Pros
a-Connect makes working as an independent consultant practical without sacrificing income or the quality of work. I have been working with a-Connect as an independent contractor for the past 5 years. They provide a solid project pipeline with some engagements lasting over a year. The companies they work with are mainly European based companies with a US presence. The plus side to that is there are opportunities to work overseas. Another positive is that the engagements are typical to what you would find at other top tiered management consulting firms (e.g., high visibility projects, access to senior management, etc.), but with more of a focus on implementation vs. strategy.
As a resource partner, a-Connect handles all the administration related to each engagement such as billing, which allows you to remain focused on the client and engagement, which is a major plus as a small business. Additionally as a resource partner, a-Connect has connected me with a rich professional network both from the client side and within the a-Connect independent consultant pool.
With a-connect, I can work when I want, on projects I want to work on and with people I want to work with.
Cons
Similar to management consulting, travel is a downside. All of my engagements have involved travel, sometimes overseas, which is fine for short-term engagements but with long term projects the travel does become onerous. On some engagements I have been able to work with the client to do some work remotely, but for the most part the projects have been onsite. I would like to see a-Connect’s model evolve to include more virtual opportunities.