On Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:50:59 -0800, JosephKK
wrote:

Good stuff. I think i need to reconsider hanging out my own shingle.
It is not the best time out there versus a stable position though.

Maybe. I'm not an authority on self-employment and small biz.
However, I've been doing it for 25 years, so I must be doing something
right.

One of my "hobbies" was collecting business cards sitting on the
counter at the local retail electronics parts supplier. Every time
there was a layoff or downturn in the industry, a wide assortment of
business cards for newly minted consultants would appear. I would
grab a card, and scribble the date on the back. I would then wait to
see how long they would last. 6 months was the running average before
they found employment and/or decided consulting was not for them. A
few moved out of the area. I wasn't very organized or accurate, but
when the local economy sucked, there were perhaps 100 consultants.
When it was going full blast, perhaps 10.

A fairly small number survived over the years, and have built up a
customer base and revenue source sufficient to maintain their
lifestyle. Several have day jobs as well. One characteristic I noted
was the higher up in corporate America they went, the smaller the
likelihood of survival as a consultant. My guess is that this is
because of their addiction to the corporate support structure. For
example, I was horrified at the prospect of having to buy my own
stationary supplies, instead of simply stealing them from the company.

Another characteristic is that most consultants get their start by
obtaining work from their former employers. That included me. If you
burn your bridges when leaving a company, you will have problems.
Later, as your contacts move to other companies, your business base
will expand with them. If you have a mentor, do everything you can to
make them happy. I would say that without the business provided by a
very small number of industry contacts, I would have starved long ago.
I should also mention that I started my biz taking on small consulting
projects while still employed. I didn't need the money, but I was
bored and knew that I would evenutally need the experience and
contacts.

At one point, I had illusions of designing and producing antennas.
It's an ideal product. Few people understand how they work. Antennas
tend to be surround by hype and are often close to magic. Testing is
difficult and expensive. Product comparisons are non-existent.
Religion and bias toward specific styles and manufacturers seem to be
the prime criteria for selection. The weirder it looks, the better it
sells. Aesthetic concerns have provided a whole new market. There
are already some rather dubious antenna products on the market. Etc.
In all, it's a perfectly acceptable small market waiting to be
exploited. Hopefully, my marketing and sales expertise will
adequately compensate for my marginal antenna design abilities. I had
plans to build the product line using the audiophile model, where
garish industrial design and endless ambiguous buzzwords have done
quite well. Due to health problems, I doubt that I'll do anything, so
it's all yours.

Good luck.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558