As IT consultants considering moonlighting as a step toward full-time consulting work, you should not be messing around with anything but steady clients.

If youre just dealing with the one-shot deals that you hear from once in a blue moon theres no regularity. How are you ever going to get to the point where you can become full time IT consultants with a handful of clients if you dont have steady commitments from them?

Choose Clients Wisely

Think long and hard if youre going to consider one-shot deals. Its better to focus on working with small businesses that have a lot of IT needs and must see you a couple evenings per month or one or two Saturdays per month. Then you can have some offsite IT consulting work in between.

Mind Your Schedule

As IT consultants considering moonlighting, you need a schedule that allows for that. If you have an 80-hour week already, theres no way youre going to be able to fit in moonlighting.

Most IT consultants who fit in moonlighting have pretty mellow nine to five setups. They take off a morning, afternoon or long lunch here and there - not consistently - but they have the ability to do that.

What Types of Jobs to Look For

The ideal situation should be that youre looking for $1,000 a month clients who need you for one or two evenings a month, maybe one or two Saturdays or Sundays and some light phone support in between visits. The minimum situation that you should look for is small businesses that need a minimum of $500 a month in IT support.

The Bottom Line about IT Consultants

If the idea of giving up your nights and weekends to be IT consultants doesnt appeal to you then moonlighting probably isnt for you. As IT consultants considering moonlighting you will want to be sure that not only you are committed but your potential clients are as well.

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