If you’re like most independent consultants, lead generation is not your favorite business activity. It feels awkward and uncomfortable. As a result, it’s common to procrastinate, defer and delay your business development routines. This inconsistency creates choppiness (or even a big, gaping hole) in your business development pipeline. Balancing lead generation with working on/in our business can be challenging. Today, we're going to fix this! Listen in as I share the 3 red herrings of why we de...
Aug 11, 2022•32 min
An economic downturn and its impact on your business might be the last thing you want to think about, but it’s important to take a critical look at various aspects of your business to ensure it thrives in tough times. And so today we're going to talk about what you can be doing to prepare for a potential recession or downturn in the economy. To help put you in the best possible scenario where you're actually able to turn a recession into a competitive advantage for yourself, I'm going to share w...
Aug 04, 2022•36 min
“Giving Yourself Credit” is such a critical practice to succeed (and feel fulfilled) as a business owner. But, I notice time and time again that independent consultants (myself included at times) aren’t giving themselves credit for what they have accomplished and what they do know. Without giving yourself credit as a business owner, you end up self-sabotaging, plateauing, stalling, and feeling much less joy and fulfillment. And so in this episode, I share with you why this concept of giving your...
Jul 28, 2022•38 min
In this episode, I interview one of my podcast listeners turned independent consulting business owner coaching clients, LeAnne Lagasse. Listen in as LeAnne shares a broad range of insights and strategies including how she's created a very strong reputation where ideal clients think of her immediately when they need a consultant who does what she does, how she's created a clear, compelling consulting services offer, and ultimately how she's been able to price her consulting services using a value...
Jul 21, 2022•49 min
If you think about it, taking a vacation as a business owner is making an investment. When you, as a business owner, go on vacation, you’re making two investments: (1) on the vacation itself and (2) an investment of your time, the time that you've decided to use for a vacation. You want to make sure that you maximize the time you’re taking off so that it can be as rejuvenating and as impactful as you want it to be. Today's topic will help you accomplish just that. I share the three vacation succ...
Jul 14, 2022•24 min
It can be a challenging shift from being an employee with paid vacation to being an independent consulting business owner whose vacation time is unpaid. Taking a vacation as an IC business owner requires diligent planning and forethought, but it’s possible. And, not only is it possible – it is important for your physical and mental health. In this episode, I share the 3-part formula for taking vacation as an IC business owner without worrying about leaving money on the table. I want to make sure...
Jul 07, 2022•21 min
In this episode, I interview one of my independent consulting business owner clients, Susan K. Moore. Listen in as we discuss her journey as an IC business owner over the past 31 years. This certainly makes Susan a pioneer of the independent consulting industry and someone from whom we can gain valuable insights as she’s built a successful 7-figure business over multiple decades. Click here to get full show notes and more information. And for more on private coaching tailored to you as an indepe...
Jun 30, 2022•54 min
When I meet with independent consultant business owners like you, one of the questions I ask them is, “tell me about your business plan?” How do they answer? It’s very common, whether it's someone who's been an independent consultant for six months or six years, for them to look at me like a deer in the headlights and admit that they don’t have a business plan. And I get it because I've been that business owner without a plan. That’s why in this episode I'm sharing a really simple way for you to...
Jun 23, 2022•25 min
I often find that independent consultants are waiting for someone else to give them permission to increase their consulting fees. This hesitation likely originated in your corporate career when you had to wait for somebody to give you permission for something, whether it was a budget that gave you permission to spend money or someone in finance or sales had to bless it. Now you’re the consulting business owner. You are the person in charge. So my question to you is, who gives you permission to r...
Jun 16, 2022•29 min
In this episode, I interview one of my independent consulting business owner clients, Nicola Kastner. Listen in as we discuss her journey as an independent consulting business owner and her unique perspective having launched an independent consulting business twice. Nicola generously shares all the lessons learned and what she's done differently the second time to create a much more sustainable, fulfilling, and predictable business for herself. We cover a lot of ground so I know this episode wil...
