What You'll Take Away from the Podcast
Are you an independent consultant who’s ready to grow your business into a predictable, sustainable revenue stream?
And at the same time, you want to ensure your business doesn’t take over your life, like your corporate job did?
The Grow Your Independent Consulting (IC) Business is a podcast that shares the blueprint to exactly how you can make that desire a reality.
Each week, Business Coach Melisa Liberman, brings you solo insights or informative guest interviews that will help you to accomplish your Independent Consultant business goals.
It’s time to get clear on exactly what you want and how to achieve it so that you can finally transform your work into a true business.
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Show Notes for Episode 133 What To Do When The Market Is Soft For The Independent Consultant
Show Notes for Episode 130 The Surprising Reason To Build a Virtual Talent Bench for Your Independent Consulting Business
Show Notes for Episode 129 How to Generate Leads for Your Consulting Advisory Retainers
Show Notes for Episode 125 The 5 Steps To Transition Out Of Hourly-Based Billing For Consultants
Show Notes for Episode 123 A Simple Strategy to Revive The Relationships You’ve Neglected In Your Network
Show Notes for Episode 122 How to Elevate Your Consulting Sales Process To Command Higher Fees
Show Notes for Episode 121 Four Tools For Consistent Consulting Lead Gen (Even When You’re Busy)
Show Notes for Episode 120 Using Retrospectives To Unlock Continuous Improvement in Your Independent Consulting Business
Show Notes for Episode 119 Premature Consulting Proposals: A Costly Mistake To Avoid
Show Notes for Episode 118 How To Get Powerful Testimonials From Your Consulting Clients
Show Notes for Episode 117 The Best Strategy To Get Your Foot In The Door At A New Consulting Client
Show Notes for Podcast Episode 115 What It Takes To Succeed As An Independent Consultant with Jon Younger Ph.D.
Show Notes for Podcast Episode 113 Convert Speaking Opportunities into Consulting Leads
Show Notes for Episode 112 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 111 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 110 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 109 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 108 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 107 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 106 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 105 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 104 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 103 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 102 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 101 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 100 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 099 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 098 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 097 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 096 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 095 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 094 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 093 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 092 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 091 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 090 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 089 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
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Show Notes for Episode 087 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 086 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 085 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 084 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 083 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 082 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 081 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
Show Notes for Episode 080 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
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Show Notes for Episode 078 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business with Melisa Liberman podcast.
In this episode, I share how to approach contract negotiations so that you can run a business can run a business where you replace the regret and second-guessing with a process that generates new business, where you feel fairly compensated, and where your clients are getting value.
In this episode, I interview one of my IC business owner coaching clients, Jennifer Lemmert. Jennifer is so transparent as she shares how to create your unique voice and branding so you establish a reputation in your industry and are sought after for what you offer as an independent consultant.
In this episode, I share a strategy you can be implementing now to impact the rest of your year and set yourself up for growth in the direction where you want to take your business next year. I'm calling it the quick wins business development strategy. Listen in to learn more.
Balancing lead generation with working on your business can be challenging. Today, we're going to fix this! Listen in as I share the root causes of procrastinating lead generation and the 3-part lead generation procrastination remedy that you can implement for your independent consulting business.
To help you turn a recession into a competitive advantage for your independent consulting business, I share several tangible strategies and tips that you can apply to your independent consulting business to prepare for the recession and ensure you’re recession-ready.
Without giving yourself credit as a business owner, you end up self-sabotaging, plateuing, stalling, and feeling much less joy and fulfillment. You’ll learn why giving yourself credit is so important to the success of your business and what it looks like when you’re not giving yourself credit.
In this episode, I interview one of my podcast listeners turned IC business owner coaching clients, LeAnne Lagasse. Listen in as she shares a broad range of insights including how she's created a very strong reputation for her consulting services and a unique, compelling consulting niche.
It’s challenging to take time off as a consulting business owner. It’s an investment of time and money. You’re foregoing billable time and the time to work on your business. In this podcast, I share 3 strategies to maximize time off as a business owner.
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. I share the 3-part formula to taking vacation as an independent consulting business owner without worrying about leaving money on the table.
Listen in as I interview one of my IC business owner clients, Susan K. Moore. Having been an IC for 31 years, this certainly makes her a pioneer & a veteran of our industry, and someone from who we can gain valuable insight & lessons learned from operating a 7-figure business over multiple decades.
In this episode, I share a simple way for you to create an effective business plan for your independent consulting business. This approach to the IC business plan will ensure you’re crystal clear on the results you want to create and that you have a simple, yet powerful way to achieve those results.
Are you waiting for permission before raising your consulting fees, without realizing it? You’re in charge. You get to decide when you're going to raise your consulting fees. Listen in as I share the three prerequisites to implement so you don’t leave money on the table in your consulting business.
