The idea
For a while now I have had an idea in my head: to start doing IT consulting.
It is not an escape and not a fallback. It is the desire to build something of my own: to put the skills gathered over years of work — Linux infrastructures, hosting platforms, virtualization, automation, security — at the service of more projects and more people, instead of selling them to a single employer.
There is also a question of time. Today my time is, in practice, decided by others: schedules, priorities, urgencies. Consulting, in my mind, is the chance to manage it myself — to choose the projects, to decide how much and when to work, and to see the value of what I do directly. And, of course, to earn a living on my own terms.
What is holding me back
If it were simple, I would have done it already. The reasons why I am still at the starting line are five, and all very concrete.
I have no clients yet. It sounds trivial, but that is the point: a consulting business exists the moment someone pays you to solve a problem. Until that “someone” shows up, there is only an idea — and ideas alone do not pay the bills.
I am not a good “salesman”. I am a technician. I am comfortable with systems, networks, problems to diagnose and solutions to build; much less with selling myself, networking, talking about myself. And yet consulting is, for a good half of it, exactly that.
I cannot leave my job hoping to find clients. This is the most serious reason. I have responsibilities and people who rely on me: quitting a stable job to “see how it goes” is not a bet I can afford. Financial security is not a luxury you start from: it is the ground that lets you take a risk.
There is Italian bureaucracy. Setting up a VAT number, choosing a tax regime, paying social contributions, keeping the books, meeting deadlines: a world of formalities that in Italy weighs more than elsewhere. It is not an insurmountable obstacle — plenty of people do it — but it is a real barrier, made also of fixed costs that arrive in the months when you invoice nothing. Before starting you need to know it well, not discover it along the way.
And salaried employment has its advantages anyway. I do not want to tell myself the fairy tale of independence at all costs: a salary at the end of the month, paid holidays, sick leave, contributions paid, training, colleagues to compare notes with — and the chance to genuinely switch off when you stop. Becoming a consultant means giving up all those safety nets: income becomes variable, taxes and contributions become a constant worry, and work never quite leaves you. It is a change of life, not just of contract: better to be aware of it.
How I plan to start
The answer, on reflection, is only one: start as a side job.
Keep the job and build the consulting practice in the time that remains, calmly, without turning life upside down.
- Start small — a few projects, a few clients, without giving anything up.
- Understand whether it works — whether there is demand for what I can do, whether I can handle clients, quotes, deadlines and expectations, whether I actually enjoy it.
- Decide only later — when (and if) the workflow becomes steady, then it will make sense to talk about a change of life.
I am in no hurry. I would rather build something solid in two years than burn out in two months.
In the meantime
While this idea matures, I am also looking elsewhere: there are other fields that intrigue me and that I would like to explore, so as not to put all my eggs in one basket. I will write about that in a separate article.
If you need an IT consultant
Let me close with a practical note.
If anyone needs an IT consultant, I am available. I work on Linux infrastructures, hosting systems, virtualization, automation, monitoring and security: if you have a project to start, a problem to solve or even just an idea to evaluate, write to me — on LinkedIn or on GitHub.