I'm interested to hear stories from consultants about when they realized the time was right to go out on their own. What were the major factors in your decision? What would you have done differently? How did you approach it?

I became an independent comsultant quite by accident - I fell in love with Andy, quit my job and worked on a consulting gig with him in Buffalo, New York before moving to England {s}. What would I have done differently? I would have done it much sooner.

One thing you need to know - if you are going to go independent, make sure you have enough money in the bank to live for 6 months with no income. I have known 2 colleagues that had no work for a year.