Sometimes this comes as a question, other times it’s just the default way that people approach consulting or contracting work. Here’s one form, though many others are possible:
This type of arrangement often sounds more appealing than it really is in practice. Maybe it can work for a bit when you’re younger, with higher energy and minimal commitments. Certainly, if you need the extra cash, sacrifices come more easily. But in my experience, it’s not sustainable.
Here are the questions that need to be asked before you enter into this type of situation:
- Do you actually have the capacity to take on extra work in your free time?
- How much time is realistically available?
- Are you passionate about the project? Or is it primarily an opportunity to earn more money?
- What is the delivery schedule, and how time-critical is your work? Are you able to commit to delivering on their schedule?
- What happens when something goes wrong and they need support during their normal working hours, when you’re working for your primary employer?
There are also many traps that you can fall into and need to be aware of:
- Schedules are likely to slip because your pre-commitments on your time might be unrealistic compared to the actual energy you can put forth at game time. You only have so much thinking capacity, and you’re most likely starting this work when you’re emptied.
- There’s always the possibility that some kind of conflict will arise that you cannot resolve cleanly. Such as with the final question above – a show-stopping issue comes up related to your deliverable, they need help during normal working hours, and you’re working your primary job. Even if there is some up-front agreement in place, when it comes down to it, that situation is not going to feel good for either side.
- Energy mismanagement and overcommitment lead to not wanting to do the work, or even possibly to burnout. When it’s the 15th Saturday that you’re working on a side project, are you really going to want to put the effort into it? Or are you going to dread doing the work? This is where passion can make a difference. But passion can also trick you into pushing past your limits and entering the realm of burnout, where you might find yourself doing no work for anyone.
For me, it has been and will always be unrealistic to do contracting or consulting work “after hours.” I know now that I don’t actually have the capacity to work like this. Part of it is that I’m a parent, I have friends, I have self-care to consider, I support my wife in her activities, and I need sleep. But also, realistically, I’ve already given the working energy that I have to the main job. My brainpower is limited, and sometimes I just can’t dig deeper for more. And there’s also an element of pride – I don’t want to give clients the worst form of my capabilities!
If you do pursue this option, I have one final piece of advice. Think hard about the boundaries that you will need to put in place up front, for yourself and for the client, to make sure that you don’t overextend yourself. These need to be understood up front and firmly defended. It’s easy to make small concessions here and there out of a feeling of service, but one day you might look around and find yourself somewhere you didn’t want to be.
Consulting Lessons Learned
If you do plan to pick up consulting or contract development work, I’ve been capturing my lessons learned throughout the years in the Consulting Lessons Learned course, which is available to all members.
I also have consulting content on the blog. You might start here: