Today we're talking about doubling your consulting revenue. A fear that most consultants have about doubling their revenue is that by pursuing this goal, they’ll double everything else: their stress level, workload, and more. This doesn't have to be the case. In today's episode, I’ll help you understand the four steps to make more money with more fulfillment, more impact, more strategic projects, and more free time for yourself. Listen in as I walk you through the four powerful steps for doublin...
Mar 09, 2023•29 min
If you procrastinate on writing proposals for your consulting business, you’re not alone. Most consultants delay, avoid, and dread writing consulting proposals. It’s common to rush through, water down, and undersell your consulting proposals as a result of this procrastination. In today’s episode, I help you with the formula to conquer this procrastination. Listen in as I walk you through a process to identify the root cause of why you’re experiencing consulting proposal procrastination and the ...
Mar 02, 2023•33 min
Today we’re welcoming back to the podcast, McLean Robbins. McLean is the Vice President of Enterprise Marketing at MBO Partners and an independent consultant herself. MBO partners is a company that helps connect independent consultants and micro business owners with enterprise client engagement opportunities. On an annual basis, McLean and her team conduct research that's called the State of Independence. McLean is graciously sharing the most recent study results, along with her perspective, so ...
Feb 23, 2023•49 min
As an independent consultant, you represent both yourself and your business. In this episode, I focus on personal branding for independent consultants. This topic is commonly misunderstood, misapplied, or overlooked by consultants, yet it's an important foundational aspect for IC businesses so you build a reputation, become known for and sought after for what you do, and ultimately make business development much easier for your business. In this episode, I share how to Stand out as a consultant ...
Feb 16, 2023•25 min
In this episode, I interview Brian Owens, a current coaching client, former corporate colleague, and past consulting client. I invited him onto this milestone episode, #100, so you can hear and experience the way he thinks about selling. He’s sold over $100 million dollars in services over the course of his career, and roughly $1B in software and services. He’s an expert at selling, and I wanted you to hear how he thinks about sales (sneak preview: he doesn’t consider it selling), selling, and h...
Feb 09, 2023•52 min
As you think about what's happening in our economy, you may feel concerned about the “poly-crisis” and how it can potentially impact your business. I want you to know that you don't have to be in survival mode this year, hunkering down and hoping that the recession ends soon. Instead, you can use this as a benefit for your consulting business. Listen in as I share the 3 consulting trends I'm already seeing in 2023 and how you can apply those trends to your business so you make 2023 your best yet...
Feb 02, 2023•37 min
I talk to so many independent consultant business owners who say their business is shifting from the work they intended to do, which is consulting, to more of a staff augmentation role. And, they don’t want to be stuck feeling like a pseudo-employee where they have less autonomy doing work that isn’t fulfilling or challenging. You may be having the same experience. So today, I want to share with you the three main reasons why you’re landing contracting roles instead of consulting engagements. I ...
Jan 26, 2023•37 min
Do you get stuck because you’re not sure how to turn a conversation into a potential consulting opportunity? You meet a new potential client and you’re not sure how to progress from the initial meeting into a discovery process, and ultimately to a signed engagement contract. In this episode, I share a tool you can use to convert more of your conversations (networking, people you meet at events, your existing network, etc.) into consulting opportunities by identifying and building out what is the...
Jan 19, 2023•32 min
In this episode, we are wrapping up with the 5th and final step of the 5-part planning for independent business success process — Create a Follow-Through System To Make Achieving Your Goals Inevitable. It’s easy to set goals for your business. Where many independent consultants get stuck is consistently following through to bring their goals to life. You get busy with your day-to-day delivery for clients. And, when you do have time, business development can feel like a necessary evil that you ha...
Jan 12, 2023•32 min
In this episode, we dive into the 4th step of the 5-part planning for independent business success process — Embracing Obstacles. Listen in as I share why hitting obstacles in your business is healthy for growth in your business and as a CEO. The key to independent consulting success is to put yourself in a position to create and overcome obstacles, not avoid them. I walk you through a process to anticipate and plan for all the potential obstacles you’ll face, so the obstacles are built into you...