Listen in as I interview one of my independent consulting business owner clients, Nicola Kastner. She shares the lessons learned from launching her second consulting business, and what she's done differently to create a much more sustainable, fulfilling, and predictable business for herself.
Want to establish an effective independent consulting lead generation routine? I share the three must-haves to incorporate into your solo consulting operating procedures so that you've got an effective, easily repeatable, and results-creating lead generation routine for your IC business.
As a consulting business owner, you’ll need to turn down opportunities from time to time. Here’s the 5-part process that will help you decide whether or not to turn down a consulting opportunity. And, if you decide to turn down the opportunity, how to do it without burning a bridge or feeling regret.
In this episode, I share the six thought components that you want to develop and optimize as an IC business owner so that you can purposefully and intentionally operate and grow your business with more confidence and capability, and ultimately work less, earn more with more flexibility and ease.
If you’re experiencing revenue plateaus in your IC business, the market, sales skills, and time deprivation are not to blame. Listen in to learn what’s standing in the way of you making more money with less worry in your independent consulting business.
If you hate everything to do with selling or think that you are terrible at it, then this episode is for you. Listen in as I share the three most common mindset shifts that most independent consultants need to make so that you can earn more money, and do it with more ease.
Does the feeling of greed creep up when thinking about pricing in your business? If so, your subconscious thoughts about greed are running a good chunk of your business. And as a result, creating a dynamic where you're underearning and overworking. Here's what you should do about it.
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. On today’s episode I share another type of margin that most independent consultants overlook.
Implementing different strategies for lead generation to ensure a consistent flow of leads into your solo business is key. In this episode, I share how to leverage assessments to elevate your independent consulting lead generation.
Video is a powerful way to get in front of your target consulting clients. You will hear from my guest today, RJ Parrish, that “video is this huge opportunity for all of us, but there's still some friction & reluctance for a lot of people to use it…let’s break down some of those barriers today.”
Our guest today is Sara Conde who shares strategies and tips regarding establishing your repeatable set of back office processes for invoicing, collection, bookkeeping, taxes and insurance. She also shares her take on the future of independent consulting, including eye-opening statistics.
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 Assistants as he shares when to hire a virtual assistant as well as how to hire, manage, communicate with and retain a VA.
Juggling client delivery with advancing your business goals can be a big challenge for independent consultants. There are many solutions to this challenge. And one of them is hiring a Virtual Assistant or VA. To do so effectively, here are 9 mistakes to avoid and the 6 steps to follow to hire a VA.
In part 3 of this 3 part series on undercharging in your consulting business, I share the 5-step process to overcome undercharging as a consultant. Combine this 5-step process with the methods on how to determine if you’re undercharging and the root causes as to why you’re undercharging as a solo consultant.
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 are 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.
Almost every independent consultant I talked to is undercharging in some way. This can be blatant or subtle but no matter where you're at in that spectrum, it's not a problem. There are five tools that can help you to figure out for yourself if you are undercharging. Listen in to learn more.
Setting up operating policies for your consulting business helps you create an experience that's representative of you as a business owner and as a consultant for your clients. Listen in to learn how policies help you avoid making mistakes and also protect your energy as a business owner.
As an independent consultant, you might be wondering when is the best time to implement a CRM solution for my consulting business? My guest today, Reuben Swartz, shares his behind-the-scenes insights from his experience developing a CRM specifically for the independent consultant.
Most of the time, we don't achieve the work-life balance we wanted when we became independent consultants. 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. Listen in to learn how.
One of the reasons independent consultants leave corporate is to achieve a work-life balance. But then 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. It is possible to correct this imbalance. Listen in to learn how.
There is ONE difference between the consultant who has an overflowing stream of leads coming to them compared to the consultant who's struggling to figure out how to attract leads and create a pipeline. Listen in as I dive in and reveal what this difference-maker for lead generation is.
Most consulting businesses track financial metrics around cash flow but this is not the entire picture of their business health. There are four metrics that really matter. Tune in as I share what these metrics are and their impact on your bottom line.
Setting yearly goals can feel overwhelming. There’s one major adjustment you can make to your planning process to create the feeling of inevitability for yourself and your consulting business. Tune in as I share exactly how you can make achieving your year-end plan inevitable.
If we don't know where we want to head, we're never going to get there. We all know this, but a lot of times, we let planning fall by the wayside. Designing your IC business vision is the crucial precursor to making more money, making more impact, and working less. Listen in to learn more.
The year-end review process is an important success habit that every independent consultant should implement. It’s the difference between you having a successful year or stagnating. Listen in as I share how to conduct a year-end review process that's both effective and fun.
