Podcast
Grow Your Independent Consulting Business
Hosted by Melisa Liberman · EN
Are you an independent consultant who’s ready to grow your business into a predictable revenue stream while working on your own terms? The Grow Your Independent Consulting Business is a podcast that shares the blueprint to make your consulting business goals 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. She shares specific tools, actionable strategies, and techniques that successful independent consultants use to create the predictable, sustainable, and impactful independent consulting business you may not even realize is possible.
33episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
280. Are You Building the Consulting Business You Actually Want?
1w ago00:29:09Tap to summarizeYou left corporate for specific reasons.You want autonomy. Control over your time. Work that feels meaningful and is lucrative. A business that runs on your terms, not someone else's.Here's what happens instead for a lot of independent consultants: the business gets built one micro-decision at a time. You take the client that isn't quite right because it's in hand. You agree to the schedule compromise because the engagement is clear. You keep doing the execution work because that's what comes in. And then one day you look up and realize the business you've built doesn't look much like the business you intended.In Episode 280, Melisa Liberman addresses this directly. She opens with three real consultant scenarios: one who always wanted a boutique firm but is currently exhausted from solo travel and project work, one who wants to flip her revenue model from mostly self-delivered to mostly team-delivered and doesn't know how to adjust the plane while it's flying, and one who is successful on paper but landing staff augmentation work when what she wanted was strategic advisory.None of them built the wrong business on purpose. They built it through a series of invisible trade-offs that seemed small at the time.Melisa walks through two anchor questions every independent consultant should be able to answer, then a five-step process for getting clear on the business you actually want and starting to build toward it deliberately.If you've ever looked at your calendar and thought, "How did I get here? This business isn’t what I meant to build," this episode is where to start.Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:00] The question behind this episode: are you building the business you actually want?[00:03] Agenda overview[00:07] Companion resource: Grow Your Consulting Business book at melisabook.com[00:09] Two anchor questions: why did you leave corporate, and why haven't you gone back?[00:13] What actually happens: micro-decisions and invisible trade-offs[00:18] What does success actually look like for you?[00:20] Start from everything possible, not what feels realistic[00:23] The five steps to build the business you actually want[00:28] Put this episode into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Grow Your Consulting Business Book and Toolkit. Download free at melisabook.comFull Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-280Mentioned in this Episode: Episode 267 - https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-267Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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279. Consulting Revenue Down? The 90-Day Turnaround Plan for Independent Consultants
2w ago00:36:46Tap to summarizeYour booked revenue is below plan. Your pipeline can't close the gap fast enough. And you're wondering if it's time to go back to corporate. Or maybe your numbers are fine right now, but you've lived through a downturn before and you never want to be caught flat-footed again.Either way, this episode is your plan.In Episode 279, Melisa Liberman walks through a 90-day turnaround for independent consultants whose revenue has slipped below plan.From there, Melisa lays out the three steps that pull a consulting business out of a revenue dip and back into booked consulting work, fast. She also tells the story of Anna, an operations consultant who lost her primary client with no warning and no pipeline in place. What Anna did over the next 90 days is the clearest proof that you can turnaround from a downturn more quickly than you might think.If your revenue is down and you're not sure whether to keep pushing or cut your losses, this episode tells you exactly what to do and in what order.Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:00] Why revenue downturns happen and who this episode is for[00:03] Agenda overview[00:05] Companion resource: Grow Your Consulting Business book and toolkit at melisabook.com[00:06] What a downturn actually is — the two-condition definition[00:08] Do the math before assuming you're in one[00:09] 3 Components of the Turnaround Plan[00:27] Anna's story: from abrupt client loss to pillar client in 50 days[00:34] Steps to put this into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Grow Your Consulting Business Book and Toolkit. Download free at melisabook.comFull Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-279Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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278. Ahead, Behind, or Not Sure? What to Do With the Second Half of Your Consulting Year
3w ago00:34:03Tap to summarizeWe’re halfway through the year.Are you ahead, behind, on track, or honestly not sure?Most independent consultants answer that question with a feeling.Behind because the pipeline feels out of their control.Ahead because they had a few strong months that created relief.On track because they’ve got a longer-term contract.Or they avoid the question completely because they never committed to a goal in the first place.But your feeling is not the same thing as your business reality.In this episode, Melisa Liberman walks you through how to check your mid-year feeling against the facts, then decide what to do next based on where you actually stand.You’ll hear how to identify which mid-year position you’re actually in, and how to build the right second-half plan from there if: - You have “goal amnesia”.- You have goal avoidance and never set a goal.- You’re behind, and tempted to reduce your goal.