Solo Practitioner Versus the Team Approach

After considering these factors, prospective consultants should also contemplate whether to pursue this career path alone or join others in the endeavor. There are benefits and hurdles to each approach. As with any endeavor, each person will perceive a different value proposition when determining what professional consulting structure is right for them. Therefore, it is critical to do effective research before making this decision.

Solo consultants have the benefits of ultimate flexibility and the ability to make all strategic, financial, and legal decisions freely. They often have a well-known professional brand and connections to easily secure new projects. They may be perceived as experts in a specific functional area or cultural discipline, allowing them to smoothly transition into new projects. A primary challenge is that solo consultants can feel very isolated without the camaraderie and support of professional consulting colleagues. They also have limited capacity to work on more than a handful of projects simultaneously and limited time to meet the requests made by potential clients. Additionally, solo consultants must take on the legal and financial risks of proposal preparation, contracts, billing, collections, and other administrative tasks that can take away time and energy from direct client service.

A team approach allows consultants to strategize with colleagues, cross-sell services, and relieve the isolation that solo consultants sometimes feel. Joining a firm of like-minded arts and culture management professionals has value and benefit for both the firm and its clients. The strategic advantage of a firm’s existing brand and ongoing marketing efforts can be invaluable. Newsletters and conference participation by consulting firms can build the geographic reach of the consulting team and enhance the breadth and depth of services that the team can provide. Also, employee benefits, file and information sharing, and human resources are typically available in a larger firm. An additional advantage is that the experience, connections, and past client work are shared among the firm’s consultants. Rather than focusing on individual achievements, a firm will highlight its collective client list and shared success stories. The best consultants understand that leveraging the brand and experience of every team member of a firm allows for greater synergies and opportunities. Team members can consistently develop relationships for projects on which they will work while simultaneously providing leads to their colleagues.

Conversely, most professional service firms have certain policies, procedures, and methodologies that must be followed to protect the brand and service quality. Not all prospective consultants seek that kind of structure in tracking time, billable hours, and business development opportunities. The team and organizational focal points are based on market analysis, competitive benchmarking, and careful approaches to minimizing risks and maximizing rewards. This creates tremendous economies of scale for consultants and clients but may seem restrictive to consultants seeking complete professional independence.

Joining a firm as an employee requires a strong sense of commitment to the field of consulting, its clients, and the team. It is not a sideline job but rather a means to make a difference in the arts and culture sector. From a client’s perspective, there is substantial value in knowing that they are getting the depth and resources of an entire firm while also gaining the exclusive skills and experience of a specific individual. A firm with a commitment to an entire field can have a much broader impact on the industry than an individual consultant alone.