Expert Stories

If you’re familiar with 10K, you’ve seen us yell this from the proverbial mountain tops for months: There has never been a better time to become an independent consultant in the Salesforce ecosystem. 

Customers are hungry – our 2022 Salesforce Talent Ecosystem Report found that global Salesforce talent demand increased by 19%. Anecdotally, this is also evident amongst our own customer base and the 10K Expert Community, too. 

Salesforce talent of all skill levels is in high demand but the ones who stand to gain the most from this age of digital transformation are highly-skilled and experienced Salesforce experts. To define an expert, think a minimum of six years of Salesforce experience and a minimum of three years of consulting experience. 

There’s never been a better time to bet on yourself and leave your full-time professional services job

According to Harvard Business Review, an increasingly large majority of independent workers say that independent work is less risky and more secure than traditional employment. Here are a few remarkable stats from their 2021 study:

• 68% of independent workers responded to the statement “I feel more secure working independently” in the affirmative — up from 32% in 2011 and 53% in 2019.
• 7 in 10 independents and 3 in 10 traditional employees say independent work is more secure than traditional employment.
• 31% of employees who left their job in the past six months did so to start a new business.

To define an expert, think a minimum of six years of Salesforce experience and a minimum of three years of consulting experience. 

If you’re currently working in a professional services company and are a Salesforce expert with a competitive skillset, consulting soft skills, and looking for some much-deserved work/life balance, read on for three reasons why becoming an independent Salesforce consultant should be your next career move.  

The money will follow and it’ll be on your terms

The 10K team has had dozens and dozens of conversations with Salesforce customers, partners, and experts over the past few months and there is a common theme – there isn’t enough talent or time to accomplish all of the initiatives ahead of them. 

This is a “good problem” as we say. And if you’re working in Salesforce professional services you already know this. 

Chances are you’ve had a steady stream of interest from recruiters and other consulting firms. There are also plenty of stories across LinkedIn about fat signing bonuses and impressive salary bidding wars – but is a company that’s willing to pay far above average or make lofty promises a good opportunity? Or is it a red flag? 

…the salary of your dreams means nothing if you can’t enjoy the freedoms you’re entitled to. 

Before you take an offer that seems too good to be true, consider the employer’s perspective: Explosive customer demand has been near impossible to satiate; they have few choices but to use and abuse their full-time employees to keep up. Will you really see the bag of goods that were sold to you?

If you’ve been teetering on the edge of burnout, you’re far from alone. More money can often mean more problems – unrealistic deadlines, unattainable KPIs, the expectation to work during PTO, etc. – and the salary of your dreams means nothing if you can’t enjoy the freedoms you’re entitled to. 

Going independent guarantees you can have your cake and eat it too; all on your own terms. With the right technical skills and consulting expertise, the money will follow! There’s plenty of pie to go around. 

The vision is yours to define

Increased customer demand not only means working longer hours, but it can also mean constantly working outside of your scope of expertise. Let’s be honest – this is a thankless way to work and inevitably leads to burnout.  

You have the freedom to choose your preferred delivery methods, ways of communicating, and technology and tools. And most importantly, you get to choose which projects you want to take on. 

If you’re tired of feeling out of control, or as just another working body serving someone else’s big agenda at a large firm, then building your own Salesforce business is your ticket to change. 

As the boss of your own Salesforce consultancy, you alone have the privilege of controlling the client experience. You have the freedom to choose your preferred delivery methods, ways of communicating, and technology and tools. And most importantly, you get to choose which projects you want to take on. 

For 10K Expert, Djibril Anthony, the best part about being your own boss in the Salesforce ecosystem is “the freedom to be selective of the projects [the business] takes on. I’m passionate about delivering value for my customers, and I appreciate the ability to turn down work if I can’t serve a customer’s goal or mission. Your work should motivate and get you excited to keep delivering value, and being an independent consultant makes that possible.”

Work/Life balance becomes a reality 

Our 2022 Independent Salesforce Consultant Report found that independent Salesforce experts value having a flexible schedule more than any other benefit of being your own boss. 

 

Achieving work/life balance has been a hot topic since the start of COVID and cemented itself as a non-negotiable amidst the growing Great Resignation. There has been a fundamental shift in what workers want and need from work, and it makes sense. Your time and how you choose to spend it is precious. 

Being independent in the Salesforce ecosystem is so much more than just guaranteeing you get to work remotely. It also ensures you get to decide when, where, and how you work. 

