This is a very personal post I am writing and may delete later on. Next week and the week after I’m publishing two SEO case studies, so if you don’t want to read this post then leave until next week when I go back to sharing stats and strategies.
This post is for consultants and people looking to become a consultant. It is a warning about something that causes myself and many other contractors seasonal depression around the holidays, contract anniversaries and birthdays.
For the last 8 or so years I’ve traveled overseas or somewhere for my birthday (New Years Day). I unwind and unplug and most important I avoid my emails! This year I was not able to do this and it brought back something I had forgotten about. The consultants holiday depression.
I’m writing this post not to vent, but to help other contractors cope with an unexpected seasonal depression that hits many of us. I’m going to share it from my personal experience. If you have anything to add or coping mechanisms, feel free to leave a comment below. I’m leaving them turned on for a while.
I am very fortunate that I have incredible companies and brands I get to work with. I love each of them for different reasons. But being at home for this holiday season was a big reminder that I am in fact a consultant and I am not and will never be treated as an equal by some of my clients. Not all, but some.
As a consultant you are not entitled to benefits, gatherings, happy hours or any perks employees get. That includes birthday wishes, holiday party invites and participating in gift exchanges. This is totally fair because we are not required to work outside of our agreements whereas an employee is. That is the tradeoff. It is what we all agree to. But that is where the fine line that creates holiday depression for consultants comes into play.
As a consultant you are not entitled to benefits, gatherings, happy hours or any perks employees get.
The reason I travel overseas is that many times clients forget about my birthday and don’t invite me to their holiday happy hours. But when they need something they let me know they think of me as “part of the team” and act real nice so they get free work. Especially when it is work outside of our contract and they don’t want to pay for the time, skills or knowledge.
The issue is that when you or I do this work outside [Read more…] about Something to Remember When You’re a Consultant