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Considered working as a Virtual Consultant? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more.

Since the turn of the century I have been working as a freelance Virtual Consultant, which used to mean I was an unemployed scam artist. In the 21st century however, virtual workers have become the smart alternative for companies interested in trimming the fat from the excessive costs connected with a direct hire labor force.

The best way to describe what I do is: a “hired gun”, or more correctly a “wired gun”. My work comprises writing various types of copy, conducting research studies, developing marketing campaigns, and the like. Many businesspeople still have a major misconception of virtual workers. Because they are not physically present to work on-site, they can’t be depended upon to deliver quality work in a timely fashion. Speaking only on my own behalf, once I have agreed to work a project, to include content, price, and timetable, it is in my best interest to deliver a high quality finished product on schedule that clearly and concisely communicates my client’s message. To deliver anything less does me no good, and will probably cost me any future business with that client.

If I had to rate what I get out of my line of work on a scale of 1 to 10, I would have to give it an 11. I work where I want, I work on projects of my own choosing, I control my work/life schedule, and the money is great. After doing this work for more than a decade I can say I am very satisfied doing what I do, but it wasn’t always so easy. In the year 2000, virtual work, or telecommuting as it is sometimes referred to, was not so widely accepted as it is today. If I could change anything about my current line of work it would be to lower the barrier to entry for those who are new to the field.

Short of getting paid to do whatever tickles my fancy, I can’t imagine doing any other line of work. In fact, being an established freelancer is better than any job I could have ever have dreamed up on my own.

When I began working virtually I was recovering from a debilitating injury that had me stuck in bed. The ability to peck out a white paper on my computer keyboard while flat on my back, gave me hope that I would still be able to make a living even if I did not fully recover. This should offer a measure of comfort and encouragement to you if you’re interested in working virtually.

For more than 20 years, I did the old 9 to 5 like everyone else, but in 1999 I suffered a broken back in an auto accident, which took me off the labor roles for a year. After getting out of traction, I began my physical therapy, after a few weeks my condition slowly began to improve and I was getting restless. That restlessness was the impetus for me to call my boss and ask if he had anything I could do for him. He wasn’t too excited about giving me an assignment while I was still hospitalized. But within a few weeks of me calling him he finally relented and sent me some catalog copy to work on, and it hasn’t stopped since. I am no longer directly employed at that agency, but almost 12 years later the work-flow continues as my services are needed. While my portfolio grew, so did my workload, after a while the word got out to other clients, and I haven’t had to worry about getting work ever since.

Getting paid can be a tricky proposition if you’re new to freelancing. Way back in the day I got a new client I had no prior experience working with. Once I started their project and got a first draft ready, and submitted it with an invoice. All I got back was the revisions, but no payment. I started the revisions, and submitted another invoice. Still nothing, so I contacted my client by phone asking for my invoice to be paid, after more song and dance he promised to remit my payment. I went back to work to complete the revisions, and then I stupidly submitted my final draft with a final invoice. Long story short, I never got paid. So the moral of the story is be sure to get it all in writing, with terms of payment right upfront. Now, I work exclusively on progress payments basis, 40% up front, 30% upon first draft, and 30% upon submission of my final draft. This way I don’t worry about getting paid any longer.

The single most important thing I have learned in my role as a Virtual Consultant is that it’s exactly the same as it is in a traditional job, except you get some extra rope to hang yourself. Therefore, anybody who has visions of working 3 or 4 hours a day as a virtual employee, you can forget about it. To be successful in this field, you need to stay ahead of your workload or you can easily get overwhelmed. So I often work a 12-hour day to stay ahead of the game. Only once I am confident I have an assignment well in hand do I kick my feet up for awhile. At the end of the day, you need to know business still runs on results, no matter where you do your job; and the results you produce for your client today may affect your future assignments tomorrow, and whether or not you get any.

A really smart guy once said, “if you love your job, you’ll never have to work another day in your life.” So it has been more than a decade since I have had to work. Everyday I wake-up and have fun, I’m up at 8AM, I take my kids to school, I comeback and have breakfast with my wife, then I read for a couple of hours, and write for two or three more, I make myself some lunch, I write for a couple more hours, then I pickup my kids, I feed them, and we do homework. After dinner, I write for two or three more hours, and then watch the news before I hit the hay. That’s a typical day for me, which gives tremendous satisfaction and pride that I am able to be an engaged, hands-on husband, father, and provider for my family.

From time to time, I do get a client who is overly demanding with change orders, when I was a regular working stiff I would pull my hair out at the roots because of these characters. Now I just fire them, which is a truly liberating feeling. Have you ever “fired your boss?” You’ve really got to try it, it’s great fun.

The pay for a virtual consultant can vary greatly depending upon the kind of work you do. I do a little bit of everything, writing copy, some graphics, web design, and a variety of marketing activities. By the end of the fiscal year, my income is equivalent to that of a creative director in an ad agency; about $175k, with no benefits, no bosses, and no commutes.

As for vacation time, I don’t feel like I am working so I don’t take a lot of vacations. Although, the nature of my job allows me to live where I want. So we split time between Los Angeles (my hometown), Yerevan, Armenia (my wife’s hometown), and Curitiba, Brazil (my favorite place on Earth). That’s not to say I don’t take advantage of my free time, I generally take three days a month next to a weekend, so I guess you could say I take 12 “mini-vacations” in a year.

The only barrier to entry to becoming a virtual freelance worker is getting your initial client base, so it is not an insurmountable task. Prospective clients don’t usually ask for a résumé, sometimes they don’t even want to see your portfolio. Where you’ll run into this situation is when you opt for a direct hire job, where benefits, and time tracking is involved. HR will usually ask for your résumé, and require an undergrad degree in your particular discipline to be considered. All that means is you will need to approach a prospect as one corporate entity to another, in other words B2B.

If a friend or family member were to ask me if they should go into this line of work, I would have just two words for them… Do it!

There are not too many “sure things” in life, but one I know of for sure, in five years if I’m still breathing, I’ll still be consulting; from my computer desktop that is…

This is a true career story as told to ComputerJobs.net which among others include a Network Administrator and a Webmaster.