My guest, McLean Robbins shares key insights that she's gathered through the State of Independence study. Specifically, she provides actionable tips that you can apply to yourself and to your own consulting business as you're looking to grow your impact in the next 12 months.
Strategic thinking is the ability to innovate, to approach a goal from the bigger picture and/or to problem-solve more creatively. It’s a critical component to the success of your consulting business. Listen on to learn how to make your strategic thinking practice consistent and effective.
I’m frequently asked questions about coaching such as “what is a coach”, “who needs a coach” and “what are the benefits of working with a coach?” In today’s episode, I share a well-rounded perspective of what it looks like to be coached from both a coach and coachee’s perspectives.
After working with 100s of independent consultants, I’ve seen several common themes that impact almost all of them. The biggest is under-earning. Listen as I share the five ways that I see consultants creating their own under-earning and what to do about it.
Collaborating with other ICs can ease the sense of isolation and help your business thrive. My guest today, Will Bachman, was aware of this fact. As a result, he founded Umbrex, a global community for ICs that creates opportunities to build relationships with peers and share lessons learned.
Resignations are at a record-breaking 10.9 million open jobs as of July 2021. This has produced a lot of opportunities for you as a solo consultant. I will share with you three specific ways that you can leverage this movement to increase your pipeline and close lucrative high-paying projects.
The job outlook for consultants is expected to increase by 14% through 2028. There is so much opportunity for independent consultants to leverage. Listen in as my guest, Brian Hoffmeyer, SVP Market Strategies at Beeline, shares some strategies to build and grow your IC businesses.
According to Dr. Brené Brown, the “Vulnerability Hangover” is “the gut-wrenching feeling of shame and fear right after we undertake an emotional risk.” It’s a powerful tool for you as a business owner. Listen in to learn more.
Today I’m calling out the 5 mistakes you could be making with your consulting service offering so you can address them, and in turn, start earning more, having a consistent pipeline and feeling more fulfilled in the work you do because you're landing ideal clients you can’t wait to work with.
A common deal-killing mistake that ICs make is selling based on the assumption that a client needs your offer rather than what the client cares about. Today, I take a deep dive into this deal-killing mistake and provide an alternative approach to knowing what a prospect cares and not just assume.
Too many independent consultants are trapped in staff augmentation roles. These types of roles lead you to be underpaid, overworked and under-utilized. As a result, when you’re stuck in staff aug, you’re not creating the income and impact you desire.
Ready to finish the year strong in your consulting business? Listen in as I share a simple tool that you can use to help you finish the year strong and build momentum in your consulting business as you move into next year.
If you approach selling consulting in the same way you approach a job search, you’ll end up under-earning and under-utilized. In this episode, I share 2 differences between a job search and selling consulting services, so you can avoid these costly mistakes.
As a consultant, if you treat your business development process like a job search, you’ll trigger a feast or famine situation. Making the distinction that you’re a consultant, not a contractor or employee is important to increase the income and impact you’re making in your business.
There are six processes and routines that serve as a blueprint for your consulting business, to ensure you meet your business goals without sacrificing your personal life. Listen so you know how to establish a scalable and predictable business that consistently meets or exceeds its business goals.
As an Independent Consultant, selling is a part of the job. If you're stuck in this quandary of hating sales but knowing you need to sell in order to succeed as an independent consultant, this episode is for you. I share three strategies you can use to sell like a pro, even if you hate sales.
If you're not reaching your business goals, or if you're hitting them too easily, this episode is for you. I share the one success strategy that most independent consultants are not aware of. It’s a foundational ingredient that you’ll need if you want to grow and scale your business.
Lead generation doesn’t have to be a struggle for you as an independent consultant. Make it easier by avoiding the three most common lead generation mistakes that I share with you in today's episode, so that you stop underearning and take back control.
Listen in as I explain the concept of a compelling consulting offer. With this type of offer, you’ll move into the driver's seat of your business and escape that feast or famine cycle. Through a compelling offer, you’ll become known for and eventually sought after for what you do.
Listen in as I share my Double Method for Independent Consultants, a strategy you can use to get out in front of your business so that you're not at the mercy of it anymore and double your revenue without working more. Developing your consulting-specific business plan should be a guiding force for you as a business owner.
Most consultants think the most important skill they need is selling or negotiating. No, your success as a business owner is directly tied to how well you manage your negative emotions. Is that surprising? It was for me.
I want to share with you exactly why managing negative emotions is so crucial, and how you can manage through and continue working in spite of the negative emotions.
In this episode, I share a lead generation method to uncover new consulting clients. I’ve been using this method for over 9 years, and it’s so simple that I didn’t even realize I was marketing. I’ll walk you through this lead generation technique for your consulting practice, and share how it’s the most efficient method I’ve found to generate new leads for your independent consulting business.