- You're ahead, and not sure whether to stay the course, raise the goal, or something else - You’re on track, and potentially at risk of sabotaging yourself without realizing it.This episode will help you stop using pressure, avoidance, or wishful thinking as your mid-year plan. You’ll leave with a clearer picture of where your consulting business really stands and what to do next so the second half of the year is not driven by panic, relief, or guessing. Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:00] Why planning for the second half matters more than most consultants realize[00:03] Agenda overview[00:04] Companion resource: Quarterly Plan for Consultants at icquarterlyplan.com [00:05] The five scenarios: where independent consultants land at mid-year [00:07] Do the math before anything else [00:11] Scenario 1: You don't know where you stand [00:15] Scenario 2: You never set a goal [00:20] Scenario 3: You're behind [00:26] Scenario 4: You're ahead [00:29] Scenario 5: You're on track [00:31] The 5 Steps to put this episode into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Quarterly Plan for Consultants. Download free at icquarterlyplan.comFull Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-278Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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277. Why Comparing Yourself to Other Consultants Is Costing You More Than You Think
4w ago00:38:34Tap to summarizeYou hear about another consultant who charges double what you charge. Or a new consultant who left corporate six months ago is landing so much work they’re turning projects away.Or a competitor walks away with a deal you were certain was yours.The gut punch is immediate.What happens next is the part most independent consultants don't realize is costing them.The comparison doesn't just make you feel bad. It changes what you do. You question your strategy. You start proposing less. You shrink your visibility. You reinforce an identity of someone who is behind, when the data almost never supports that.In Episode 277 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business podcast, Melisa Liberman addresses this directly. She shares three real consultant stories where comparison nearly derailed businesses that were, by any objective measure, doing well. A ten-year veteran generating $200K to $400K consistently. A six-year consultant who gave a newer colleague every tool she had, then watched that colleague leapfrog her. A twelve-year consultant who lost a deal to a competitor and started questioning everything.Comparison was costing them in their businesses, and threatening their longevity.Melisa breaks down the root causes and gives you three specific tools for managing it when it hits. Not generic advice to "focus on yourself." Actual processes for what to do in the moment and over time.If you've ever walked away from a conversation with another consultant feeling smaller than when you walked in, this episode is the one to listen to.Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:00] Why comparison costs you more than you realize[00:03] Agenda overview[00:04] Companion resource: Consulting Mindset Audit at ICmindset.com[00:06] Three real consultant stories[00:15] The real impacts: beyond the emotional gut punch[00:21] The root causes[00:25] The three tools to manage comparison as a business owner[00:37] Put this episode into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Consulting Mindset Audit. Take the audit at ICmindset.comFull Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-277Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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276. The 6 Elements of a Sustainable Independent Consulting Business
Jun 2500:38:32Tap to summarizeYou want a stable independent consulting business. One where you're not constantly worried about where the next consulting client is coming from.You know what you want. The flexibility, the freedom, the autonomy, without the constant cash flow worry.What you're not sure about is how to actually achieve it. What have other independent consultants figured out that you haven't?The consultants who have what you want aren't luckier or better connected. They've built something specific. Six elements that work together to create a stable, repeatable business. Most consultants have some of these in place and gaps in others. The gaps are what create the volatility. In Episode 276 of Grow Your Independent Consulting Business, Melisa Liberman breaks down exactly what those six elements are and how they work together.She introduces the Sustainable Consulting Method and walks through each one individually, so you can see what's working, where your gaps are, and what to address first.She also describes the important foundational piece that sits underneath all six. You can have every element in place and still have a shaky business without it.It's the most commonly overlooked piece, and it's the one that makes everything else stick.If your independent consulting business feels harder than you want it to be, and you’re worried if you can keep it up, this episode tells you exactly where to look.Listen and then take the Consultant's Business Health Check at icassessment.com to assess where you're strong, where you're fragile, and what your biggest area of opportunity is right now.Timestamps for Key Moments: [00:00] Why some independent consultants build stable businesses and others stay stuck [00:02] Episode overview and agenda [00:04] Companion resource: Consultant's Business Health Check at icassessment.com [00:06] What sustainable actually means for an independent consulting business [00:11] The six elements overview: where you're strong and where you're fragile [00:34] The foundation underneath all six elements [00:36] Put this episode into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Consultant's Business Health Check. Take the assessment at icassessment.com Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-276Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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275. How to Handle "Can I Pick Your Brain?" as an Independent Consultant
Jun 1800:34:39Tap to summarizeYou get asked some version of “can I pick your brain?” all the time.Sometimes it’s direct. Sometimes it’s a networking meeting that becomes a free consulting advisory session. Sometimes it’s a discovery call that was never really a discovery call. Sometimes it’s a "quick question" text from a past client.Sometimes it’s a former colleague who wants to become an independent consultant.And you say yes. Because you want to be helpful. Because it feels rude not to. Because you think it could turn into something.These yeses add up. And not just in time. But in unexpected ways too.In this episode, Melisa Liberman - Breaks down the two types of pick-your-brain requests that cost independent consultants. - The important identity shift a successful business owner makes re: the “pick your brain” requests.- The PYB Protocol for deciding in advance what you will say yes to, and what to do in the meetings when you decide to take them.- Turning Pick Your Brain sessions into paid engagements.If you have been saying yes by default and feeling the cost of it, this episode gives you a system for triaging all the pick your brain requests that come across your desk.Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:00] Why pick-your-brain requests cost more than you think[00:03] Companion resource: Grow Your Consulting Business, Chapter 16[00:04] The two “Pick Your Brain” buckets[00:10] The less obvious cost of saying yes [00:15] How a successful business owner thinks about this differently[00:19] The PYB Protocol: deciding in advance, not in the moment[00:22] Filtering requests: the questions to ask before you say yes[00:24] What yes looks like and how to structure the conversation[00:26] How to say no without brushing people off[00:28] If you take the meeting: go in expecting something real[00:31] How to transition from pick-your-brain to a next step[00:32] Three steps to put this into actionResources Mentioned:Grow Your Consulting Business Book and Toolkit, Chapter 16. www.melisaliberman.com/bookFull Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-275Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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274. Becoming Sought After: Make Lead Gen Easier Through Inbound Leads
Jun 1100:39:09Tap to summarizeYou’re good at what you do. Your clients know it. The people who refer you know it.But your next ideal consulting client may have no idea you exist.That’s the gap between being credible and becoming sought after.In this episode, Melisa Liberman shows independent consultants how to make lead generation easier by building an inbound lead system that helps more right-fit clients find you, trust you, and reach out already interested.You’ll learn how to move beyond relying only on referrals, past clients, and inconsistent outreach by becoming more recognizable for the specific consulting work you want to be hired for.Melisa breaks down the three components of an inbound lead system for independent consultants:The inbound foundation: the specialization that makes you known for a specific problem, client, or outcomeThe sought-after mindset: the shift from hidden expert to obvious choiceThe inbound lead mechanism: the system that builds visibility, grows your audience, creates direct relationships, and keeps you top of mindYou’ll also hear Melisa’s own specialization example as a fractional COO for PE-backed tech startups, plus three real consultant examples using a podcast, speaking, and unattached networking to generate more right-fit opportunities.Listen to learn how to build visibility, differentiation, and demand in your consulting business, so lead generation gets easier the longer you do it.Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:00] Episode overview[00:05] Why becoming sought after changes everything[00:07] The 3-part inbound lead system[00:08] Component 1: Inbound Foundation[00:09] Two specialization blockers[00:15] The In-N-Out Burger specialization example[00:18] Fractional CRO example for PE-backed tech[00:22] Component 2: Sought-After Mindset[00:28] Component 3: Inbound Lead Mechanism[00:32] Podcast + diagnostics example[00:33] Speaking + white paper example[00:35] Unattached networking example[00:37] Next stepsResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Lead Generation Effectiveness Scorecard: www.pipelinescorecard.comFull Show Notes https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-274Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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273. The Consulting Differentiator B2B Buyers Actually Notice
Jun 400:34:04Tap to summarizeMost independent consultants think differentiation means a sharper niche, a cleaner methodology, or better positioning.It doesn't.The consultants landing more work aren't winning because of their pitch or their network.They're winning before the proposal gets written.If you're like most consultants, you think the real evaluation happens when you submit the proposal. It doesn't. Buyers are already deciding in the conversation, before a scope ever gets drafted.In this episode, Melisa breaks down what consulting buyers are actually weighing when they choose which consultant or consulting firm to engage.You'll learn- the mistake most consultants make about differentiation, - how corporate buyers actually decide who to engage, and - four specific ways to use your consulting skills inside the sales process so buyers choose you first.The proposal is a formality.The decision happens long before that.You already have the skills (even if you don’t realize it). This episode shows you how to use them before a proposal ever gets drafted. Timestamps for Key Moments:[00:01] Why clients choose certain consultants over others and what prompted this episode[00:03] Why responsiveness is a baseline and what actually sets you apart beyond that[00:05] Companion resource: the consulting proposal template from the IC Toolkit[00:06] The mistake consultants make when thinking about differentiation[00:10] How B2B buyers actually decide who to engage[00:13] Why the proposal is a formality and what wins the work before it[00:15] Example 1: The stakeholder question and why it helps the buyer, not just you[00:18] Example 2: The restraint advantage and why showing everything you can do often loses the work[00:23] Example 3: The success clarity test and how to find the real reason a buyer needs you[00:27] Example 4: Process ownership and how to lead the decision instead of following the buyer's lead[00:31] Steps to put this episode into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Download the Consulting Proposal Template from Melisa's IC Toolkit: www.ICtoolkit.comFull Show Notes https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-273Want More?Melisa's Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisalibermanGet Melisa's Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/bookVisit Melisa's Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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272. Consultants Who Hit Their Numbers Don't Do This (and What They Do Instead)