Jun 09, 2022•49 min
When it comes to lead generation, I find that so many independent consultants are overcomplicating the process. Then, they’re ineffective with their lead generation activities. Listen in as I share with you the three must-haves that you’ll want to incorporate into your standard operating procedure (SOP) so that you've got a really effective, easily repeatable, and results-creating independent consulting lead generation routine. These three lead generation elements are so incredibly important. Th...
Jun 02, 2022•28 min
Having opportunities approach you, as an independent consulting business owner, can be exciting but also really difficult when it comes to making the best decision for you and your business. And, by opportunities I mean everything from new consulting client engagements, client extensions, client follow-on work, consulting partnering opportunities, teaming, and so on. The question becomes, how do you know which consulting opportunities to take on, and which opportunities to decline? I'm glad you ...
May 26, 2022•37 min
Last week we discussed what's standing in the way of you making more money in your consulting business. If you haven't done so as yet, you'll want to go back and listen to EP. 061 - What's Standing In the Way of You Making More Money With Less Worry In Your Consulting Business . To summarize, the main thing that’s standing in your way of making more money in your consulting business is the way you're thinking about your business and your potential clients. In this episode, I will explain how you...
May 19, 2022•36 min
Are you experiencing revenue plateaus in your IC business? Most consultants think that this cycle of feast or famine is caused by the market, the constraints that companies put on their spending, that we’re bad a sales or because we’re time-deprived meaning that we don't have enough time to work both in our business or on our business, etc. What I would love to share in this episode is that these external factors are not what is causing your ups and downs. They’re not causing your consulting rev...
May 12, 2022•13 min
If you hate everything to do with selling or think that you’re terrible at it, then this episode is for you. Listen in as I share the three most common mindset mistakes when it comes to selling your consulting services, how you can determine if you’re making these mistakes and then I'll pull it all together for you with a three-step process that you can implement to make sure you're avoiding these three mindsets mistakes when it comes to selling your consulting services. Click here to get full s...
May 05, 2022•29 min
If you’ve ever thought, “I know what I do is valuable. I know I'm great at helping my clients solve problems, save money, innovate, and become more efficient. I know that I'm great at what I do as a consultant, but I am afraid that asking the clients for things, especially money, will make me look greedy.” Your subconscious thoughts about greed end up running your business. And when this happens, it creates a dynamic where you're underearning and overworking. In this episode, I share how your un...
Apr 28, 2022•29 min
A common question I get from independent consultants is “what’s a typical margin for a consulting business?” When an IC asks me this question, they’re thinking about it from a financial perspective. In today’s episode, I share another type of consulting margin that most independent consultants overlook…the life margin. My own fractional CFO brought the life margin concept to my attention, and on this episode, I’m paying it forward so that you include your life margin in all the decisions you mak...
Apr 21, 2022•26 min
We all know that lead generation is extremely important to the health of an IC business. Without lead generation, it’s challenging to maximize growth and revenue as an independent consultant. And so today, I share with you a powerful lead generation that leverages assessments to elevate your consulting lead generation. I’ll also share a software tool that will make this strategy incredibly easy to implement. Tune in to learn how you're able to use this lead generation strategy for your own solo ...
Apr 14, 2022•32 min
Video marketing is using videos to promote and market your independent consulting services. Using video increases engagement on your digital and social channels educates your prospects and customers, and reaches your audience with a new medium. Video is a powerful lead generation tool and as you will hear from our guest today, RJ Parrish, “video is this huge opportunity for all of us, but there's still some friction and reluctance for a lot of people to use it and maybe today (on this episode) w...
Apr 07, 2022•45 min
For your Independent Consulting business to properly function, you need to have an accurate, efficient and repeatable set of back-office processes for invoicing, collection, bookkeeping, taxes, and insurance. Our guest today is Sara Conde. She has two decades of hands-on experience in the independent consulting world and she shares strategies and tips regarding your IC back office and the future of independent consulting. She shares an insightful behind-the-scenes perspective on what it means to...
