Good Intentions vs. Business Reality
A solopreneur consultant with a DEI focus wants advice on whether she should give it up or keep pushing.
Derived from a series of conversations in 2022
Dear FFF,
I’ve been trying hard to get my consulting business rolling, but it’s been very challenging! I’ve had a couple of clients, but can’t seem to get traction. I’ve developed a methodology for deep, trauma-based healing in the workplace that I think is really needed because so many of us, especially those who have been historically marginalized, have experienced trauma. I want to work for healthcare agencies, big companies, and universities, but I don’t know how to get them to hire me. I’ve been posting on LinkedIn. I went to a couple of virtual conferences. I’ve emailed people in my network. However, I’m not making much progress.
I’ve been told that part of the issue is that I’m a white woman and therefore not the right person to be leading conversations about DEI, even though I’ve faced tremendous trauma in my life, including antisemitism, sexual abuse, and poverty.
How did you build up your client base? Where do I put my energy? I’m exhausted and not super comfortable meeting in person yet. I need the money. Should I give up and go get a job? I really don’t want to.
- Uncertain and Anxious
Dear Uncertain,
First, let me say that there is no magic wand, no silver bullet to building a client base in consulting. Consulting is an art that can’t be learned quickly. Success requires years of experience and a deep understanding of the business world. You must be patient, persistent, determined, and courageous. You must accept rejection as part of the process. Helpful books and courses abound. I suggest The Art of Consulting, Million Dollar Consulting, and Flawless Consulting, to name a few.
Time to Hustle
It sounds like you’re doing some of the right things: networking, writing, posting, presenting. I’d double, triple, and quadruple down on all those things and more. You can offer free or low-cost ‘loss leader’ analysis, reports, workshops, trainings, classes, etc… as a way to get your foot in the door. You can attend conferences, network like crazy, and post articles on all sorts of websites, blogs, newsletters, platforms, and portals. I’d develop a list of potential clients with whom you already have a relationship and set up coffees, lunches, and Zoom calls. With each, you want to spend most of the time listening to their issues and problems to see if there’s a fit with what you do. Then, you want to ask who else they know who might be willing to talk to you.
Create a Business Plan
A question comes to mind: have you put together a business plan? If not, I’d suggest that’s your next step. Look online for a template, and get clear on your elevator pitch, marketing strategy, financial goals, client base, staffing needs, teaming strategy, etc…
As it comes to the list of preferred clients you shared, I will offer an observation that the bigger the organization, the more difficult it is for an unknown entity to get a foot in the door. Larger entities have procurement departments and screened vendor lists, long lead times, lots of bureaucracy, and tend to hire larger, established firms. In that vein, I suggest you consider smaller companies and non-profit organizations as a starting point. I’d also suggest you seek teaming partners for whom you can add value.
Consider if the Timing Is Right
I worry, though, that your economic needs, exhaustion, and discomfort meeting in person will render all these suggestions moot. If you can’t afford the time needed to build your business, if you do not have the energy, if you are struggling emotionally in the post-COVID landscape, if you are not 100% certain this is what you want to do with your precious time and energy, then I lean toward seeking paid employment, ideally in a firm offering the services you want to provide. Then, you can learn the business of consulting from within and build up a clientèle without having to be solely dependent on yourself to bring home the bacon. Running your own business is hard at the best of times and it’s simply not for everyone.
As the poet Mary Oliver wrote, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Do You Have the Business Model Needed for Success?
On that note, Uncertain, I want to point out the extreme difficulty of creating a successful consulting firm all on your own in the way you seem to be doing it. (I am making an assumption that you have not had a ton of consulting experience.) I say this because most successful consultants created their businesses after long stints within organizations or companies, after building up networks and skill sets, and after having reached a point in their careers where they could afford to take a risk.
I say this also having created seven different entities, all with partners and/or collaborators. The first, a consulting firm, was co-founded alongside an experienced consultant who already had a client base; I brought subject matter expertise, passion, and name recognition. Our other firm grew out of the first. The five others were academic, networking, and mission-driven nonprofits, all co-created with other committed stakeholders with whom I could pool resources, collaborate, and contribute time, treasure, and talent toward a shared goal. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do it all on your own, only infinitely harder. As such, I’d invite you to consider if there is a way to involve others in accomplishing your vision. I’d also invite you to explore whether a nonprofit model might better serve you.
As it relates to the subject matter, I do not doubt your sincere intentions nor lived experience. I am sorry for the trauma you have suffered. I accept that you have developed a useful methodology. This is not my area of expertise, so I have no basis to judge one way or another, nor can I speak to the marketplace opportunity of what you seek to offer. I do know that when I started in consulting, there was little market for the services we offered, forcing us to be intentional, creative, and diligent in showing potential clients and partners how what we had to offer had value. I’m talking years of thought leadership, of chasing the money, of building up relationships, of taking tiny roles, of presenting, writing, networking, bidding on projects, winning some, losing others, screwing up, and getting back up to try again. Consulting is a grind; there is no magic wand you can wave to avoid the reality that if you need income to sustain your life, a salaried job will likely be a quicker and more stable path.
Authenticity Matters
The last thing I want to touch on, Uncertain, is the question of whether you are the right person to lead DEI projects. Your question surfaced a humbling memory of a project I (white, Jewish) led in a historically Black neighborhood. The project was focused on improving pedestrian and bicycle safety on a particular street. Although the intentions of my client, a transportation department, were noble, the surrounding community had little interest in that particular subject. Rather, they wanted to talk about a long history of destructive infrastructure improvements including a hospital, freeway, and stadium that razed entire neighborhoods. They wanted to talk about racism, redlining, gentrification, and reparations. They wanted to air deep pain and grievances, and they wanted elected officials and City leadership, not hired consultants, to bear witness. They refused to participate in the project we had been hired to lead. Obviously, that wasn’t my firm’s fault, for I didn’t understand the deep history, nor did the City’s representatives; the scope of work should have been something else entirely. But I could and should have built a more diverse team from the start, and when I added to our team a Black engagement specialist with deep community roots, the project flowed much more smoothly.
In other words, you cannot be something that you are not. You and I can learn and grow and be deeply committed to DEI and be the right consultant in some circumstances, but we need to humbly accept that those with lived experiences in whatever arena needs diversifying may be more qualified and are likely to be chosen. You have plenty to offer with who you are and plenty of lanes in which you can play. Be your best, most authentic self, always.
I hope this helps, and wish you all the best.
—FFF