Jan 05, 2023•27 min
This week we’re continuing with the 5-part series on planning for independent business success. In part 1, I shared a formula to assess the past 12-months of your consulting business so you have a clear and accurate baseline from which to set goals for the next 12-months. Part 2 was all about goal setting. I shared a unique approach you can take to set effective goals, specifically for your independent consulting business. Now it’s time for part 3 of the 5-part strategy — creating your 12-month ...
Dec 29, 2022•29 min
Last week, we took a deep dive into step one of the 5-part series, Planning for Independent Business Success. I shared a formula to assess the past 12 months of your business so you have a clear and accurate baseline from which to set goals for the next 12 months in your consulting business. This week, I share part 2 of the 5 part process, Goal Setting. There’s a unique approach you can take to set effective goals for your independent consulting business. Tune in as I share how to set goals for ...
Dec 22, 2022•45 min
It's planning season! As we prepare to turn the calendar over and welcome in a new year, I’m going to be sharing the 5-step strategy to plan for independent business success in the next 12 months. Over the next five weeks, I'm going to walk you through a five-part process you can use to plan for the best year you've ever had in your independent consulting business. This process will be broken down into bite-sized pieces, so that you can implement it in between episodes and really step into Janua...
Dec 15, 2022•29 min
If you find that your business isn't hitting the numbers and giving you the fulfillment, joy, and value you want then I encourage you to tune in to this episode. I’ve been working on new tools to simplify and make business more effective for my clients and this concept of micro-skills was born. It’s been so valuable in making it easier to be a successful business owner, and I want to share it with you. Listen in as I discuss what these micro-skills are, a three-step framework that you can use to...
Dec 08, 2022•34 min
In this episode, I share an incredible game changer I recently implemented in my business. I recommend this strategy for you, as I know for sure it will be a game changer for you too. What is this game changer? I had a four day solo corporate retreat and it brought so much clarity and rejuvenation to my business. So in this episode, I’m sharing all the behind-the-scenes. In this episode, I will share my experience with having a corporate retreat for my business, why you should have one for your ...
Dec 01, 2022•37 min
Relationships are the best way to fill your consulting pipeline. However, consultants frequently hit a challenge when they want to transition from a “networking” call into an opportunity. There are three common reasons your conversations aren't converting. In this episode, I will share what those three reasons are, examples of best practices to convert an opportunity and strategies to convert conversations into opportunities. Click here to get full show notes and more information. And for more o...
Nov 24, 2022•30 min
As an independent consultant who’s juggling everything for your business. Everything is on your shoulders. It’s so common for independent consultants to experience burnout, either situational burnout or overall burnout. Burnout isn’t inevitable. It’s not part and parcel of being an independent consulting business owner. In this episode, I share the formula to overcome and prevent burnout and specific strategies to implement for yourself so you’re able replace the stress, doubt and worry with fee...
Nov 17, 2022•44 min
This is the time of year when pricing becomes a hot topic for you as a consulting business owner as you think about your pricing strategy and what you want it to look like moving into the new year. With so many pricing options out there to choose from, I want to present you with a risk-free pricing approach you can take as an independent consultant to ensure you’re not leaving money on the table and your pricing is commensurate with the value you're delivering to your clients. Regardless of whet...
Nov 10, 2022•26 min
Value-based consulting fees are where you base your consulting fees on the client’s perceived value (tangible and intangible) from the services you provide. Value-based pricing is a form of fixed fee pricing. You probably either have it in place, been thinking about putting it in place or you might be curious about value-based pricing and its benefits. This is a pricing concept that’s very widely discussed in our industry and one of the things I see so often is that there’s an underlying fear of...
Nov 03, 2022•35 min
When what you do comes naturally to you, it’s common to underestimate, overlook, or even completely miss the value, benefits, and impact you create for your clients. This results in common pricing mistakes that have a huge impact on your business. Understanding the effects of these pricing mistakes will help you decide on what to do when it comes to the overall growth and success of your business. Listen in as I share the seven specific consulting pricing mistakes we want you to avoid and what e...
