Steps to Become an Independent Consultant

Most professionals over 50 think launching a consulting practice means changing their LinkedIn headline and waiting for inquiries. That's why most consultants struggle to land paying clients. The ones actually generating revenue made themselves significantly easier to hire by building proof before asking for money. 10 portfolio career moves that make landing consulting clients 10x easier: 1. Create a one-page case study documenting a real problem you've solved with specific, measurable results - companies buy proven solutions, not impressive credentials 2. Build a micro-offer priced at $2-5K that clients can approve without lengthy committee processes - small initial wins consistently convert into larger retainers 3. Position yourself in a genuinely searchable niche - "supply chain optimization for mid-market manufacturing" generates qualified calls while "business consultant" creates noise 4. Leverage your previous employer network strategically - former colleagues now hold decision-making roles at other organizations and already trust your judgment 5. Publish weekly thought leadership content on LinkedIn addressing your clients' specific pain points - consistent visibility creates inbound opportunities 6. Offer a free 30-minute diagnostic consultation - let prospects experience your expertise and thinking before they commit budget 7. Join industry associations and attend conferences where your ideal clients actually gather - meaningful relationships happen before contracts get signed 8. Build referral partnerships with complementary consultants serving the same client base - strategic collaboration beats isolated competition 9. Create a simple one-page website clearly showcasing your specific expertise and documented client results - credibility matters when clients research you 10. Follow up systematically with every warm connection from your network - most consulting engagements originate from conversations, not cold outreach Your accumulated expertise is genuinely valuable. But organizations aren't hiring potential or years of experience - they're hiring demonstrated proof you can solve their specific problem starting immediately. Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights: https://vist.ly/4hcc6 #consultingcareer #portfoliocareer #careerafter50 #jobsover50 #freelanceconsulting #consultingbusiness #secondcareer #independentconsultant #businessconsulting #careeradvice

If I were moving into consulting today, here's exactly what I'd do differently. Whether it's a pit stop on your way back to a full-time role or an intentional career pivot, these are the practical steps that actually matter. Not the ones I thought mattered when I started. The ones I learned through a lot of trial and error over the years. → Start before you quit Pick one project. Just one. Could be a friend's nonprofit that needs fundraising support. Your former colleague's startup that needs strategy support. Do it for free or cheap. Learn what consulting actually feels like versus what you imagine it feels like. → Build your bench of three You need three people who will vouch for your work. Not LinkedIn endorsements. Real humans who will pick up the phone when someone asks about you. Build these relationships while you still have a salary. → Create your "consulting math" Your hourly rate isn't your old salary divided by 2,080. That's employee math. Consulting math accounts for business development, admin, taxes, healthcare, and all those unpaid hours building proposals and doing bus dev. Start at 2.5x what you made hourly. Yes, really. → Master the 15-minute coffee/virtual chat Stop pitching services. Start asking better questions. "What's keeping you up at night about your organization?" beats "Here's what I can do for you" every single time. It's not going to bring in a client every time (in fact, it shouldn't). It's market research, relationship building, and the give-before-you-get mentality that I won't ever stop talking about. → Build your safety net first Six months of expenses. Non-negotiable. Because the confidence to walk away from bad clients comes from knowing you can pay your mortgage next month (and the month after). Here's the thing, consulting isn't about being an expert at everything. It's about being excellent at seeing what others can't see because they're too close to it. The best time to start? While you still have a job. To all the consultants out there, what would you add to the list?

This is the playbook I wish I had when I left corporate When I left my corporate job, I thought the transition to consulting would be easy. After all, I had the skills, the discipline, and the experience. But I quickly realized: What made me successful in corporate was NOT what would make me successful in consulting. Looking back, here’s the playbook I wish someone had handed me on Day 1: 1. Stop selling effort, start selling outcomes. No one cares how many hours you put in, they care about the business problem you solve. 2. Lead with a problem, not a résumé. Buyers don’t want your history but a solution to their urgent pain. 3. Specialize ruthlessly. A consultant solving one expensive problem will always beat a generalist doing “a little bit of everything.” 4. Validate before you scale. Test your offer with 5-10 real conversations before you build a website, logo, or funnel. 5. Sales is not optional. It’s the lifeblood of your business. Learn it. Practice it. Get comfortable with rejection. 6. Scope is sacred. Expanding scope without a new contract doesn’t make you “helpful.” It makes you broke. 7. Position yourself as a partner, not a vendor. Clients pay vendors for tasks, they pay partners for transformation. If I had followed this playbook from the start, I would have saved years of frustration and hit 7-figures faster. Now it’s the foundation I teach every new consultant who wants to escape corporate and actually win.

10 years ago, I had no idea how to start fractional consulting. If I were to start today, here's what I'd do: 1/ Don't overthink the admin 🖱️ Register for an LLC, get a basic bookkeeping invoicing tool, solid contract, and you're good. A quarter in, snag a free CRM. You don't need a website or newsletter at this stage. ⏩ Goal: Get to your first engagement as soon as possible 2/ Define your Highest & Best Use 🏋♀️ Consider all the things folks call you about, narrow down to the 3 business outcomes you are best at, put some metrics behind it and pivot your pitch and LinkedIn to focus here. ⏩ Goal: Do your best, don't do the rest 3/ Design your ideal schedule ⚖️ Consulting means you have many more options over how, when, and where you work. Think through an ideal week and ideal month, reverse out your work blocks you want. Full-time isn't the default. ⏩ Goal: Mindset shift from 9-to-5 to organizing work around your life 4/ Finalize your pricing 💰 Use a bill rate calculator to determine your hourly or retainer rate. Don't forget to layer the cost of PTO, benefits, and taxes IN your rate. Test if you prefer hourly engagements vs fractional residency vs project-based to see what works in this season for you. ⏩ Goal: Get that bread, on your terms 5/ Call the folks you want to be your clients 👯♀️ Almost always, your first clients are from your network. The barrier to start is just way lower. Who's values align with yours? Consider: - Previous employers who almost hired you - Former managers and leaders you would love to see win - Peers you worked alongside who you can talk in short-hand - Where there's a friendly leader with the exact business challenge you know how to solve ⏩ Goal: Run familiar water through new pipes Now, friends, there's one thing that so many folks miss... 6/ Align your skills to the business problem 🎯 I see so many consultant pitch their skills ("Hire me, I'm rad!") and it's up to the reader/client to fill in the blanks around how you'd fit in their world. Take the extra step to suggest where you can help the client achieve their goals. Do some research here. If you don't know, you can model their role + industry in ChatGPT and ask questions for likely scenarios. ⏩ Goal: Your expertise is a gift, make sure it's easy to see Use something like this pitch: "Hey __(friendly potential client)___, after __(X)__ years in corporate, I'm pivoting to fractional consulting and you are first on my mind. I remember ___(problem they need fixed)____ was something keeping you up at night. With ___(trend)___ ahead, I wanted to raise my hand to help. Recently, I achieved ___(exact problem you just solved with proof points)____. I think that experience could mitigate some risk for you next quarter. Do you have interest/budget for us to chat about a possible engagement to move the ball forward for you?" So, I'm curious - for those of you in it, what did I miss? What are the must-have tech tools for #Independent work right now?

Some questions hit my DMs and instantly tell me someone is thinking like a future consultant. Here’s one of them. “I’m leading regulatory affairs, active in industry bodies, and I’d love to take on advisory or consulting work on the side. How do I position myself?” This is the moment most people wait far too long for. They only think about consulting once they’ve left corporate - which means starting from zero. If you’re asking this now, you’re already ahead. From here, it comes down to four things: 1. Check your employment contract Not exciting, but essential. Some contracts block paid work that overlaps with your day job. Make sure anything you do is clean, compliant and conflict-free before you move. 2. Position yourself clearly “Regulatory affairs” is broad. “I help MedTech startups prepare for EU submissions with speed and confidence” is specific, valuable and memorable. Your niche is what people buy. And if you want to make your positioning crystal clear online, I’ve put together a free LinkedIn profile cheatsheet you can put into action straight away >>> https://lnkd.in/dZhubpFY ! 3. Decide how you’ll package your expertise Board advisory? Fractional? Interim? Mentoring? People won’t buy what they can’t understand. Give your expertise a clear shape. 4. Build visible proof Companies don’t buy years of experience - they buy evidence. Show the problems you’ve solved, the insights you share, the panels you contribute to. Make your track record easy to see. And yes, this approach works. A senior RA professional in our network picked one MDR pain point she understood deeply, shared short, practical insights around it, and within a few months she had inbound requests for paid advisory work - without ever leaving her full-time role. That’s the impact of clear positioning matched with visible expertise. If you’re thinking, “that could be me”, start small. Define your niche. Shape your offer. Get visible. Consulting isn’t about leaving your job. It’s about leveraging what you already know to create more impact, more influence and more income. What do you think - is consulting something you’ve ever considered?

I'm seeing a lot of green "open to work" profiles popping up the last 6 weeks...and I want to help. In the past I've followed these steps to secure consulting clients on LinkedIn. I've modified to help in your career search: Step 1- ID top 20 companies you'd like to work with and fit your strengths and scan open roles Step 2- ID 10 people in each company via LI (HR, C Suite, Department Head, Peers) Step 3- Follow / connect / support Step 4- Be an expert- Study / consume information from earnings reports, press releases, background bios, anything you can get your hands on. Step 5- Contribute on social posts in an authentic way....not just commenting "great post" or simply liking.  Note- Absorb posts and leave your POV in comments to increase your exposure and background, create a voice of authority. Step 6- ID opportunity for you to provide your expertise when needed (marketing concept, a strategic partnership, a new sales channel, etc...). Step 7- FREE CONSULTING- develop your opportunity into a one page overview for the company to review. Note- Document should contain the opportunity you see, clear solution, your expertise with solution if possible and the outcome you've experienced or anticipate. Step 8- Send your document to members of the team with a simple message "Hi ____, was thinking of (insert company)'s recent (insert event/announcement/your observation) and based on my experience there is a major opportunity for _____. Be happy to discuss this further, but thought this would be helpful for you or your team" Attach document. If connected on LI, send a brief video message introducing yourself, the idea and let them know you'll be sending over their way for review.  __________________________ Also, be sure to explore fractional consulting roles as they will lead to long term employment if you are a good fit.

Don’t tell your network you’re consulting... yet. I get it. You’re excited. You’re finally doing the thing. But before you go public, let’s make sure you’re actually ready to be seen. Because here’s what happens: You change your LinkedIn headline. You post something like, “Excited to be starting my own consulting business!” And then… silence. Crickets. Panic. Not because people don’t support you. But because you didn’t give them enough to respond to. So before you hit “announce,” do this: 1. Get clear on what you do. “Consulting” is vague. Are you helping with fundraising strategy? Accounting? Digital storytelling? Be specific enough that people get it, and can refer you. 2. Define who you help. Your old boss isn’t going to hire you to “do things.” But they might hire you if you say, “I help small orgs with $1–5M budgets streamline their communications and messaging.” 3. Tidy up your LinkedIn and bio. Make sure your profile reflects your new role, not just your old job. Show up like the consultant you are, not the employee you were. 4. Prep a short blurb. Something you can drop in DMs or emails that says: “Hey, I just launched my consulting business supporting [audience] with [service]. If you know anyone who could use this, I’d love to connect.” 5. Back yourself before you broadcast. Confidence isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being clear, helpful, and unapologetic about the value you bring. Your network wants to help you. But they need something to grab onto. Give them clarity. Give them direction. And then? Watch the doors start to open.

Are you thinking of stepping out of one of the large consulting firms? Walk into the halls of the top MBA programs around the world and you are sure to hear learners talking about THE "MBB." MBB, the Abbreviation for McKinsey, BCG, and Bain have for decades been one of the top employment choices for high ranking graduates. Their status and attraction power have become legendary and their somewhat shrouded secrecy only add to the allure. Certainly I have many colleagues and friends who made their mark at the most well known consultancies and have had amazing experiences along the way. The policy in consultancies of "Up or Out" seems to be reaching some limits as there are simply not enough "Up" positions for all the people hired in the last decade. Simply put, the boom in consulting is slowing down for many (although not all.) One interesting option some of the top performers are considering is to step out of the large firms, and either join a boutique player or start their own. I think both can be good choices, provided you follow a few key guidelines: 1. Consider how you add value and how closely this is connected to your target customer willingness to pay 2. Carefully build your Strategy and test your assumptions regularly against the market realities. You may well think you can outperform the MBB, and you may even be right, however if the market does not understand and trust your positioning it will be tough. 3. Understand your Niche and play there. Smaller consultancies and individual operators perform much better when they fill a Niche and become the very best at that. Even the largest multinationals now are becoming very adept at contracting with smaller niche agencies and talent provided they receive exceptional performance and value as a result. 4. Promotion, Branding, and Selling are a big part of the job: whether you are a senior partner or an independent contractor, you must become world class at your own promotion, your unique branding, and effective sales and closing systematically. What will people say about you when you have left the room? 5. DIY: Learn to Do It Yourself. Executives and Partners exiting the big agencies are used to having large global teams of assistants that can manage headaches including all the #technology for you. In a smaller firm and certainly as an independent you will need to become adept at handling some of this yourself, and knowing who to call and contract with for the rest. Lastly, and my biggest learning over the last 25 years is to build your network, nurture your global network, and #alwaysbelearning . How are you adding value to your networks consistently? If you are stepping out of a big agency and are thinking of joining a smaller firm or launching your very own #Strategy practice, share your questions in the comments and I will do my best to answer. Strategy is Mastery. https://on.ft.com/3UbRKho