The past year has been very challenging for free lance contractors operating in the SAP market. The overall demand versus supply has never been as unbalanced ever since I started my working career during the mid 1990’s. Many will remember 2009 as the year when the entire market place was ‘shaking the tree’. Some of us keep hanging on, waiting for the moment when the market recovers. Then again, would that be wise?
If there is at least one book worthwhile reading, then it will be “Who Moved My Cheese”. It describes the difference between people expecting that the good old days will return and those taking the opportunity to leave everything behind and start something completely new. It made me rethink my career and concluded that I want to remain active in the SAP consultancy arena as a free lance contractor.
Most people would expect that free lancers are mainly driven by money. They are correct. But the desire to earn as much as possible is a universal drive for both free lancers and employees.
Being employed reduces the risk when experiencing economic thunderstorms. Yes, you can be made redundant, but there are various forms of social security to secure an income.
Free lancers cannot expect any financial compensation from the government. They need to reserve their income during the ‘good years’ to survive the ‘challenging years’. That explains why the rate may seem high, but that is to compensate the risk they take. A day not worked is a day not invoiced.
Why do people take the risk to become a free lancer? For sure your chances diminish when money is the only factor. You may be able to keep up with the Joneses for a while, but eventually you will realise that you can never sustain such a lifestyle. In my past I have met many self employed professionals who confessed that they have no financial reserves. Basically their debts exceed their assets even when they charge customers a high market rate. Those are the first who have to accept permanent roles when the going gets tough.
Successful contractors are driven by freedom and passion while constantly seeking new challenges. They want to be seen as entrepreneurs instead of a virtual employee. As from the first day they work hard to earn recommendations and referrals.
Whenever a contract extension is offered, they will tend to kindly decline when they conclude that acceptance is primarily based on personal convenience.
You can identify whether a free lancer behaves as an entrepreneur: Their resume shows more short term assignments, covering various customers in different industries.
When it comes to my career so far, it has followed quite a traditional path.At first I was employed by a large consultancy firm. They placed me at one of their biggest customers as a programmer to support a software package that was based on outdated technology. It was put on ‘life support’ as soon as they decided to replace it with SAP R/3. Many of the team members moved to the exiting SAP project and it took quite some persuasion to let me join that group as well and make the jump from developer to configurer at the same time.
As soon as I had some SAP knowledge I changed employer to increase my annual salary. This time it was a young consultancy company organised in small ‘financial independent groups’. It became a stepping stone before taking the plunge to become a free lancer. But only after being SAP certified in the SD (Sales and Distribution), MM (Materials Management) and FI (Finance) modules.
This year I will celebrate a decade being a free lancer. SAP is still my core passion in my working career. Whatever the assignment, I want to put on my wellies and stand in the mud to resolve problems. And there are many opportunities to be in my element when being part of a SAP project or support team. Recently I realised that I see myself as an entrepreneur and therefore joined the coaching program called “The Strategic Coach”.
Another recent discovery is that I only accept a contract after assessing whether it could be challenging enough, even during this period while demand is scarce. In the meanwhile I focus on enhancing my skill set. Therefore I am very pleased with the fact that I have access to my own personal SAP sandbox system. Currently I am exploring Plant Maintenance and Customer Service modules within SAP R/3 in order to extend my Foxy Cola prototype.
Regards,
Isard Haasakker.
Interested in my Foxy Cola prototype progress report?
Visit my website: http://www.notiegeneration.eu/category/rnd/rnd-progress/
