I’ve been doing a series on reasons to become a consultant. Over the past couple of weeks, people have emailed me with their own stories about why they decided to become consultants. More recently, Problogger.net started a "lists" group writing project, and I decided to turn my series into a list of reasons for becoming a consultant. In the weeks ahead, I’ll turn each point into a subarticle that explains that reason in more detail – I work as a consultant and know there are many reasons people get into the business. If you have suggestions for more points on the list, just let me know. There are tons of reasons for people to join this rewarding career. This is a work in progress.  Now, here is the list of reasons to become a consultant:

Reasons to become a consultant

1. Become a consultant and change your life
2. Self actualize when you become a consultant  in a niche field and thus turn into an expert
3. Tap into the opportunity for work/life balance
4. Make extra money by moonlighting
5. Enable yourself to balance your other life and work obligations
6. Create the opportunity to work from home
7. Refuse work you don’t like – no one’s forcing you to do it
8. Pursue niche career interests – choose to accept only projects within certain parameters, such as Quickbooks implementations or makeovers for cancer survivors
9. Fire  customers you dislike and work with people you do like
10. Set your own consulting fee rates
11. Work when you want
12. Take part in interesting projects
13. Gain special experience
14. Network – the project-based nature of consulting means you’ll work with many people during your career and your reputation will become critical
15. Stand up for your values and create your own code of ethics. By defining for yourself what it means to become a consultant, you can choose to work only with people, companies, products and issues that meet your expectations.
16. Work from home and maintain an attachment parenting lifestyle.
17. Take care of an ailing family member.
18. Care for elderly parents
19. Supplement retirement income
20. Ensure you have an income stream outside your regular job — a second job
21. Have the satisfaction of knowing you built your own business
22. Create a schedule and workload that suits your family’s needs
23. Prevent yourself from becoming stale in your career
24. Challenge yourself to tackle new ideas which have a domino effect for more new ideas
25. Learn new tricks of the trade
26. Build relationships with new verticals/people
27. Never have to endure a 30-year retirement "roast"
28. Avoid ever getting tired of being in one place too long
29. Grow personally
30. Acquire information at an accelerated rate.
31. Set consulting fees that make you feel like the work you do is valued – and that sometimes give people “consulting fee sticker shock”
32. Spend time learning about other aspects of business management – like finance and client management – because you’ll need to wear many hats as a start-up consultant 
33. Show that starting a consulting business is cheap
34. Prove that not all small businesses fail and that many succeed beyond their wildest dreams by overcoming startup business challenges
35. Give yourself a reason to have an awesome home office set up
36. Pretend you’re a rock star by talking about your latest "gig"
37. Get a lifelong pass for attending all the job hunting lunches and wine and cheeses you want
38. Take control of your life
39. Create your own business cards, so that you never have to scrawl your number on a napkin at a nightclub again
40. Freedom
41. Choice — who, what, when, where and how much!
42. Tax write-offs (like when you donate your car)
43. Design and set up a wacky home office that your clients envy (Rhona-Mae says, "I’m proud of my Stikfas and my anime plushies and figures")
44. Hire your dog to be your assistant
45. Cut your commute time — cut it even more by running down the stairs

Many thanks to my consultant friends for their help in compiling this list:

• Lisa
• Odette
• Heather
• Melanie from Fit 4 Two Prenatal and Postnatal Fitness
• Behnaz
• Rhona-Mae, Calgary piano teacher

Related Posts:

• Becoming a consultant FAQ
• Should I become a consultant
• How to become a consultant
• Consulting Fees: A Guide for Independent Consultants
• Discover Your Inner Consultant
• Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur (for moms)

"Become a consultant – the big list of reasons" from Become a Consultant Blog at ConsultantJournal.com.