On being a learning consultant

I have been asked to sit on a panel at Learning 2009 to discuss independent consulting in the learning space. The program guide blurb is a bit provocative:

So You Want to Be a Learning Consultant: Look Before You Leap
Meet a panel of people who have been there and done that: independent consulting that is. Learn from their mistakes and embrace their successes... hints and tips plus a Q&A session where no relevant question is refused! If you are even vaguely contemplating the life of an independent Learning Consultant and feel that it could suit you, join us or live to regret it! ...Honest answers to questions you're afraid to ask anywhere else.

Here's a little stream of consciousness as I mentally and emotionally prepare...

Greatest mistakes a consultant can make:
1. Neglect your network. Building a network starts day one of your career. Cutting anyone out, looking down on anyone, assuming you will never need someone again, these are all enormous errors that will come back to haunt you. Fortunately, even though I had serious differences of opinion and grappled long and hard with people in the building of three different businesses in two states over a decade or two, I have found that they respect me as much as I do them. I have had compensated gigs from former employees, former software vendors, former publishing vendors, and former employers. And from people who know those people.
2. Assuming what made you successful from inside an organization will translate to success from the outside. I'm a person who can create a vision, get others to see it, and lead the charge to take the hill. This was without exception a benefit when I sat in the leader's saddle with troops gathered around me. When you begin to approach the leaders of other troops with the idea that you're there to help, such an attitude can spook the horses, not to mention their riders.
3. Get the balance wrong between what you do to win the business and what you get paid to do once you've won it. Insisting on a day rate for time spent building a proposal, even if it's your client's proposal to another client, in some cases will rule you out. In other cases, that is precisely what you're being paid to do. The bigger the business opportunity, generally, the more time you're going to have to spend winning it.
4. Wait until you're getting to a contract to wrestle out all the details of an engagement. Agree verbally to exactly what you're going to do before engaging in contract discussions. I lost my first opportunity haggling over contract language, when in fact it wasn't the contract but the project that posed issues. I was addressing the problem at the wrong point. Once you agree to clear, simple deliverables, then use a simple template that's easy to sign, And be flexible.

Must-have tips for success:
1. Be prepared to spend a year or two building up your book of business. This is no different than any other business in that regard. These things take time.
2. Be there to help. Listen, understand, ponder. Even if you think you know the answer immediately, and actually, even if you do, let it simmer. No one will believe it if it comes too quickly. Become a part of the solution process.
3. Keep in touch. Follow up. Learn how to do the quick catch-up email, keep a tickler file, use it. And use the social media. I blog, I tweet, I post my tweets in Facebook, and start discussions in groups in LinkedIn. This hasn't generated a lot of business yet, but it has certainly kept me in touch.
4. Build and lean on a small circle of support. Keep your family, particularly your spouse, engaged and involved. "Independent" often means "alone," and humans don't always see the forest for the trees when wandering through the woods by themselves. Use any mentors you have. Make sure you have friends who can listen to the down sides as well as the upside (and don't confuse them with your clients!)
5. Take a lot of people out for coffee or lunch.

Now, we'll see what sort of questions I get that people may be "afraid to ask anywhere else." And we'll find out if I'm afraid to answer them!