant?