Like you, I’m an independent consultant. In 2006, I founded Consultant Journal, the trade journal for independent consultants, and published my first book, Consulting Fees: A Guide for Independent Consultants. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have turned here for guidance on everything from consulting fees to client management.
Business owners like you turn here to learn how to make sound, strategic decisions and unlock ideas so they can grow their businesses and make a bigger impact. Although I became Consultant Journal with articles, such as Becoming a consultant, How to become a consultant, Setting consulting fees, Why become a consultant?, it’s grown into books, courses and coaching.
There’s a solid path to making better consulting decisions.
Are you facing these challenges with your consulting business?
You’re not alone. As the owner of several professional services businesses, including coaching and consulting, I’ve been through it.
I’ve started and scaled several businesses – and gone through some serious reboots because of business and life changes.
When I started my first consulting business, I never thought I’d have more than a lifestyle business. But things happened. A Fortune 500 company came calling. A blog post went viral. My book became a best-seller. The bottom fell out of the market for a key client. My life turned up-side down. I got offered a lucrative, game-changing consulting contract.
Each of those changes meant not just a change for my consulting company but a change in how I handled myself and my consulting firm as a leader. I get what it’s like to navigate shifts in your business and your personal life.
And I put it together with 25 years of coaching and consulting experience, an MBA, and studies in innovation and Wharton entrepreneurship.
Ready to start, reboot or scale your consulting business?
Running a consulting business and keeping it going can be overwhelming as you navigate twists and turns. Sometimes, it might feel like the tap is on full blast and other times it may feel like there’s just a trickle. You might not be sure which way to go or what makes the most sense. You might feel a bit alone as the people you originally gathered on your journey end up on different paths, different levels of success.
So what’s the secret to getting past this?
Your business doesn’t have to rest all on your shoulders.
Sure, you’re the owner. The founder. The one who built this thing. But there are ways to put systems, processes and safeguards in place so that the weight of the world isn’t on your shoulders.
As your business grows, the consulting business becomes about your vision, your system, your impact. It doesn’t have to depend on you doing all the work from scratch every time.
You can create scalable, easy to follow systems that bring success AND confidence.
When you change the way you approach your consulting business, you will shift the weight from your shoulders.
You will nurture relationships, amplify your impact, and change the way you generate revenue.
you can use systems and creative ideas to move to a new stage of consulting leadership.
And I’ll show you the way, put a light on your path, and help you listen to your own values and experience as we move ahead.
Andréa is a brilliant, insightful and passionate change maker who adeptly navigates complex systems via a broad ability to learn on her feet, leverage information, strategy and networks to lead development and build the best result. Centered by a ferocious commitment to ethical inquiry, Andréa uses her sophisticated wit and warmth to ask the right questions, listen with integrity and heart and focus on clear action steps to influence, lead and amplify impact.
Galen Hutcheson, Fly & Nest Consulting
Andréa supported me in creating a wonderful business plan and developing my confidence in moving forward with my goals. She was able to make sessions fun and feel rewarding each week. She considered situations, ideas and planning processes I didn’t even know existed and helped me access even more supports due to her in depth knowledge of funding, grants, and systems. Her added ability to be flexible and empathetic as I worked through processes was a huge bonus. I would highly recommend her.
Elisa Court, EC Family Services
Andrea is really wonderful to work with. She has exceptional skills in strategic planning, coaching, marketing, and project management. She taught me a great deal about social media and how to leverage it’s power. She is both highly skilled with numbers and data, and a true people person. Andrea is self-motivated, forward thinking, and one of the most intelligent and insightful people I know. She is constantly acquiring new skills and knowledge in many areas, notably social issues, trauma, innovation and cultural safety, in order to bring new and useful skills to her clients. One of the things I enjoy most about Andrea, though, is her enthusiasm for her work and for life in general. She is a lot of fun and a pleasure to work with!
Tracy Humphreys, Executive Director, BCEdAccess Society
You’re in the driver’s seat as we help guide you through the sometimes uncertain and challenging process of building your business. We’ll work together in a way that will leave you feeling supported in carrying out the vision, strategies and tools to build results.
Together, we’ll find a way to cut through the stress, uncertainty and overwhelm, tying it to a sound business framework.
We’ll focus on coming up with safe, sound, strategic systems and processes. This is a safe space to bring your worries, your vulnerability, your dreams and your real life.
No baloney. No pushy tactics. No selling you stuff you would rather do yourself. No sliding you along to a junior or outsourcing your trusted plan to an unknown stranger across the world. We’ll root our approaches in what works for you, what feels right and what aligns with best practices.
Ready? Let’s talk.
Andréa Coutu
PS: Still not sure you’re ready? Hey, I like to kick the tires and check things out too. Start with my Consulting Fees book and see how that feels. If you decide you want to move on to a strategy session or coaching, just let me know and I’ll credit it toward your first session.
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