SPOUSE SHARES SELF-EMPLOYMENT WOES : CAREER PATH.

Byline: Diane E. Lewis The Boston Globe

When her husband announced that he would rather be self-employed than continue to work for a Braintree, Mass., firm that was relocating to Maine, Azriella Jaffe backed him all the way.

``I responded to his feelings about wanting out of the corporate world by saying, `Look, I make enough so that the family can manage while you get your consulting going,' '' Jaffe recalled. ``I said, `I'll continue to work, and we'll just live off my salary for a while.' ''

But within weeks after her husband launched a debt-reduction consulting service from their Framingham home, Jaffe discovered that being supportive wasn't always easy. Some days she resented her new role as primary breadwinner, or worried that her husband really wasn't working as hard as she was.

Today, Jaffe is an executive coach and the author of a humorous and insightful book that looks at self-employment from the point of view of the spouse who works full time. Called ``Honey, I Want to Start My Own Business'' (Harper Business, 1996), the book offers valuable tips to the growing number of self-employed individuals who work out of their homes as consultants and the families who support their dreams.

Every year, thousands of people leave corporations and strike out on their own as consultants. Last year, 5 million home-based workers were employed as consultants, according to federal labor statistics.

In 1996, 19 percent of all out-placed executives pursued consulting or some other form of self-employment, up from 15 percent in 1994, according to Lee Hecht Harrison, an international outplacement consulting firm.

Hecht Harrison distinguishes between entrepreneurship, which it defines as starting a company from scratch, opening a franchise or buying a business, and self-employment. While self-employment has increased, true entrepreneurship among downsized executives has remained steady since 1995 at about 8 percent, noted company Vice President Cathy Kennedy.

``Most of the growth in self-employment is due to more people consulting, working part time or working on an out-sourced basis.''

Unfortunately, the odds of making a successful go of it are pretty slim: 70 percent of all new consultants quit in the first year, according to the National Bureau of Professional Management Consultants.

Jaffe's husband, Stephen, gave up consulting and accepted a full-time job as the manager of an accounting division for a Pennsylvania firm after a harrowing year that offered few rewards and many, many lessons.

In her book, Jaffe advises that would-be consultants do plenty of homework first. How to proceed? Here is some practical advice:

Network as much as possible before you leave that full-time job. That means increasing your involvement in professional and charitable organizations, accepting as many speaking engagements as possible, and having lunch or dinner with others in your field.

Plan for the worst. Your research should include a contingency plan. How will you pay the bills if, in six months, you do not have as many clients as you had anticipated?

``When my husband became self-employed, neither of us were really prepared for what it would take to get a (debt-reduction service) going from the house,'' Jaffe said. ``We really thought he would be bringing in a six-figure salary within a few months, that he would triple what he had made on the job.

``We were naive,'' she said. ``We had no idea that it would take some clients so long to pay, or that he would have to spend so much time drumming up business.''

The National Bureau of Professional Management Consultants says consultants should expect to fully finance themselves and their new endeavor the first year. They should expect to finance 70 percent of the business the second year, and 20 percent the third year. It can take months, sometimes years, to cultivate a prospective client.

Make sure there is enough seed money to pay for the equipment you need, including a second telephone line, fax, printer, computer, answering service or voice mail, letterhead, brochures and business cards.

Don't leave without your Rolodex. The clients listed in that address book or Rolodex could become the lifeblood of your consulting service later on.

Once you're ready to strike out on your own, get firm commitments from individuals who have expressed an interest in using your services.

Be prepared to work long hours for little financial gain. That means less time for socializing, too.

``I tell couples to be prepared for the business to consume their lives more than the old job used to,'' Jaffe said. ``I tell them to be prepared for it to actually infringe on the marriage, the time with the kids, and any personal time they had.''