In 2018, I started my own business. I should caveat that by saying that I started working for myself eight years ago as a freelancer, and so, I did have a bit of runway before truly jumping off the entrepreneurial cliff and making it all official. #truth
And so, what have I learned? Gosh. That’s a loaded question.
Here are the first eleven things that come to mind.
#1. Charge for your proposals.
When I first started pitching and landing clients, my proposals were awful. Long, wordy, formal. Yuck. And even worse, they were free!
What was I thinking??
Any seasoned entrepreneur knows that time is money. An hour here or there spent on someone else’s business adds up, and so, I found a way (with some help from my mentor) to start charging for my proposals. See my Content Playbook product here.
It totally works, for me and my future clients! It will work for you too.
#2. Be visible to the CEO on the regular.
If you are a consultant “reporting” into the head of marketing for a startup, and that head of marketing gets canned, where does that leave you?
I almost learned this lesson the hard way.
In my first official consulting gig, I spoke to the CEO, once. Totally the wrong way to roll when your income depends on that person's buy-in.
Did you catch that? Your income depends on the CEO’s buy-in.
And because I had minimal exposure to the CEO, I was nearly thrown out with the trash when my “client boss” was let go. Luckily, I survived the transition, but the lesson was learned.
Do you feel me?
#3. Show output, every week.
Sometimes the person you are working with inside a company is slower than you’d like. Busier I should say, to be fair. And your work is stuck in some sort of bottleneck.
This looks bad for you.
Because, as I mentioned in #2, the CEO will not understand your lack of output. And your “client boss” will surely throw you under the bus if they are called to the carpet for answers.
If the project you are delivering is being held up (in some cases, this is the classic sign of a bad client), you must keep delivering. Don’t wait for them to get back to you. Just keep delivering. Put it all on the status sheet and go, go, go.
If you’ve mastered #2, you’ll have a lesser problem with this one.
#4. Set goals for yourself and your clients.
This can be a challenge when you’re just getting started. You don’t really have any case studies. And future clients are always looking for those. You know in your heart and mind that your work will move mountains for your clients, but you’re not measuring it.
Stop. Think. Take the time to have the goals conversation with your clients up front. Get super clear on what metrics they are focused on improving, and set some goals.
In my world, we look at total audience, referrals, new users and conversions. We set a goal for each, and we run toward those goals, hard.
Proving your value with numbers is just like anything else in life. If you have a goal set for yourself, you can work your butt off to achieve it. If you don’t set any goals, you’re really just hoping that you make a difference, and in the world of a consultant, that doesn’t cut it.
Goals create motivation. Goals unlock your competitive spirit. Goals make things happen. #Goals.
#5. Learn to say no, tactfully, to scope creep.
It won’t happen with every client, but it will happen. Your client will ask you if you have any experience in Salesforce. And maybe you do. But then, that isn’t part of your engagement, is it? And so, you’re put in the old headlock of scope creep.
Note for the newbies: Scope creep is the subtle act of asking your consultant to do things that are not included in the terms of the engagement. Picture watercolor paint that bleeds outside the lines in the coloring book…. the lines are your scope. Get it?
In some ways, scope creep feels good. Your client trusts you enough that they want you involved in other parts of their business. Maybe they value your opinion, or maybe they just want to pull you aside to “pick your brain” on something unrelated to the engagement.
Here’s where you need to put on your big kid pants and hold the line.
Suggested script: I have someone else I can refer you to for this. This is something outside of scope. Did you want to revisit the engagement terms? Find a way to say it — NO — with a smile. Smiles make it all better.
#7. Don’t be afraid to test new skills on the fly.
With each engagement you take on, you must bring the most value to yourself and your clients you possibly can.
Did you notice that I said yourself first? I did this because I’ve learned that each and every engagement you take on will offer you new opportunities to learn more about your area of expertise.
So, if an opportunity presents itself for you to get involved in something you can and want to do for your clients, think about how many hours it will add to your week, and consider doing it.
Don’t be scared. If deep down you know you can deliver, you will.
And assuming your client is happy with the result, they’ll be hot-to-trot to refer you to your next all star client to do what you’ve just learned to do for them!
#8. Structure your work week in a way that works for you.
You don’t need to take client calls every day! You just don’t.
When you’re a consultant, you can set your own hours. You can establish a weekly plan that forces your clients and prospects into the scheduling grid of your creation.
Sure, a new client pops up and wants to chat right away, and maybe you make an exception. And maybe you don’t.
Because even if that new client can’t speak with you until next week, you’ll be ok. Your clients will respect your time. Your clients will respect you for being disciplined about your time. That shows your professionalism.
So, if you aren’t structuring your work week, start doing it. You’ll be relieved, trust me.
#9. Be realistic about how much time you have in a day.
Another lesson learned for me. When I was bright green and as excited as a black lab getting ready for the tennis ball in this business, I would chase all the tennis balls — regardless of the outcome. I never stopped to ask myself how much time I actually had to offer my clients, and I started finding myself up late at night and working on weekends to meet deadlines.
No, no, no. Stop. Think. Look at your schedule. Your whole schedule. Work, kids, activities, exercise, social events. How many hours do you actually have in a day to dedicate to your clients? How many days do you want to be working during the week? Are you ok with working weekends? I’m not.
You can make it all work within your timeframe if you are proactive about building your schedule and sticking to it. Get disciplined. Ask yourself how many clients you can actually take on and exactly how much time they’ll take from you, and make it make sense, for you. Don’t play fetch.
#9. Learn to say no to yourself.
I am a creative lunatic. My husband has actually said that, I think. I come up with new ideas, constantly, and while it’s one of my favorite parts of me, it’s also one of my downfalls.
Example: Today, I decide that I am going to start my own podcast. Old me might just start working on it. Right then and there. And this is something that really isn’t going to benefit me in that moment. Because there are other things that take a higher priority — like my client deliverables.
Just like the comments above on scheduling and scope creep. You’ve got to learn to say no to those things that pop up in your mind, AND you’ve also got to learn to say no to yourself.
#10. Learn to say yes to yourself.
You are the only you on this planet. And so, you do you. People are going to hire you because they want to work with you. Not because they like your website.
Your clients believe in you. So, make everything you create unique to your own personal style and mission, because deep down, you are doing this consulting thing for a reason, and it’s because you believe in you.
In business, you must trust in yourself. No matter what role you are in.
You must say yes to yourself when you have a great idea. You must say yes to yourself when you decide to offer a new service. When you press publish for the first, second, third time. You can and will own the space you are in, if you simply say yes to yourself. Build out your brand and embrace your unique journey, because your personal brand is hella important to your long-term success.
#11. Keep your head up!
Have you ever had a boss tell you to keep your head down? I have.
‘Keep your head down and look busy,’ I think was the direct quote.
But I don’t dig this mentality. Because if you’ve got your head down working (like they tell you to do), you’ll miss all of the action going on around you. If you’re living and breathing your job and not coming up for air, you won’t have time to find your unique superpower… your offering for the world.
And that’s what we consultants and solopreneurs are striving to achieve. We want to make a difference, our own way.
And so, I say hell no! to head down working. And hell yes! to heads up play. Always be watching the trends. Keep your eyes on the people in your industry that are doing amazing things. Use Google alerts to stay on top of the latest news. Build your vision and let it evolve. Loosen your grip and flow freely into your future self.
The business, the pride and the profitability will follow!
Cheers to a wildly successful 2020 and much love to all of my fellow consultants!
