If you’re at this stage of your consulting business journey, you’re ready for a change. In the Reboot stage, you give your existing business processes, branding and offer a shake, so that you can get back on track. If this is you, you’re probably experiencing the following: You’ve had some initial successes, but you’ve hit a road block. Maybe a key client or team member turned over, your industry or market shifted, or you hit bump in your life. You may have experienced personal or business challenges that led to a major change. Health, relationships, caregiving, financial and other pinches ma ..read more

Once you pass the Startup phase with your consulting business, you’re ready for Scale Up. If you’re at Scale Up, you’re probably hitting a number of targets: You have $3,000 to $8,000 a month in recurring monthly income You’re focused on your business as your main work You’re open to ideas, input and training so that you can make the mindset shift to building a business team, scaling your business, delegating work, and getting ready to pay yourself a six-figure income You’ve got at least the basics behind your business systems, although you may still need to shift to where that revenue, clien ..read more

If you’re in the startup phase of your consulting business, you’re probably working through some common processes: What’s my business? How do I make my business stand out? How do I get clients and how do I keep clients coming in the door? How do I price, set fees, negotiate with clients, put together quotes and get business? What systems do I need in place to get paid, manage workflow and grow? How do I get my business to the first $100k or $250k? How do I make sure I have a sustainable, recurring model that helps me avoid feast or famine cycles and provides for stability and growth? How do I ..read more

We are at an unprecedented time in history and in our lives. You, as an entrepreneur, may be dealing with a big set of unknowns right now, for everything from your work to your home life to where your groceries are coming from. If you spend much time listening to the news or social media, it wouldn’t be surprising to come away feeling all the things you “should” be doing. We live in a capitalistic society and we’ve been taught from the time we were small that our worth comes from our productivity, whether that is as a worker, a volunteer, a caregiver or partner. The messages about measuring u ..read more

How should small business owners manage the corona virus, aka COVID-19? It’s a question on the minds of many entrepreneurs, as Fortune 500 companies announce new protocols for travel, meetings and even use of coffee cups. At Consultant Journal, we know many entrepreneurs, small business owners and consultants wonder about the business impact. Refer to the CDC, WHO, your local health authority or another reliable, science-based source for health information. Their recommendations should inform your decisions. Keep in mind that recommendations may change. In the meantime, based on current infor ..read more

    Running a business can be hard work – made even harder by all the choices out there. If you find yourself asking, “What social media platform should I be on?”, that’s understandable. Friends, colleagues, competitors, clients and even the big social media platforms themselves are only too eager to make a recommendation…and a sale! What social media platform is the wrong question Many small and mid-sized businesses end up scrambling to embrace an array of tools and technologies. But asking what social media platform you should use is the wrong question to tackle first. Sure, you’re going to ..read more

Sometimes, even for the most successful entrepreneurs, life comes up out of nowhere and gives you a hard dose of reality. It can be hard to pick up yourself, your family and your business. Most supports for people in crisis look at counseling or mental health. And, often, the supports available to entrepreneurs involve large-scale projects, like business continuity planning, crisis communications or revamping a business plan. Sometimes, you just need a guide to help you out of the crisis. As part of our corporate social responsibility, our founder, Andréa Coutu, has decided to open up 1-2 coac ..read more

I’m a people person. I like people. And I like talking. I don’t like being fake, though, so I tend to be straight up with people. As a result, I find that I connect with a lot of people. Because I run a business, this means that some of my clients and vendors have become close friends over the years. In turn, many of my friends seek me out as a supplier. I grew up in a small town and so it seems completely normal to have such blurry boundaries in my life. In a community, people do business with people they trust. If you trust someone, it makes sense that you might sometimes see a friendship em ..read more

Many people write to ask where they can find a consulting business plan template. Well, here’s a free outline of a consulting business plan template. It’s just an outline, though – see here for my full business plan kit, which includes the actual materials I use to help clients with their business plans. Executive Summary Business Overview Products & Services Sales & Marketing Plan Operating Plan Management and Organization Action Plan Financial Plan Investment Opportunity Appendices Personal Financial Statements Financial Statements Having run a business and marketing consulting f ..read more

Entrepreneurial Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). All those selfies got you down? Here’s how entrepreneurs can cope Open any social media app and you’re likely to find beautiful images of people living their perfect lives. While many discussions of social media talk about the effect on individuals, entrepreneurs can be just as vulnerable to the effects of social media. Here at Consultant Journal, many of the people who request our tips on building expert status say they feel overwhelmed and need direction. Fear of missing out – often hashtagged as #FOMO – means “Anxiety that an exciting or interesti ..read more