As an independent consultant, it’s important to recognize that the approach you leveraged when you were an employee won’t work the same way and can even backfire on you.
In today’s episode, I share with you three common mindset traps that I see independent consultants make, that slow down the growth of their business and what to do about them.
In the episode, I will share with you the critical business question that you should ask to set yourself up for success in the second half of the year, so you finish the end of the year strong. Next, I help you understand what action plan to put in place based on your answer. I finish the episode with the two goal traps to avoid and 3 success strategies to make sure you hit (and even exceed) your business goals for this year. Listen in to learn more.
As an Independent Consultant, it’s important to refresh the way you think about money so you don’t fall into the trap of underearning and overworking. It’s a shift from the old employee mindset to a business owner mindset in the way you think about money. Listen in to learn how to avoid the employee mindset money traps and make the shift to the business owner mindset to help you to grow your business.
When you leave your corporate job, you're no longer confined by corporate life. That means you control your time. Allowing clients to control your priorities is a mistake Independent Consultants frequently make. Listen on as I share with you three ways that you can drop the employee mindset around time, and start managing your time like a successful IC business owner.
Scaling up is one the most exciting times in your IC business. This is a time where you know that your service offerings are good, you have clients coming in consistently, and you have a regular cash flow. This is what you’ve been working towards. So how do you ensure that your systems and processes will sustain your business growth?
Listen in as I share with you six tools that will help you establish a strong foundation, and that you’ll be able to grow smoothly and without roadblocks.
One of the best ways to maximize efficiency within your IC business is by utilizing productivity tools to assist with streamlining the systems and processes that keep it running. Productivity tools can create efficiencies in a number of areas across a business, including task management, strategy and planning, note-taking, and communication. The right selection of tools is key to improving productivity and efficiencies in your IC business. Listen in as I share the six time-saving tools that I use in my own business and exactly how I use them for maximum productivity and efficiency.
Do you feel obligated to check client emails, texts, and voicemails at all hours? Do you feel frustrated with your clients for placing unreasonable demands on your time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to revisit your boundaries. Unless you set effective boundaries, rather than you controlling your business, your business will control you, which can quickly lead to overwhelm and burnout. Listen in as I share three steps you can use to establish client boundaries and three strategies to avoid the possible pitfalls.
Listen on as I share with you four tactics you can use to fix your dry consulting pipeline and generate a steady sales pipeline with leads and prospective clients. If you’re ready to start generating a consistent stream of leads, this episode is for you.
Listen on as I share with you four specific reasons why your pipeline is empty and help you to never be in this situation again. Once you understand the root causes of an empty pipeline (hint: it’s not a lack of time), then you can be proactive in your sales strategy and avoid this nightmare situation. Instead of panicking, use my 26 Minute Lead Generation Method as a part of your larger strategy to ensure that your pipeline is filled with a steady stream of leads.
Listen on as I share how to get clear on your ideal client persona, so you create a pipeline of ideal consulting clients. This process will help you gain more confidence and clarity in terms of how you should be marketing your business.
Listen on as I share the 4 most common mistakes made on the first call with your ideal prospective client and my 5-part formula for making the first call with your ideal prospective client productive and easy.
On Episode 007, I share the formula you can use to motivate your ideal prospective client to book the first call with you. This formula will not only result in your prospect booking an initial call, but they’ll also be excited to meet with you.
I’m sharing a doable, effective, and simple way to find your ideal consulting clients. You can fill your pipeline with higher-quality, and more volume of your ideal clients, not just any clients. This simple process will show you how.
I’m sharing with you the 9 ingredients that you need to accomplish time flexibility, money, and the impact that you want to be making while scaling your business and maintaining a strong IC foundation.
I’m sharing a simple framework that you can use to determine if it’s time to return to corporate or if you should continue working as an independent consultant.
I’m sharing why client dependency is a problem (beyond the obvious risk) for Independent Consultants, how to find the root cause of why you’re depending on one client, and how to diversify your business (even if you think you don’t have time..
Business development is a critical component to the growth and survival of your Independent Consulting company. Business development includes executing activities that create a pipeline of opportunities and a process to pitch, sell and close the work.
Finding time for new business development can be difficult for many Independent Consultants.
Quitting your corporate job and launching your Independent Consulting business is the first step. Finding people to actually use your service is a key to your success and survival as an I.C. During my journey, I have learned many lessons about landing clients, and I want to share them with you.
Most ICs think the quality and helpfulness of their network and the economy are the biggest barriers to landing new clients
This podcast is for you if you’re an Independent Consultant and
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You’re worried you won’t be able to maintain a steady flow of clients (and income)
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You’re struggling to balance working on your business, while also delivering client work
- You haven’t shifted from thinking as an employee to thinking as a business owner and CEO