Thanks Tatiana for posting PMI response, that would definitely help someone else.

Well I've contacted PMI and they confirmed that neither job title nor form of employment do not matter as long as it was project management job. The question is closed:)

Hello,

To report 3 yrs of PM work, I need to count some time that I worked as a sole proprietor (marketing/management/business development consulting). This indeed included lots of project management, and I have a partner who can be my contact person and confirm as well as (if required) my clients. The question is whether this is acceptable? I did not find any specifics about it, so please advise!