Consulting or Employment…or Consulting AND Employment?

When I decided three+ years ago to become an independent marketing consultant, I only partly knew what lay ahead. It was a “build the plane as you fly it” moment. But I knew I wanted to fly! In that time, I’ve worked with and for dozens of clients. Some large, some small, some retained, some project-based. While all fell in my “wheel house” of core marketing services, the types of business ranged from Fortune 500 to start-up, and covered industries including healthcare, real estate, education, retail, fashion, beauty, nonprofit, financial services, and food and beverage. In the 15 years leading up to my consultancy, my experience, though deep, was limited to two industries: healthcare and education. While those two are still my passion industries, the experience and exposure these other industries brought was invaluable.

A few months ago, as I was transitioning from one large client to a handful of smaller clients due to the pandemic and overall economic shift, one of those clients came to me with an offer. They wanted to bring me on as a part-time employee. I hadn’t previously considered this idea in conversation with other clients, but this one is different. This client is in one of my passion industries—education.

I’ve consulted with education organizations, state departments of education, school districts, nonprofits, and schools in more than 26 states…consulted. I’ve moved alongside existing communications departments or in some cases filled the shoes of a department lead on a short-term basis. But I’ve never had the opportunity to be deeply embedded in a school.

Then came in my analytical side. Is this a cultural fit? Will I be able to continue consulting effectively? Is this a long-term need?

These three basic questions didn’t take long to answer so I could assess the bigger picture. Audit and assessment are kinda my thing. 😉 Culturally, this is a school I would send my kids to, and likely will in a few years once they reach high school age. Continued consulting? With a part-time schedule with days and hours that I’ll set, I can continue to pursue and support projects and other clients. A long-term need? Yes. With a school leadership team that sees the value in effectively marketing the school, I can implement, measure, and improve efforts over time.

Pretty quickly, I answered the offer with a firm yes. The timing, opportunity, and interest lined up in a way that made perfect sense. For them and for me!

So back to the blog title question. In this case, consulting AND employment feels just right.