I’ll be speaking on Tuesday, 8/19, at the PASS Summit on tour in New York City. I’ll be giving a talk in the “professional development” world this time.. And I’ll be doing the same session at the PASS Summit in Seattle this fall.
This time, rather than talk about SQL Server DBA tips, upgrades, migrations, the cloud, or lessons to be learned from Plane crashes I’ll be sharing some thoughts and tips on how to make the journey from Full-Time DBA to Consultant, and talk about the pros and cons of going a step further and growing a team.
I’ll use this post to share some promised resources ahead of time, discuss an idea, and update the post when I’m done and on the train home Wednesday, addressing any questions.
The Talk
Becoming a SQL Consultant: Lessons for Every Stage of the Journey
Whether you’re dreaming of going out on your own, just signed your first client, or are thinking about building a team – you’re on a journey I know well. Fifteen years ago, I negotiated with my employer for them to become my first anchor client. From there, I started networking, doing side gigs, and slowly growing—with all the trial and error that comes with it.
This session is a candid look at the stages of building a consulting practice in the data world. We’ll cover lessons for:
- The aspiring freelancer – how to prep while still employed
- The brand-new solo consultant – how to protect your time and build trust –
- The solo-to-team leap – how to delegate, hire, and preserve your culture
l share what worked (and what didn’t): navigating partnerships, choosing a business structure, setting pricing, and managing client relationships. We’ll touch on contracts, taxes, and the real-life decisions that can make or break your momentum. Along the way, I’ve leaned on books, mentors, coaches, and a lot of late-night second-guessing. I’m still learning—but I’ll give you a head start on the “straight path” I took. This isn’t a business school lecture or MBA program – it’s a real-world field guide. If you’re considering the leap—or want to be more intentional about the path you’re already on, this session will offer insights you can use Monday morning to start down the road.
Resources
Blog Posts at my blog. We will reference a few posts, including the below, and I’ll add any others we bring up after the talk:
- You are free – Lessons from farm fences for career.
- I’m Cheating.
- Your dreams, they don’t come looking for you
Books I am likely to reference:
These are some I know I’m planning on discussing. I’ll add to the list after we are done and then I’ll add some links and maybe a few words as well.
- Extreme Ownership and The Dichotomy of Leadership (Jocko Willink/Leif Babin)
- Ideal Team Player (Patric Lencioni – any of his books are highly recommended.)
- Turn the Ship Around (L David Marquet)
- Profit First (Mike Michalowicz)
- Entreleadership (Dave Ramsey)
Reach Out
I love talking to others on the journey. As I talk (talked? depends on when you read this) about in the presentation, I even gave some advice and assistance to a team member of ours at Straight Path who must have read that you are free blog post above and helped become his ‘anchor client’ (one of the principles I spoke about in the talk.) I would love to answer some questions, give you some thoughts and maybe even find a spot where we can work together in the future.
Mastermind Group/Peer Group/Advice Group
I am also planning on sharing an idea with the group in NYC and Seattle – and I suppose, since I’m putting it down here, I now have to mention it. I’d love to create a “group” – I’ve been in some mastermind groups over my consulting career, and it’s a bit of an overloaded term – but think of it like that. A way to work with others who are on the journey, but have some folks who used to have hair but are now completely bald from the stress and crazy life of consulting (seriously, the water IS FINE – JUMP IN!). If you are interested in joining some sort of a mastermind group.
I wouldn’t launch it until we get to after the PASS Summit talk in Novembe also. But if you are interested – ping me direct in e-mail mike@straightpathsql.com. Just tell me you want to potentially join a trial run of a mastermind group. Tell me about yourself, what you are looking forward to learning and sharing and what you would expect in such a group. I’ll want to keep the audience limited at first so the focus doesn’t get lost so I’ll review all of the e-mails and select a first “cohort” to work on this. There won’t be any fees for this experiment the first time around at all.
Figure it as a way to talk about ideas, share, learn, grow and maybe lobby for each other and cross-refer even.
I’ll add more after the talk on Tuesday. And I’ll probably make a separate post for the talk in November.