Oct 27, 2022•32 min
Whether your business is slow or thriving, I highly encourage you to listen to this 2-part series on what to do when your business is slow. Last week in EP. 083 Why Your Consulting Business Is Slow , I shared the 4-root causes that are slowing down your consulting business. This week l am giving you four detailed examples of these root causes and the 4-step process you can use to overcome this “slow period” and really build a strong foundation for you as a business owner so you can regain moment...
Oct 20, 2022•33 min
This may feel like a gut punch, but the REAL reason your consulting business is slow is YOU. You created the slow cycle in your consulting business and on today’s podcast, I walk you through why that’s true and how to turn this around to get back to a robust pipeline and ultimately a thriving business. Whether your business is slow or thriving, I highly encourage you to listen to this 2-part series on what to do when your business is slow. This week I am sharing the 4-root causes that are slowin...
Oct 13, 2022•31 min
In this episode, I interview one of my independent consultant clients, Maria Balcazar Tellez. Listen in as she provides invaluable insights from behind-the-scenes into how she’s running a successful independent consulting business. Maria shares how she's been able to transform from employee-based thinking into the CEO-level mindset required for a successful business owner, how she’s increased her pricing and her pricing decision-making process, what's led to her creating a well-known reputation ...
Oct 06, 2022•39 min
This may come as a surprise but believe it or not, for some IC business owners having a full pipeline is a source of anxiety. Without some intervention, it’s common to self-sabotage and kill the momentum that you've created in your independent consulting business. In this episode, I share how to handle the times when you’ve landed too much consulting business, or are on the verge of landing too much consulting business. I share insights into the business owner mindsets that work best when it com...
Sep 29, 2022•26 min
Last week, I talked about the three components of the successful IC business owners' routine, and this week I am giving you a deep dive into one of those components, which is the Quarterly Business Focus Project. Tune in as I outline this concept of a Quarterly Focus Project in more detail, so you can put it into practice in your own consulting business. In this episode, I share what The Quarterly Focus Project is and why you need one. I walk you through the 8-part anatomy of an effective Quarte...
Sep 22, 2022•33 min
Having a routine is critical to your success as an independent consulting business owner. Routines help you Maximize your independent consultant business owner time Manage through conflicting priorities Balance working on your business with working in your business Ensure you’re proactively progressing toward your goals and business vision Cut down on being reactive and wasting time on business activities that don’t move the needle You know how important routines are. But, what should you includ...
Sep 15, 2022•31 min
If you're thinking, “I'm bad at business development”, it’s imperative to tackle this head-on. You're running a business and you need to be able to sell. Otherwise, you don’t have a business. I am here to help you with this work by sharing everything you need to know about overcoming “being bad at business development.” It might be true that you’re bad at it, what should you do? You might be lying to yourself that you’re bad at business development. I’ll explain how to figure out if you are (uni...
Sep 08, 2022•29 min
As an independent consultant, when you think about negotiations, one of two things occurs. You either try to do everything in your power to avoid negotiating because it feels so uncomfortable, or you end up rushing through the process, just trying to make it go away. In either case, what ends up happening is you're running a business that feels regretful since you've agreed to something that you wish you hadn't, or you question and self-doubt wondering what you may have left on the table. In thi...
Sep 01, 2022•30 min
In this episode, I interview one of my independent consulting business owner clients, Jennifer Lemmert. Listen in as Jennifer shares her expertise in communication and how you can claim your own unique voice and branding so that you establish a reputation in your industry and are sought after for the type of services and impact that you offer. Jennifer also shares some behind-the-screen insights into her business. Specifically, she talks about the fear of failure that kept her stuck in her busin...
Aug 25, 2022•49 min
You may be in a position where it feels like you have a pretty short window left to generate any impactful revenue for the remainder of this year, but there's no reason to write off this year. I want to talk with you about something that you can be implementing now to impact the rest of your year. I'm calling it the Quick Wins Business Development Strategy. The quick wins business development strategy will help you make a powerful impact on your business pipeline, your revenue for the remainder ...
Aug 18, 2022•34 min