For 10K Expert Ines Garcia, her favorite part about being independent is “having flexibility in choosing the work I do, how it gets done, and how much I want to work. Life is a perishable good. We only live once and there’s more to life than just working. This freedom gives me the time and headspace to dive into other ideas and passions I have.”

How to learn more and get started 

Leaving the security of a full-time job isn’t for the faint of heart, but the numbers don’t lie – now is the best time to bet on yourself and build your own Salesforce business. 

Explore the answers to your “why” with this post from 10K CEO, Nick Hamm

Tap into the support of a community of your peers and learn from other elite experts in the 10K Expert Community (we’re always accepting applications) 

Connect with 10K leadership to learn more about our company start-up cost scholarship

It’s Independents Week at 10K and we’re celebrating by profiling successful Salesforce entrepreneurs from the 10K Expert Community. Follow along with us at #IndependentsWeek as we give a peek into each person’s journey to independence, lessons learned along the way, and advice for others who might be interested in joining the thriving Salesforce ecosystem. 

Can you tell us a bit about your business?

My company primarily works with organizations dedicated to furthering social justice, social equality, and education for underserved communities. A couple of our clients include The Innocence Project Pennsylvania and institutions of higher learning like Hampton University and the University of Maryland.  

How did you know it was time to go independent? 

Prior to working in the Salesforce ecosystem, I spent several years working in the Educational sector across the P-20 landscape. Over the years I developed a deep level of subject matter expertise within this sector. But, it needs to be said that choosing to go independent is a scary choice. It took me a while to go full-time independent, and especially when leaving what a lot of people see as a dream job (I had been working at Salesforce for two years at this point.)

The first sign I knew I was ready was when more than a few organizations started asking me for help.

The first sign I knew I was ready was when more than a few organizations started asking me for help. In my first role administering Salesforce, I built an app to help support college access and success for students in underrepresented communities. The app tracked college-going rates, persistence, graduation, and post-graduation outcomes across high-risk populations. The resulting data could be used to measure the outcomes of these populations against their peer groups, tell relevant stories, fundraise and otherwise further support educational attainment for the communities served.  

This project essentially kicked off my transition to becoming an independent consultant. 

It turns out that other organizations across the United States were trying to solve the same problems in their own communities. This project essentially kicked off my transition to becoming an independent consultant. 

That all happened about five years ago and it actually coincided with the start of 10K. Having their support helped make me feel confident enough to go all-in on my consultancy. Now I’m even a customer and contract some of my work to them! It’s incredible how everything can come full circle. 

What is the best part about being your own boss in the Salesforce ecosystem?

The best part is the choice to work on the projects I’m most passionate about, like social justice and education. The work is meaningful and I can feel good about it. 

Starting a business is a romantic idea but the reality is this is a hard road.

Are there any lessons you can share with those who are starting their own Salesforce consultancy?

Build the infrastructure of your business with intention. Starting a business is a romantic idea but the reality is this is a hard road. You’re not just working, you’re building a client base, managing taxes, executing contracts, and so much more. 

Take the time to set up your systems.

My business started fast. Having a lot of projects was a great problem to have, but I didn’t have the time to do everything on the backend with intention. I have an MBA and know the traditional way is to take time to draft a business plan, but what they don’t tell you is how to backtrack and build infrastructure when you start a business and are flying the proverbial plane while trying to build it!

Take the time to set up your systems. And know that you’re not alone in how difficult it is to run a consultancy. This is critical to your mental health and managing a healthy company. 

What about the Salesforce ecosystem’s future gets you excited? 

The rapid innovation brought forth by Salesforce is creating an opportunity for these individuals to build lasting careers.

I appreciate how Salesforce is constantly innovating new service offerings, products, and technology. The more innovation the industry fosters the more opportunity there is for people to enter the ecosystem. From what we’re seeing at PepUp Tech there’s a ton of great talent out there. The rapid innovation brought forth by Salesforce is creating an opportunity for these individuals to build lasting careers. Salesforce’s innovation consistently helps to open more doors for undiscovered talent. 

It’s Independents Week at 10K and we’re celebrating by profiling successful Salesforce entrepreneurs from the 10K Expert Community. Follow along with us at #IndependentsWeek as we give a peek into each person’s journey to independence, lessons learned along the way, and advice for others who might be interested in joining the thriving Salesforce ecosystem. 

Can you tell us a bit about your business? 

