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Christine Carragee on the indie consulting path

Christine Carragee on the indie consulting path

How being okay with the uncertainty of business income gives her freedom and a higher hourly rate

Brent Lemieux
July 03, 2024

Hey, it’s Brent.

Here’s a paradox.

Sometimes to earn more, you need to be okay with earning less (unless you’re climbing the corporate ladder).

My latest guest is a great example.

Prior to going solo, she worked at a number of companies as an employee.

Craving freedom over her time and the ability to pick her own projects, indie consulting appealed to her.

Keep reading to learn how she:

Is able to prioritize for time freedom and the freedom to select her own projects
Was able to get comfortable with the lumpiness of independent income
How being okay with sometimes making less (or nothing at all) frees her up to earn more than in the corporate world
How she gets clients

Here’s Christine Carragee in her own words.

Christine Carragee on how starting Carragee Consulting

Tell me about Carragee Consulting. Who do you help and how do you help them?

I am a solo consultant who helps companies with business process mapping and analytics. I use traditional methods like internal interviews, process mapping and qualitative studies in combination with machine learning, BI design, data modeling and other quantitative methods. A focus on Pricing, Revenue Management & Monetization.

I had worked with a lot of industrial manufacturers and distributors in previous W2 roles, but now I’m open to anything. I love learning new industries.

I help my clients by framing the big picture – helping them see how different initiatives are related, defining KPIs that can track success in standard ways and wrangling data for reporting.

How did you figure out what to offer?

I do discovery sessions with prospects and listen to their pain points. Sometimes I seek to pull in other consultants to help with skills I’m not strong in that seem most useful to the client or I refer them to others if its specialized in supply chain or something.

What were you doing prior to starting your own business?

I had a lot of different jobs as a Pricing Analyst, Manager or Consultant. The longest stretch I worked for Vendavo, a pricing software company as a business Analyst.

What made you decide to strike out on your own?

I had a transition period when I worked with a woman who had her own boutique software implementation company with only 3-4 employees. Before my daughter was born I had extremely low financial needs so the lumpiness of consulting income was ok. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable quitting another job to consult until after I had my house and substantial savings.

How did you get clients?

Word of mouth/referrals from previous co-workers.

Were there any key decisions, strategies, etc. that helped you get traction with customers?

Mainly drive to simple solutions and quick wins. Build on success. Make sure what you’re doing is measurable and likely to be implemented. Lots of clients don't know what they should be asking for.

What do you like most about running your own business?

I like having breaks between projects and not having to work structured hours. I like scoping my own projects with what I know I can do and not some impossible thing a sales team dreamed up.

What is your biggest challenge or worry today?

I worry that I won’t build something valuable/useful and that I’m wasting my clients money. Sometimes from the outside it's hard to have strategic influence and drive adoption.

Do you ever think of quitting and doing something else?

All the time. I could go back to a steady paycheck, health insurance and a big dysfunctional org, but I know I’d quit pretty quickly.

Was there a moment when you realized this was going to work?

I’m never sure it's “going to work” but not it doesn’t really have to. Living in the midwest I don’t require much income and I’ve saved a lot through my previous work, my property management business and investment returns. I work mainly because I enjoy learning.

What’s your current business model? Do you have employees?

Subcontract with other consultants I know and like, occasionally take work through a staffing agency, best case sell my own projects.

How do you get paid?

Mostly 1099 via monthly invoices through my LLC, but W2 can be good because payroll taxes are already taken out, it contributes to your SS eligibility in retirement and you can contribute to a 401K sometimes.

How do you charge clients?

When I bid my own projects I try to make a fee for the deliverable which incorporates how many hours I expect to work. Because data relies so much on client involvement and system access I set a minimum weekly fee in case of client side delays.

When I subcontract I use an hourly rate and try to ensure the SOW incorporates sufficient budget for my expected project contribution.

Let’s talk numbers… What has your revenue trajectory been like over time? Are you making more than you were full-time?

I charged too little at the start – basically my prior wage grossed up for taxes, meaning I was not making anything for marketing & sales time.

It depends on the project but it works out to $175-225/hour usually.

At Vendavo I was making $150K+about 15K bonus per year. They staffed me on 3 projects simultaneously and I worked 50+ hours a week year round. Now I’d never work for less than $100/hour, which is to say even if I made less I’d always make a better hourly rate. Most years I make between 1.5 & 3x what I was making at Vendavo.

What advice would you give to yourself if you were just starting out? What would you do differently?

I wish I could go back and learn SQL and Python earlier in my career.