Mar 31, 2022•35 min
Ready to hire support for your consulting business but not sure where to start? In this episode, you will hear from Silas Kim, Co-founder, and CEO of Atlas Assistant Staffing and Recruiting agency. He shares when to hire a VA as well as how to hire, manage, communicate with and retain a VA. This episode is jam-packed with tips and advice to help ensure that your partnership with a virtual assistant is effective and productive. For additional support, you can also download the full VA Playbook: T...
Mar 24, 2022•36 min
Juggling client delivery with advancing your business goals can be a big challenge for independent consultants. While there are many solutions to this challenge, I want to focus on one that I’ve found to be very effective. And that is hiring a Virtual Assistant or VA for your consulting business. Listen in as I share with you the nine mistakes that you should avoid when hiring a VA and also the six steps to hiring a VA so that you can effectively create more capacity for yourself to then focus o...
Mar 17, 2022•28 min
In this episode, I share the 5-step process to overcome undercharging as a consultant. I give you the 5 steps to stop undercharging as an independent consultant. And then, to bring it to life, I share two examples of how to apply these 5 steps, including (1) when you’re initially creating your consulting proposal and (2) when you’re pricing follow-on work for an existing client. This episode concludes a 3 part series about undercharging in your independent consulting business. In EP. 50 we discu...
Mar 10, 2022•34 min
In EP. 50 we discussed the five methods that you can use to determine if you are undercharging in your IC business. Assuming that you’re undercharging, which almost every consultant is in some way, we're going to talk about the four reasons why you might be doing this and what to do about it. Listen in to learn more about the four root causes that could be leading to you undercharging in your independent consulting business and how to identify them for yourself. And, watch out for next week’s ep...
Mar 03, 2022•22 min
Almost every consultant I talked to is undercharging in some way. Undercharging can be blatant or subtle. No matter where you're at in that spectrum, whether you're unaware of what's possible, or you've literally been avoiding this, it's not a problem. There are five methods or tools that work really well to help you to figure out for yourself if you are undercharging as an independent consultant. Listen in to learn more about these five methods and how to apply them. Click here to get full show...
Feb 24, 2022•34 min
Just as guardrails along the roadway keep drivers safer, business policies help you proactively create an experience that's representative of you, your values, and how you want to show up as a business owner and consultant for your clients. Today I want to share with you a mistake that I made in my business back in December. After working through the emotions of embarrassment and regret from making this mistake, I decided to look at the root cause. What I discovered was that I was missing severa...
Feb 17, 2022•27 min
As an independent consultant, you might be wondering “when is the best time to implement a CRM solution for my consulting business?” “What is the best way to track my consulting pipeline?” And, “how can I make tracking my consulting pipeline and follow-ups easier?” My guest today, Reuben Swartz, shares that using a CRM is the best method to help independent consultants manage and grow their consulting practice. In fact, Reuben has created a CRM solution called Mimiran which is specific for solo,...
Feb 10, 2022•39 min
Work-life balance is a top goal for most independent consultants as we leave corporate. Instead of achieving work-life balance, we end up recreating the same imbalance we had in corporate. The only difference is that now we're the boss instead of someone else. One of the primary reasons is that we thought work-life would come automatically as part of the process versus something that we intentionally create for ourselves. So how do you intentionally create your desired work-life balance as a con...
Feb 03, 2022•26 min
One of the reasons independent consultants leave traditional corporate jobs is to achieve a work-life balance. But then, what ends up happening in practice, is you get bogged down by the day-to-day and your schedule is constantly hijacked. The result is that you’re left feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and unfulfilled. This is definitely not what you intended to create but it’s possible to correct this imbalance. Listen in as I share the 3 specific tools that you can implement to protect your wor...
Jan 27, 2022•27 min
What makes the difference between an independent consultant who has an endless flow of leads compared to the independent consultant who is struggling to create those leads, and to create that momentum in their consulting business? It’s not exceptional selling skills, a great personality, or that they have a great network. There is ONE difference between the independent consultant who has an overflowing stream of leads coming to them, versus the consultant who's struggling to figure out how to at...
Jan 20, 2022•28 min
