finding my own way forward, 1 year later

(also know as: rejiggering, repackaging, reworking, revisiting, reminding)

This summer, I marked my first full year of independent consulting.  Though I started my business back in 2001, I have either worked full-time or under contract nearly all of those years in between.  Oh and I was gainfully, blissfully unemployed here and there too. But once I "decided" (aka, due to the realities of today's marketplace), I ventured out on my own last year, full time, all in, committed.

I often have people ask, How did you get started? and the truth is, I took an "it takes a village" + "modified shotgun" approach.  I knew that I had some marketable skills.  And I knew that the market I wanted to serve could use these skills.  So wrapping up my team, I set out on learning as much about this process as I could.  I really didn't want to take a bunch of missteps early on, and I needed some real life perspective from people who were out there making it happen.

But beyond that, I wasn't exactly sure how to package my services. I did a lot of reading and decided that an hourly rate wasn't for me, selfishly, because I didn't WANT to track hours!!  I did so much of that as a contractor and frankly I didn't think it served my clients.  I decided, better to just set a project fee and deliverables and go with that.  Everyone knows what they're getting into and what they're getting out of it.  Just seemed sensible.  I assumed that I'd probably take a beating on my actual hourly rate early on because I just didn't know how to estimate my time yet.  I knew that I'd build that into the learning process.  I knew I'd take some clients that maybe didn't completely line up, but I also knew that if I focused on the things I'm passionate about - namely, entrepreneurs, women and food - and employed a fair amount of patience and faith, I'd end up in the right place.

All of this turned out to be true.  I gained amazing clients - not even a clunker in the bunch.  Sure, I might be running on minimum wage rates with some of them, but heck, I didn't even care.  I was learning so much about what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, how long it would take and what I'd need to invest to get the job done.  It was a perfect experiment all around.

So, since the late summer, I've spent some time looking back at my business plan and assessing where I was in my own strategy - this elusive thing that I help my clients with on a daily basis.  How was *I* doing against my stated goals: revenue (by project, by month, by hour), clients (type and number), margin, turn time, etc. And using the knowledge of the past year, I set about creating an improved vision.  No, I didn't decide to turn everything on its ear.  But I did decide that I needed to shift a few things, repackage a few other things and reassess my own expectations a bit.

Here's what I learned:

• It takes twice as long to do a project than I thought - both in actual hours, and in duration of engagement.  Why?  Because entrepreneurs need coaching.  And without setting expectations about how that coaching would occur, I spent too much time coaching and not enough time doing.  Next, because I wasn't my client's only priority, and they weren't my only client, general things took longer than I thought.  Also, adding in other complementary services - key to my offering - added another layer of time and complexity.  I know better now.
• I revel in strategy work.  Sure, I love some of the tactical stuff too.  But sitting down with my entrepreneurs and talking with them about their future of the business and then turning that into solid documentation of how to proceed, where to go, what to do and who to take along for the ride?  Pure bliss.  I even like creating financial models.  Go figure.
• Coaching is fun, and inevitable.  Twice in a day last week - the very same day - two completely unrelated people articulated my work with entrepreneurs as "you're like a business life coach."  Huh.  Never exactly thought of it that way, but it's so true. The entrepreneur is the business, and the business is the entrepreneur (even if you have a staff of 12).  Getting all of the goals, identity issues, self-fulfilling trouble spots, needs and keys to success down on paper - aka, recognized and articulated - is such an invigorating process for clients.  Once they see the vision, understand the journey and can see themselves walking down the path to success?  Electrifying.
• Entrepreneurs want RIGHT NOW ACTION, but have no time.  The duration issue is as relevant for them as it is for me.

And here's what I decided:

• I'm going to repackage and offer a more diverse selection of services, based on the client need.  Some may need a longer-duration project; but some may need a one day intensive launch.  Some may want a 6-month small group seminar,  some may need one-on-one coaching.  Some may need strategy, others may need tactics.  And I can wrap these all up in different services and not only meet or exceed the client expectations, but also keep my own head on.
• I'm going to set better expectations on client:consultant interaction so everyone understands what they're in for.  Pricing and deliverables aren't enough to keep things clear and manageable.
• I'm going to lean heavily toward strategy (though that's not at all different from where I'm at today), and I'm going to make it my focus.
• I'm going to update my identity statement, key messages, audiences, website and marketing collateral.  Evolve or die, people.

And though it's easy to see how cumbersome and time-consuming this business/self work can be, I've also learned that it's critical.  Every business needs a health check once a year.  I'm going to give that to myself so that I can give better to my clients.  Does this sound familiar, entrepreneurs?  We are our businesses, our businesses are our lives.  Our health - in business and in life - is all we really have.  And that's a glorious thing to be responsible for.  Carry on.