"What's Not to Like?"
Name: Marian Stanley
Title: Corporate Consultant
Location: Concord, MA
Monster.com: What pushed you to go solo?
Marian Stanley: I had a long, happy and successful career in a major multinational, which recently has had some business challenges. I am reasonably adept at corporate life. When I left, I had been a corporate officer for some years and at one point served on the board of directors for four years. However, I'm not truly a corporate animal. I don't like committee meetings. Also, I'm not by nature a hierarchical person -- I'm more collegial, more of a coach. I went into developing markets long before it was fashionable -- no one cared enough about Indonesia or Eastern Europe or China in those days to have a committee meeting on it, thank goodness. I liked being on the ground making decisions and being outside a corporate structure, which I have always found confining.
After my last assignment in London ended, the company offered me a leave of absence, which was flattering as the company was downsizing. By that time, I had been through at least seven major corporate restructures in my long career. I was closing offices I had opened -- releasing talented young people I had hired and ending the careers of experienced veterans too early. That's a part of business you have to know how to do. I can do that and have done it a number of times. This time I thought it just required a different mindset than I had anymore, if I ever really did. Looking forward, I didn't see much future for myself doing anything that I personally found exciting in the company and, most importantly, my values weren't really aligned with the company anymore. These things happen -- there are no good guys or bad guys. It just is. So I decided to try my own wings. It was kind of weird leaving after all these years -- but the right thing for me.
Mc: At what point did you realize you could make a living on your own?
MS: I talked to some successful consultants and they said, "You'll be great." Sometimes you have to let things settle for awhile rather than be too structured and rational about it. Gradually, it becomes apparent where the money is and what you like to do. That's when you get structured and rational about your focus. I knew I could make a living when I got my first check for something I had always done for free -- writing a column or advising people on working through corporate organizational issues. I helped friends with small businesses. Being an outside observer, sometimes things are obvious. Also, having been in business a long time, I've made my own mistakes. Especially when you are running a low margin business, you can die from simple mistakes. So I realized I could really help businesses and make a living from it.
Mc: What's the biggest mistake you've made so far?
MS: Giving stuff away. I'm naturally generous and intrigued by business problems, for better or worse, and I love being a mentor -- but at some point you have to make a living. Another one would be not being blunt enough early enough to a client. You can't get emotionally involved in the hopes and dreams and aspirations of your client. You need to assess the true potential of the business you are trying to help. Sometimes you have to say -- "this business is not going to grow big." You are getting paid to tell it like it is.
Mc: How has working as an independent contractor affected your personal life?
MS: My life was always pretty fluid for a corporate type, but even more so now. I'm more available to my family and friends -- since I determine my own schedule for the most part. I just came back from roaming around Ireland with my husband for a week -- just for fun. I suit up and go into Boston for meetings about two days a week. When I'm not traveling I work at an antique desk from Java in a windowed alcove overlooking my garden, with my dog and cat close by. My oldest daughter has a design studio at home. There is usually a pot of curried something or other bubbling on the stove. I can work loony hours to take calls from South Africa and stay up late for Asia/Pacific. Pull all-nighters and sleep late. I work in my sweats or jeans. I have breakfast meetings with clients at an old inn a couple of blocks from my house. I work on things that interest me and with people I enjoy. I'm taking an hour or two a day to train for the AIDS bike ride from Boston to New York in September. What's not to like?
Mc: Any advice for your fellow soloists?
MS: You need a financial cushion until you get some traction. Be realistic and conservative about the size of that cushion. This could be saving up or it could be having a regular part-time job while you build your business. If you can work a consulting agreement with your previous employer -- that's great. (e.g., "Hey, I can do that CD-ROM multi-lingual training program you've always wanted!") I am fortunate enough to still be working off the financial cushion of a severance package. Not everyone has this advantage. Don't feel you have to focus too early -- do a general analysis of your skills. As time goes on, you'll find there are projects you like to do and those paying customers want you to do. They may be different. Only you can decide the balance. Also -- you have to have all the self-start and initiative yourself -- it's not that I'm egoless, but I just keep going. If I don't get a hit on one proposal or piece or whatever -- I'm just on to the next one and leave the door open because I figure the guy may be back again for either this work or something else. You have to have a lot of positive energy. I was either blessed with it at birth or developed it. If you don't have an essentially positive outlook, being an entrepreneur would be agony.