May 2800:33:13Tap to summarizeWhen you think about your revenue goal for this year, what's the first thought that runs through your head?For most independent consultants it's some version of "I hope I can make it happen" or "I'm trying to make it happen."If you're like most of us, you don't even know you're thinking it.It's subconscious.And it's the reason your consulting business keeps plateauing, even when your strategy, your offers, and your effort all look right on paper.In this episode, Melisa walks through the three belief stages every independent consultant operates from.Doubtful. Hopeful. Inevitable.You'll hear what each one sounds like in your own head, the impact each one has on your pipeline and pricing, and how to tell which stage you're in right now.You'll also hear three real examples.Sarah, who set a 500K goal from a hopeful place and got herself to a 625K run rate once she stopped asking her business to prove it was possible first.Colin, who replaced a referral-dependent pipeline with speaking and three conversations a week. Same work, different headspace.And Amy, who shifted from day rates to value-based pricing in ten minutes a day.If you've been telling yourself you need a better strategy, you should listen to this one first.The strategy isn't the ceiling.The way you're thinking about your goal is.What you will learn in this episode:[00:05] - The first thought that reveals how you are approaching your consulting goals[02:00] - What separates consultants who hit their numbers from those who stay stuck[03:05] - Companion resource: Business Brain Journal[05:00] - The three belief stages: doubtful, hopeful, and inevitable[07:00] - How doubtful thinking creates inconsistent revenue and watered-down action[09:30] - Why hopeful thinking still creates consulting business plateaus[11:45] - What an inevitability mindset sounds like[13:00] - How to identify your belief stage across goals, sales, pipeline, and pricing[16:30] - Goal setting example: turning a $500K goal into consistent $50K months[22:30] - Pipeline example: moving from word-of-mouth dependency to lead generation ownership[26:00] - Pricing example: raising rates and moving toward value-based pricing[31:00] - The inevitability test for independent consultants[34:30] - How to add inevitability thinking into your business owner routineTune in to Episode 272 for a practical look at how to make success inevitable as an independent consultant, so you can stop operating from hope and start building from certainty.Resources Mentioned:Companion Resource: Check out Melisa’s Business Brain JournalFull Show Noteshttps://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-272Want More?• Melisa’s Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisaliberman• Get Melisa’s Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/book• Visit Melisa’s Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/ • Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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271. The Bare Minimum Plan to Keep Your Consulting Business on Track When You're At Capacity
May 2100:31:39Tap to summarizeAre you at capacity in your consulting business?Fully utilized on client work.Or a lot on your plate personally, whether that's a family situation, a move, recovery from surgery, or a season where your kids' schedules have swallowed your calendar.Or both.If you're like most consultants, the moment any of that hits, business development is the first thing you drop.It feels logical. Clients come first. The work pays. Lead gen can wait until things calm down.Then three months later, the engagement ends. The personal stretch passes. And your pipeline is empty.In this episode, Melisa shows you how to keep your consulting business moving with a bare minimum business development plan, built for the weeks you can't give it your full attention.You'll take-away:What "at capacity" actually means, and why most consultants underestimate how often they're in itThe handful of business development activities that protect your pipeline without eating your weekWhat you should temporarily deprioritize without guiltHow to set the bar low enough that you'll actually do it on your hardest weeksHow to come out of a capacity stretch without a dry spell waiting on the other sideIf you're heading into a busy season, a personal stretch, or you're already buried in client work, this episode gives you a way to keep your business moving without burning out.Timestamps for Key Moments:[01:10] Why independent consultants stop business development when they are busy[03:00] How a bare minimum plan keeps your consulting business on track[04:20] The ACE Business Development Session 1 Pager[05:00] What working on your consulting business actually means[08:00] Why being fully utilized can create future consulting revenue gaps[10:00] What you can temporarily deprioritize in your business[12:00] Three questions to separate productive work from profitable work[14:30] Why the bare minimum is a strategy, not laziness[20:00] The cost of guilt, regret, and inconsistent business development[22:00] How to choose your highest leverage business development activities[25:00] How to pressure test your bare minimum plan[28:00] How to commit to making your consulting business development plan work[30:00] How to put this episode into actionResources Mentioned:Companion Resource: The ACE Business Development Session 1 Pager: https://www.theACEbd.comFull Show Noteshttps://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-271Want More?• Melisa’s Books, Planners & Journals: https://linktr.ee/melisaliberman• Get Melisa’s Book: https://www.melisaliberman.com/book• Visit Melisa’s Website: https://www.melisaliberman.com/ • Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisa-libermanWant help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.
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