Like a lot of other folks who work with 10K, EdgEffects is a small and passionate Salesforce consultancy that has years of experience working in the ecosystem. We wear a lot of hats, but most of our customers are in the non-profit sector. 

We see Salesforce as an integral part of the modern non-profits’ success because it enables them to further their mission and do more good work.

When founding Edgeffects, we were most excited about elevating our customers’ Salesforce capabilities who weren’t necessarily aware of their ability to do more with less. We see Salesforce as an integral part of the modern non-profits’ success because it enables them to further their mission and do more good work. We help them use Salesforce to get the most out of their resources to gain more opportunities. 

How did you know it was time to go independent? 

I had spent a ton of time at every level and position within the traditional non-profit sector. When I eventually ended up in a director position I realized it was time to pivot. I wanted to focus full-time on implementing the platform and couldn’t do that as a director; that type of work simply wasn’t part of the job description. 

My resume on paper didn’t convey the skills and experience I had gained over the years. I knew going independent would give me the freedom to put those skills to use and choose the work that was never an option for me in a traditional role. Continuing to learn and expand my Salesforce knowledge was also important to me. 

My resume on paper didn’t convey the skills and experience I had gained over the years.

What is the best part about being your own boss in the Salesforce ecosystem?

The freedom to be selective of the projects we take on. I’m passionate about delivering value for my customers, and I appreciate the ability to turn down work if I can’t serve a customer’s goal or mission. Your work should motivate and get you excited to keep delivering value, and being an independent consultant makes that possible. 

I’m passionate about delivering value for my customers, and I appreciate the ability to turn down work if I can’t serve a customer’s goal or mission.

Are there any lessons you can share with those who are starting their own Salesforce Consultancy?

Crawl, walk, then run. This may go against most popular entrepreneurial mantras but you need to bite off what you can chew. It’s important to learn how to be a consultant and define the terms for how you want to work before going all in. 

The reality is most people have responsibilities, like a house and kids, so the big-bang approach isn’t feasible for everyone. Don’t feel like you need to cut off your main source of income from Day One, but instead build internal structures for your business with intention. You want to set yourself up for success and make being a full-time consultant a sustainable reality. 

The reality is most people have responsibilities, like a house and kids, so the big-bang approach isn’t feasible for everyone.

What about the Salesforce ecosystem’s future gets you excited? 

Growth of the ecosystem’s experts. I’m excited that Salesforce professionals continue to prioritize upskilling to help move the platform forward and customers gain more value. The reality is that you have to be a continual learner to keep up with the evolution of the platform and help customers expand their usage of it. 

I’m excited that Salesforce professionals continue to prioritize upskilling to help move the platform forward and customers gain more value.

I also appreciate the ecosystem’s support for experts to pursue somewhat unconventional career pathways, like going from administrator to architect. Trailhead continues to prove itself as a robust resource to lean on and take your career to the next level.

It’s Independents Week at 10K and we’re celebrating by profiling successful Salesforce entrepreneurs from the 10K Expert Community. Follow along with us at #IndependentsWeek as we give a peek into each person’s journey to independence, lessons learned along the way, and advice for others who might be interested in joining the thriving Salesforce ecosystem. 

Can you tell us a bit about your business?

I recently founded 10X Cloud Value, a boutique consulting shop dedicated to helping Salesforce customers build their own Center of Excellence to accelerate value creation.

I recently founded 10X Cloud Value, a boutique consulting shop dedicated to helping Salesforce customers build their own Center of Excellence to accelerate value creation.

In short, I help customers get their money’s worth from their investment.  

I’ve been in the Salesforce ecosystem for 16+ years and I realized that many Salesforce customers struggle with common challenges that get in the way of getting the most value and they can benefit from learning from “best-in-class” COEs. In fact, 10K’s COE handbook confirmed my hypothesis. 91% of companies that report the highest levels of ROI from Salesforce have a COE in place, but 40% of customers aren’t taking advantage of its benefits. 

How did you know it was time to go independent? 

I transitioned from Deloitte at the end of 2020 and I took a mini-sabbatical. The pandemic created a lot of clarity to prioritize a healthier lifestyle where I can better balance work with family. I also had multiple headhunters interested in my background and Salesforce expertise. Therefore, I decided to formalize my consulting business and that led me to create my company. 

What is the best part about being your own boss in the Salesforce ecosystem?

Flexibility. I love the freedom to be selective about my clients and projects.

I love the freedom to be selective about my clients and projects.

