Leaving corporate to work independently sounds simple. Take your experience, pick your clients, set your own terms.

In reality, many consultants, fractional leaders, and NEDs discover something else instead: unpredictable income, one “client that feels like a job”, and a constant low-level anxiety about what happens next.

In this episode, I sit down with Dan Gwalter to unpack why this happens and how to avoid it.

Dan has lived this journey end to end. After leaving a FTSE 100 technology leadership role, he built a profitable consulting business the hard way, learned where most independents go wrong, and turned those lessons into a clear operating model that helps others build businesses they can actually rely on.

This conversation is not about hacks, personal branding tricks, or “just post more on LinkedIn”. It’s about structure.

Together, we explore:

• Why most independent professionals aren’t failing — they’re just operating without a system
• The difference between being a “fractional employee” and running a real business
• How to define the right clients, the right offers, and the right problems to solve
• Why visibility alone doesn’t create clients — and what actually does
• How to design an operating rhythm that works alongside delivery, not against it
• The psychological side of independence: confidence, self-doubt, and identity shifts

Dan also walks through the core elements of The Fractional Formula: an operating model designed to help consultants, fractional leaders, and NEDs build predictable deal flow, reduce fragility, and create momentum they can sustain.

If you’re thinking about going independent, already working as a consultant or fractional leader, or building a portfolio career and want it to feel stable rather than stressful, this episode will give you clarity, reassurance, and a practical path forward.

This is about building a business you can rely on, not winging it and hoping for the best.