Reflections on Year One

I am celebrating making it through my first year of working as a consultant philanthropy advisor and felt it made a good point in time to share my reflections on the experience so far. The key things I have learned about working independently are: 

1. I have been pleasantly surprised at how collaborative the world of consultancy is. I thought it would be and feel much more competitive. People have been generous with their time, help and advice and there is a great exchange of opportunities and information amongst fellow consultants.
2. After years as an employee it is liberating – and at times daunting - to voice my own opinions in conversations and blogs. Not that I’ve worked anywhere where I didn’t have a voice, but I have always been a representative of a wider consensus or company policy. It probably won’t shock anyone who knows me, but I wasn’t expecting just how much I enjoy sharing and writing what I think.
3. What I have been told about the ‘feast and famine’ of being a consultant is true. As an employee and a manager I have dealt with busy periods and quieter periods, but the peaks and troughs are less steep. In effect, consultants have no ongoing core funds. They are paid for projects, and those projects can come along like buses. However, the upside of downtime is the ability to network, read and plan ahead.
4. How you get feedback is very different. Employees get regular feedback on performance from managers. With clients it is much more about whether they hire you or not and whether they work with you again. But as there are other factors involved in the process of being hired, such as budget changes, it is not always easy to tell what clients think. Having said that, it is a good feeling when you get paid for what you have produced. It’s a very straightforward message of your value that it is hard for an employer to do.
5. Because I don’t have a wider team around me who know the issues and personalities I am dealing with, I don’t have people to air those with or bounce ideas around. Talking out loud is often how I solve problems. Having a supportive partner at home and some fabulous mentors to share some of those issues with becomes invaluable. My dog gets to hear the rest. But lovely though he is, his views on philanthropy are very limited.

So a big thank you to everyone who has helped and encouraged (and paid!) me along the way. I am looking forward to the year ahead.

Emma Beeston Consultancy advises funders and philanthropists on giving strategies and processes; researching and scoping options; selecting causes and charities; assessments and impact monitoring.

www.emmabeeston.co.uk ; emma@emmabeeston.co.uk; emmabeeston01