Top 10 Lessons from 10 Tough Years as a Consultant

For those of us running a business or in charge of business development, 2020 has been a challenging year. The summer offers a chance to do some career reflection, a process which is meaningful to me as I celebrate my consultancy’s 10th anniversary. Coming out of the last recession in 2010, I was able to leverage an idea and key relationships to run a (somewhat) successful business for the past decade. I wanted to share some key lessons with my LinkedIn colleagues.

1. You cannot rely solely on tried and true ways to promote a business. In 2010, a solo business owner could use just a few marketing techniques to maintain and even build their business. The world is much more crowded now, so many professionals have had to increase the frequency and professionalism of their outreach efforts. People who are succeeding are using a broader marketing mix.
2. Sometimes, you can find a marketing technique with enduring power, however. Since 2014, I have published a new LinkedIn article 4-6 times a year in order to build and maintain my brand. This technique is successful because I send personalized LinkedIn messages to about 100 of my top contacts immediately following publication (the first hour is key to LinkedIn’s algorithm). These campaigns enable me to ‘touch’ valued connections with a more personal touch than an email blast.
3. Invest in your business. This has been my biggest challenge, but every sizable investment in my business has proved worthwhile. At the same time, I learned to delay certain investment decisions as long as possible. I sign up for paid events at the last minute and think very carefully before committing to a year’s upfront charge, as life changes quickly for a solopreneur.
4. Strategic Consulting work has proved elusive. My clients are mostly fellow solo business owners and some mid-sized organizations. They are by and large quite tactical and operate by instinct and informal plans that are not well documented. When I have tried to talk about pure strategy, their eyes often glaze over. Strategy can become a focus, but only in a limited way.
5. Relationships do matter, however. I have several clients contacts with whom I have worked for 9-10 years. In addition, I have relied on the counsel and support of many valued colleagues for much of that journey. To all, THANK YOU.
6. Find appropriate ways to show appreciation and concern. Some consultants are naturally gregarious, but many of us need to find a comfort zone in networking and relationships. I am more likely to attend a wake or pay a shiva call than take clients out to long dinners. Sincerity in any gesture is key.
7. Running a business makes one tougher. Not all clients are going to become friends or even enduring colleagues. As long as I get along with the vast majority of key contacts, all is well. In moving from full-time employee to consultant, I have become better at compartmentalizing. Gone are Saturdays spent worrying about a nagging work issue.
8. Learn to savor the positive moments. As a solopreneur, I may spend a lot of time alone, especially in the COVID era. So when I receive positive feedback, I try to take a breath and say thank you. I also find keeping a gratitude journal to be helpful.
9. A little kindness is vital these days. With so many of us working alone, I find that taking a little extra care with communications – especially avoiding terse emails - goes a long way. For some other great examples, see points 1 & 2 under “Wonderful Etiquette” on this post .
10. Try to help one person a day – While this has been my goal for some time, I actually find it harder since the Pandemic, as the natural interactions that would lead to an offer to help are more stilted in a Zoom networking environment. My offer of providing 10 minutes of free help on LinkedIn Profiles to anyone from recent college grads to late career types like me - still stands.  

A potential 11th lesson is to become “appropriately vulnerable” on social media. I see people online who have figured out how to do this effectively, but have not done so myself. Perhaps this is something that I can learn for the next 10 years!