Well, first of all, you do have a point but consider this: consulting contracts are usually signed for a limited period of time, so if you can estimate correctly that time period, new customers will come to you just when your old one's contracts expire.
This is just one point regarding your question, which I'll say it again: is right on the dot.

Ben, for me in the past (I'm no longer a consultant) the contract specified exactly what was to be covered during a specific period of time. The applications would go through testing of my company and the customer and it would get accepted. At that point once the product is accepted by the client, I would usually have them sign a new contract for support and bug fixes, like a yearly maintenance agreement. Any new features and stuff like that is an entirely new contract and would have to wait until I have the time and resources available.

Ben,

I've been a consultant for some time, and for me there's no real long term planning. I tend to get a full-time client, keep it for some time (1+) year and cross my fingers when I need to find another. Things were pretty lean for me back in 2001, and I actually had to go into a consulting firm for a time (yuck). If you ever have to do this, do not, under any circumstances, take a full-time position with a counsulting firm.

But, I've don't personally know of a consultant that juggles lots of clients. There are some, I'm sure, but the ones I know of do pretty much what I do. Get a full time gig until it ends and then look for another.

We all have the little clients too, for small projects, but these guys don't pay our bills. In order for consulting to work, you need to find a "home" in a large organization that can afford to employ you at 40 hours.

Just my take. I'd love to hear of others that do it differently.

I have the opposite experience of Brendan. I've been an independent consultant for the last two years. I don't have a lot of clients, but none of them are particularly big (all except 1 are less than 200 employees, and all except 2 are less than 50). I love working from home, so I have resisted planting myself at a large organization for 40 hours/week. Instead, I am typically working on anywhere from 1-5 projects at once for various customers. It is a mixture of fixes to existing apps, new features for existing apps, and completely new projects. I probably only spend about 5% of my time right now doing fixes to existing apps that are in production.

Thanks for all the responses! Its fun to hear about what other people do for their careers

I am looking to move to another State and finding it hard to be noticed. Several recruiters have approached me once I sent my resume out via a resume-zapper. Most offer full-time employment with benefits to work for other large companies. When my question of ‘term-limit’ comes up, I get the silent treatment or an alternate answer such as redeployment.

I still do not know how consulting work will be beneficial or a dark-hole with any future in sight.

Could some one please explain further before I fall into a trap?
Thanks.
Rich

Work at home moms.