As you gain more success in your career and in life you'll accumulate plenty of

• scars from hard fought battles
• accolades for your great accomplishments
• friends with whom you've fought in the trenches
• a depth of experience which will make you a valuable commodity in your chosen field of expertise

If your career progresses anything like my own, you'll start asking yourself why you're time, your billable hours, shouldn't be your own to manage yourself. Why might you question it? Could it be it's that your customer rate increased by some large amount while your salary barely increased by the inflation rate? Could it be you're growing uncomfortable with the friction in the system - the time spent doing administrative tasks? Perhaps the concern grows out of an uneasiness that what you and your team are delivering, while valuable, could be both more on target and more effective for the same cost to the customer.

These have all been factors in my case. But I think what really causes this questioning, at least in my case, is the number of friends and acquaintances who will begin tapping you on the shoulder for advice. They know you're an expert and they value your opinions, thoughts and ideas.

While working for "the man" you're very constrained in what advice you can offer. Giving it away for free is in effect giving away your company's services for free. Charging for it is a conflict of interest. I contend that when you reach the point of having this dilemma it's time to cut the cord and hang out your own shingle.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to work yourself into just that sort of dilemma, where enough people solicit your advice that you can realistically call them consulting or services prospects.