Salesforce also provides access to many valuable resources, like Trailhead, to help me keep my skills sharp. The sense of community is also awesome and a unique aspect of the ecosystem. 

Another bonus is no longer having to spend time dealing with corporate politics. When you work on your own, time is money, every hour matters and there is no time for nonsense meetings. I’m enjoying this new stage of being an entrepreneur and having the choice to choose what success looks like. 

Are there any lessons you can share with those who are starting their own Salesforce consultancy?

Remain focused. Don’t try to offer everything or the world to everyone. Pick a niche where you can add value and resist the temptation to go after shiny objects.

Remain focused. Don’t try to offer everything or the world to everyone. Pick a niche where you can add value and resist the temptation to go after shiny objects.

It also helps to be a door opener. Try volunteering in the ecosystem to build relationships and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! The Salesforce community is incredibly supportive. Try creating a list of things you’re good at then reach out to people you trust – potential clients, colleagues, even friends – and ask for their feedback. This exercise helped steer the initial direction of my company.

Also, try not to overthink trivial things like the colors of your logo. You need to make decisions, accept them, and move on. This will help you keep momentum and make progress because let’s be honest, there’s a lot of work to be done when starting your own consultancy. 

Enjoy the small successes; it’s part of the journey!

Enjoy the small successes; it’s part of the journey!

What about the Salesforce ecosystem’s future gets you excited? 

Salesforce is going to double its revenue by 2026. That means there’s enough pie on the table for everyone! And with that, I’m also eager to see the outcome of all the latest acquisitions including Slack, Tableau, etc.. so I can evolve my services to meet the needs of my clients and take on new ones. 

And, of course, Dreamforce 2021. I know it’s going to be a more intimate event than in past years, but I can’t wait to see what they’ll do and I look forward to connecting with my colleagues again. 

It’s Independents Week at 10K and we’re celebrating by profiling successful Salesforce entrepreneurs from the 10K Expert Community. Follow along with us at #IndependentsWeek as we give a peek into each person’s journey to independence, lessons learned along the way, and advice for others who might be interested in joining the thriving Salesforce ecosystem. 

Can you tell us a bit about your business? 

SimpleIT is a managed IT services provider with a focus on Salesforce consulting and managed administration. We’ve got a wide breadth of capabilities but the majority of our clients are small to medium businesses embracing cloud services. 

How did you know it was time to go independent? 

Looking back, getting laid off was the driver behind making our full-time consultancy a reality, and merging our practices was a natural next step.

Like a lot of folks in 2020, I got laid off from my full-time job. Fortunately, for the past five years, I’ve been managing a few clients as a side hustle before recently making SimpleIT official with my current business partner. Looking back, getting laid off was the driver behind making our full-time consultancy a reality, and merging our practices was a natural next step. Now my day-to-day includes managing client delivery and operations. 

What is the best part about being your own boss in the Salesforce ecosystem?

I get the opportunity to develop a lot of cool relationships with different clients and serve their unique needs. I’m never pigeonholed into working the same challenges or doing the same kind of work every day. Having the freedom and ability to choose which projects interest me most is incredibly important to me. I love fitting Salesforce into a larger strategy to help my clients get more out of the platform. 

Having the freedom and ability to choose which projects interest me most is incredibly important to me.

Are there any lessons you can share with those who are starting their own Salesforce consultancy?

The biggest thing, from my perspective, is taking the time to nurture your client relationships. Building trust with your clients is everything. A healthy client relationship will give you the credibility and support to propose solutions they maybe hadn’t thought of and encourage them to embrace your ideas. 

A healthy client relationship will give you the credibility and support to propose solutions they maybe hadn’t thought of and encourage them to embrace your ideas. 

I admit I had a headstart because of my past connections working at Appirio, but a good place to start building relationships within the ecosystem is in local user groups and communities. 10K also helped me build my client base without the pressure of having it all ride on my shoulders. They provide a support system to learn the ins and out’s of building a consultancy without the risk of going all-in right away. 

What about the Salesforce ecosystem’s future gets you excited? 

I appreciate how Salesforce continues to innovate and invest in customer success by putting out products that enable ecosystem experts to do the best work possible for their clients.

Customer 360. I appreciate how Salesforce continues to innovate and invest in customer success by putting out products that enable ecosystem experts to do the best work possible for their clients. This focus will continue to help businesses and non-profits create a real single source of truth that will grant them more opportunities and elevate their business goals.