The decision to get into consulting should be driven only by the 'pull' factors - the freedom to choose what to do, who to work with and the pace at which to work

This is the first of an occasional series of columns by people who have struck out on their own. N.S. 'Noni' Chawla set up Omniconsult Management Advisory after quitting as head of Max's healthcare business. He has worked in a range of industries from hospitality to international business, healthcare to management consultancy, and in companies like ITC and Korn/Ferry International. He has also served on the boards of several companies and has been a member of many industry and apex chamber committees. Now, he divides his time between teaching, consulting, travelling, writing, fishing and photography.

About two years ago I decided, as my young son would say, to get myself a life! Charles Handy calls it the Third Age, or the age of living, which follows the age of learning and the age of working. Thirty-one years in the corporate sector can put a lot of mileage on you especially if work has been the primary focus in your life, and for most 'successful' people, it is. Mind you, though, success does not equal happiness as many of us find out, though sometimes a little too late.

Fortunately, some of us discover this before our 58th birthday, when our employer usually tells us that we are now ready to be put out to pasture. At the ripe old age of 52, I decided that I would quit the rat race - despite the fact that might not necessarily change my species!

Corporate life is a roller coaster; ups and downs are par for the course, if you will excuse the mixing of metaphors. When you are on the upswing, life is on a roll. On downswings one starts thinking of alternatives - varying from pursuit of creative arts to writing to inevitably, consulting. Since this column is to focus essentially on consulting, let's stay with that. Some people get into consulting on account of what I would call the 'push' factors, and others because of the 'pull' factors.

Push factors are usually rooted in discontent with the realities of corporate life. These include cut-throat competition (intra-company, inter-company), debilitating company politics, life-draining deadlines (or dreadlines?), whimsical bosses, working with turkeys when you think you are an eagle (true or not is not the issue!), and always ending up feeling that you are doing what someone else feels needs to be done rather than what you yourself think you should do!

You tire of life in the jungle. The mindless mechanical sameness of waking up, getting dressed, fighting traffic, stress-laden schedules, returning drained in time for dinner, mindless socialising, little or no time for the family or personal interests, acidity, irritable bowel syndrome, fitful sleep, waking up, and the replay starts. Ugh! Who wants it! But fleeing from these problems should not be the driving force of the decision to get into consulting. If I have given the impression that corporate life is without reward, let me hasten to say that is not so. There are rewards aplenty, but fulfilment often evades you. When work edges out everything else in life, it begins to gnaw at your soul.

The decision to get into consulting should, in my opinion, be driven by the 'pull' factors. Freedom to choose what you want to do, the pace at which you want to work, and who you want to work with. However, while the pull factors may be all there, "know thyself and thy spouse" is a good mantra to remember before you take the plunge!

What are the conditions necessary and sufficient to make a successful transition to consulting? And, I am really talking about setting yourself up as a consultant, not joining a consulting company as an employee, which could begin to look the same as life in para three heretofore! It might help if you take the following test and see how you score. I do not pretend that this is a comprehensive, statistically validated test, but it's a start.

Preparedness is the name of the game. There are two kinds of preparedness: psychological and financial. In addition, you want to do a self-test to see whether you have some of the attributes that are important, if not essential, for a successful consultant. Let's start with the last.

Are you cut out for consulting? There are at least two broad kinds of consulting work. One is what I would call skill- or craft-based consulting. For example, if you happen to be a trainer, or a kitchen designer, or an accountant, you can work on your own, for small companies, entrepreneurs and motley clients designing industrial kitchens, accounting systems, and training programmes or whatever your specialty is on a 'transactional' basis. Nothing wrong with that. But beware that it is work that is likely to be same-same-same as well. Hence, while you will have the freedom to be your own boss, you may not have an intellectually stimulating environment. After a while you may start wondering if the isolation and the monotony are worth the price of freedom.

The other kind of consulting is what I would call strategic consulting. This kind of work is related to helping clients solve unique problems, or advising clients on strategy, etc. The content would depend on the functional or industry specialisation you come with. Much more challenging work, but you want to make sure that you have what it takes to do it.

Among other prerequisites would be a highly analytical mind, functional and/or industry specialisation and the motivation to keep yourself abreast of the latest thinking and developments in your area of specialisation. Some industry stature and gravitas doesn't hurt. Some of us are 'ideas people', and some of us are implementers. This kind of consulting work is suited to the former. Check it out. Ask someone who will be honest and frank enough to tell you the truth. Often, it is your spouse who will tell it to you as it is, much to your chagrin maybe, but in your own interest!

Let's talk about financial and psychological preparedness. Senior execs usually become used to living in company houses, driving company cars, entertaining on company expense and using company air-conditioners, among other things. Leaving the warm, voluptuous and secure folds of a company can be traumatic if it is going to negatively impact your lifestyle. A drop in lifestyle and no assured prospects of a steady income in future can stress you out, which is exactly what you want to get away from. It is essential to ensure that either your lifestyle will not take a major drop (if you have saved enough), or that the bells and whistles don't really matter to you.

It would be a good idea to sit down with your spouse and a paper and pencil to write down all foreseeable sources of income and all essential expenses. You may have to bypass the 'S' class, Mouton de Rothschild, Bally, Gucci, etc. Who needs them, anyway? For an interesting perspective on what you really need in life and what you don't, read the book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.

The psychological impact is even greater. Most of us in our 40s and 50s have grown up in an era of limits, unlike our children who have grown up in an era of options, to use Warren Bennis' terms. Security means a lot not only to us, but also to our spouses, parents and in-laws. All of them will ask you: "Are you sure this is what you want to do?" The tone of voice usually implying that you ought not to! Many senior executives end up losing their own 'personhood' and become the titles that they carry. Loss of position for them can be traumatic. Invitations to social functions and seminars and conferences drop, if not completely disappear. No more lavish Diwali gifts and other goodies except from a handful people who genuinely care for you. At last you discover who your friends are! Suddenly, it may seem as if the world has forgotten you. If either your own self-esteem or that of your family members is dependent on your official position and streaming perks, then the adjustment is going to be tough. Make sure that your spouse and your children are supportive of your plans and know what the fallout is going to be.

Carrying the guilt of depriving your family of status and perks, coupled with a drop in lifestyle and income can knock the stuffing out of you, unless you are a strong person. And make sure that your spouse can take your being at home a lot of the time!!! Unless you are planning to hire office staff, and then end up working more than you want just to pay their salaries, you will have to type your own letters, proposals, address your own envelopes, cash your own cheques, send your own faxes and, in short, do all that was done for you automatically when you sat in that high-backed chair. For some it doesn't matter. For others, it can be a bummer.

Over the years, I have posed one question to literally hundreds of candidates whom I interviewed for numerous positions: "What would you do if you did not have to work for a living?" I figured that the least that I should do is to answer the question for myself. I did. I was clear that my life needs to be multi-dimensional, fulfilling and fun. And I must not be required to smile each time my boss comes up with a dumb idea! Somehow money - except as far as the essentials are concerned - just did not figure in the answer. Having been there, done that, I was ready to break free. I think anybody who is planning to be self-employed must be clear that he or she is ready, both financially as well as psychologically.

In conclusion, all I can say is that in the last 20 months I have travelled to places, done things - professionally and otherwise, and enjoyed experiences that I only dreamt of when I was a corporate slave. I think it is time to pass a Corporate Slave Emancipation Law!

Nripjit Singh (Noni) Chawla

This article originally appeared in Business World - 25 August 2003