IT Contract Work vs. Starting Your Own IT Company

Have you been considering IT contract work, but you don't know where to start? Before you start working piecemeal, contract-by-contract, consider opening your own IT contract business.

 

Many interested in IT contract work aren't sure they have what it takes to start an independent business. But basically, if you have a good understanding of computer systems, strong problem-solving skills and a desire to help other people, you probably already have what it takes to consider going out on your own.

 

The following 5 points can help you build your own IT contract company and avoid the frustration of trying to constantly find revolving-door, thankless IT contract work.

1. Open Your Own IT Contract Business to Maximize Your Income. When you have a regular corporate IT job or even act as an IT contract worker in a corporate environment, your career opportunities, advancement possibilities and the chance to earn a higher salary are restricted sometimes significantly by elements outside of your control. You are at the mercy of lazy or incompetent peers, ineffective management or a seniority system that rewards employees that don't pull their weight and punishes new, aggressive, competent employees. When you start your own IT contract business, these career issues all but disappear, because you have control over your peers. If you don't like your partners or subcontractors, you go find better ones. And if you don't like your "bosses," your major clients, you can look for new clients for your business. When you run your own business, you can also forget about being under-appreciated or unappreciated. No client will pay you or your consulting firm $100 per hour (or even more!) for your services if they don't value your expertise. Even if your clients don't constantly express gratitude, your bank account will reflect your hard work.

2. Enjoy Great Business Opportunities. The market for those that want to start their own IT contract businesses is diverse and steadily growing. Every company and organization needs some type of IT help and will get it from a variety of sources: internal employees, outsourced consultants or some combination of the two. The choice to start your own IT business can be the start of a successful, highly-profitable business. While there will be a lot of competition, competition is good for your IT contract business. If there were no other consultants succeeding, you'd have to wonder, "Is the industry even viable?" You wouldn't want to be in an industry where no one else had been able to succeed. Many IT contract businesses are very poorly run and have big problems with customer service. These problems become your opportunity as you develop cost-effective solutions to exactly what small businesses need. Also as technology changes, the changes create huge opportunities. New small business technology problems crop up every day that you can help solve. The industry is constantly producing more prospective clients.

3. Know Which Skills You Need to Start Your Own IT Contract Business. As you think about how to launch your IT contract business, think about your skills. Start by listing your computer-related skills. If you are the person that everyone turns to when they have problems with their computers, you are probably off to a good start. You don't need to be an expert in every detail and aspect of IT. Because the industry is so diverse and huge, you could never possibly know everything there is to know. You can bridge skills and service gaps by finding excellent partners and subcontractors to help you.

4. Think About the Transition from Employee to Business Owner. If you are already doing IT contract work, or you're working as an employee of a company in the IT industry, making the transition from employee to business owner will be a big decision. You may want to start out by moonlighting to get a feel for the experience of finding your own clients and owning your own IT contract business. You can also use moonlighting to make sure you know what to expect once you go out on your own, or to try out working independently before committing full time. Moonlighting is also a great way to build a client list and reference accounts that can give you a head start building your business.

5. Evaluate Your Non-Technical Skills. Remember, you need a lot of non-technical skills to be successful at starting your own IT contract business. There are some personality traits that will make working for yourself much easier: the ability to be self motivated; the drive to work independently when you have no employer looking over your shoulder; the ability to multi-task and wear many hats in order to run the accounting, marketing, sales, operations and other aspects of your business; good delegation skills. If you are weak in any of these areas, don't be discouraged or overwhelmed. They are important to your business, but there are many ways to develop these soft skills and build relationships with people to whom you can delegate.

In this article, we talked about 5 reasons you should stay away from IT contract work and move towards starting your own IT contract business. To learn more about how you can get great, steady, high-paying clients for your IT contract business, go sign-up now for the free Sample Tips and Excerpts below from the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course.

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