Consulting tip: Provide re-assurance

I am an analytical guy so I'm often assessing what can go wrong with a particular course of action.

While this is a useful frame, being overly negative can be...well...negative when working with clients.

One of the ways you can stand out as a 1099 is to add some energy and enthusiasm to a project.

I don't mean you should say you can just do everything that the client wants on an unreasonable timeline, but rather, share different solutions to problems and explain how it could be really awesome for them when you implement them.

For example, if you say things like this with clients:

"This project will be tough but I think if we can do X, Y, and Z the other managers will be super impressed!"

"I loved the last product you put out. It was cool for X, Y, and Z reasons. Is there anything we can use from that in the next version?"

I have to remind myself of this constantly but positivity and energy (and a little humor) can go a long way to sustaining a 1099 career.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.