If you left or have been laid off from your restaurant job, it might be a good time to become a consultant. All you have to do is buy a laptop, print some business cards and start networking with your well-connected friends.

You also need to be an expert at something.

“I would not recommend a person say, ‘I am good at a lot of things, so I will be a consultant,’” says Tim Kirkland, a former training director Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc. in Louisville, Colo.

He says companies are cutting back on full-time employees and looking for experts to fill a void in a particular area.
      
“They want to know how your expertise will translate to more sales, better service and better retention,” he says.

Last year Kirkland left Rock Bottom to open Renegade Hospitality, his consulting practice. He had leadership roles in the training and beverage department and now helps companies train their beverage staff. He says the fact that he wrote a book, “The Renegade Server,” helps position him as an expert
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“Clients want specific inside industry knowledge,” he says. “That’s what they are purchasing. They want to know what are my ideas and how those ideas match up against those of their competitors, and I think a consultant is uniquely qualified to deliver that.”

Jim Sullivan, a consultant whose company is called Sullivision.com, says if you get laid off, take some time before you decide to become a consultant.

“There is a feeling of: ‘That does it, I’m going to own my own business, and no longer will someone lord over me,’” he says. “Be honest with yourself, distance yourself from the pain of separation and take a realistic assessment first.”

Sullivan, whose company published Kirkland’s book, says the assessment could be a simple chart of plusses and minuses for becoming self-employed. The positives could be greater control over hours, answering to several clients instead of one supervisor, and earning more money by working on more projects and more hours, something salaried employees generally don’t get. The drawbacks could be sporadic earnings instead of a constant paycheck, probably no health insurance, and general uncertainty.

Sullivan says you should assess not only the areas where you are strong, but also figure out how you will handle the areas where you are not strong. If your expertise is in marketing or hiring, you will need to find someone who can handle your technology needs and someone who knows how to do accounts receivable and accounts payable.

“A smart consultant subcontracts people in the areas where you lack the skills,” he says.

Find your first clients through your old employer, or through your former vendors.

“Who has better access to restaurant companies than sales reps?” Kirkland says. “I have actually gotten a lot of clients that way.”

He also recommends joining professional organizations (he is a member of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers, or CHART) and attending events.

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