So, You Want to Get into PMO Contracting?

My name is Ken Burrell, and since July 2011 I have been operating as an independent contractor, providing my PMO services to various clients (mostly London market insurance companies) through short-to-medium-term engagements of my company, Pragmatic PMO Limited.
I often get asked about contracting by the client employees I work alongside, and so I have written this article for PMO FlashMob to share some of my experiences with you, in the hope that you will find my observations useful if you’re planning a similar move.
I’m starting from the assumption that you’ve already made the decision to make the move, or you are at least seriously considering it. Everyone has their own reasons for moving into contracting, and you need to be certain that for you the (very real) risks are worth the (hopefully real but in no way guaranteed) rewards.
So, having decided to start the process, what should you actually do? As well as the obvious stuff (like sorting out your CV, doing a skills audit and so on), the steps I suggest below are based on what I actually did, with a few additions based on my experience: