2024 marked a milestone for me. I hit the twenty-year mark for my consulting business. Along the way, I’ve earned a lot and learned a lot. I’ve done some brilliant work and had some humbling engagements. I’ve lived into a consistent vision for my business (and my life), and I’ve pivoted more than a few times as I continue to hone who I am, what I offer, and how to serve clients.

About ten years into this adventure, I began mentoring, teaching, and guiding others in how they, too, might “go out on their own.” As with most teaching moments, I learned more about myself and this business than they did.

There were those who warned me about the pitfalls of taking this career path. There were others who, as they considered this option, expressed their concerns. Many were legitimate; others not at all.

Legitimate considerations include:

• The need to have a financial “runway” and “safety net” as those first engagements may take a while to materialize and the gap between doing the work and getting paid for the work can take a bit.
• Needing the skills to run a small business and the professional skills you offer to your clients.
• The reality that YOU need to find the work, which means you need at least rudimentary skills in marketing and selling.

Unfounded concerns (myths) fall into these categories:

Myth One: Bigger is better. You need to scale. Bill more each and every year. Hire people. Build a team.

Bigger is better for some, but not for all. I know many brilliant consultants who have grown a team and just as many who are perfectly happy going solo. The beauty of this type of business is that it can be what you want it to be.

I’ve been able to grow and build a team through my network of talented 1099 practice partners. I can scale, but only if there is demand. This approach enables my clients to get the right talent at the right time and in the right amount.

My income has consistently been over six figures for eighteen of my twenty years (exceptions were my start-up year and the pandemic). I don’t have a strong desire to push it higher, although one might if they were so inclined.

The bottom line is that you can build the bottom line (and the way to get there) based on what works for you.

Myth Two: You can book a majority of your time.

I fell into this faulty math in year one and see others as the same. Here is
the thinking:

• My bill rate is $150 per hour
• I will work 40 hours a week for 48 weeks a year.
• That means I’ll make $288K.

This thinking confused being employed with being self-employed. An employee gets paid a set amount for showing up and doing what is asked of them. A self-employed person only gets paid for delivering client services.

An employed person gets paid when work is plentiful and also when it is slow. A self employed person only gets paid when there is a client willing to pay for services.

An employed person gets paid for all the various tasks they perform, not all of which produce income for their employer. A self-employed person has an even greater amount of non-income-producing work that needs to be done to stand up and run the business.

Myth Three: You can’t get started until you have it all figured out.

I’ve seen far too many people spend an entire year and a considerable amount of money establishing their business, website, service offerings, presentations, courses, and methodologies. They invest tens of thousands of dollars, and 100% of their time is spent creating in a vacuum.

I’ve yet to see any of these folks get “it right.” I often see them when they are in “do-over” mode, realizing what they created is either not what the market wants or what they want to provide. (True confession: I’ve done this a time or two as well).

It is far better to frame up a few services and test the market. Get a few engagements, even if they are pro bono. Test your interest and appetite for doing that type of work. You’ll be far more able to describe what you truly want to do – and to offer up what clients will actually pay for.

Myth Four: Lifestyle businesses are not “real” businesses. You can either have a business or a life, but not both.

My pet peeve is the condescending tone that others take as I describe my business. There is a pause and then a dismissal with this: “Oh. I see. You don’t have a real business. You have a lifestyle business.”

The truth is that I have both. I do have a real business. It happens to be one in which I can serve clients well, earn a good income, and live a full and rewarding life. I have time for friends, family, travel, and rest.

Myth Five: You can be an overnight success.

We look at others who have “made it” in our eyes – and they make it seem easy. We see the businessperson with a 25% AGR, the best selling author, the podcaster with thousands of subscribers, the person with the hot new business idea that seemingly took off like wildfire.

What we don’t see (and few share) are the five (or ten) years of hard work, the missteps, the lean years, the rejected manuscripts, the flops. Trust me, they are there.

As noted by Luis E.Romero in Forbes:

“In essence, overnight success does not exist. At the very least, it is statistically so rare that people would have a better chance at “succeeding” by playing the lottery. In this regard, I share the following two lessons with my mentees:

1. What most people call overnight success is actually the market suddenly realizing the value of a great product or service that had been kept in obscurity for too long while its creators refused to give up.

2. There is a difference between overnight success and early success. People
tend to mistake the success of young entrepreneurs for sudden success.”

Myth Six: You need to do cold calls.

Cold calls are certainly one way to sell. However, they are neither the best nor the easiest way to sell. I can’t think of a single professional services business owner who either loves cold calling or has built a sustainable professional business using cold calling as a sales approach.

However, you can’t just craft a compelling website and post on social media sites and expect to build a business. While you don’t need to do cold calling, you do need to find a way to market, find potential clients, and make sales. You do need to have face-to-face conversations presenting how your services benefit a potential client. And that is a bit scary, but not as much as the idea of cold calls.

Myth Seven: You have to go it alone.

There is great truth to the realization that your consulting business is yours, and yours alone. The direction and decisions rest on you. You are the CEO, the service provider, the marketing department, the sales force, the bookkeeper, the IT help desk, and the janitor.

For some, that is daunting; for others, it is quite empowering.

Yet while you are solely in charge, truth be known, there are no “self-made” men or women. Our cultural narrative can worship the lone wolf, the person who seemingly single-handedly overcame all odds and built a business.

There are always others that help along the way. Mentors come forward. Services
exist to help with things like marketing, bookkeeping, and technology. Friends and family provide support and encouragement. A host of others share their expertise and experience if only you ask.

The reason Apeiron exists is so that you don’t have to go it alone.

The Apeiron network provides expertise in launching and running your professional service business. It provides ongoing professional development, honing your business skills and keeping you current. You are part of a professional network offering support, encouragement, and opportunities to work together on client engagements.

Interested in learning more? Go to Apeiron for Consultants to learn more. If you would like to test Apeiron out, complete the form at the bottom of the page and explore Apeiron for a month as our guest!

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About the Author: Kris Taylor

Fueled by their shared passion for people-centric organizations that achieve business results, Kris Taylor joined Joe Indiano to found Apeiron, where professionals join together in an abundant, entrepreneurial community to grow sustainable businesses by collaborating together. Bringing together highly skilled consultants across functions, Apeiron is creating the “workplace of the future”, where talented professionals come together to service clients with an agile, collaborative approach to tough business problems.

Kris is also the founder of Evergreen Leadership in 2004 and has worked with over 80 companies across the US to develop customized leadership development programs focused on 21st-century skills.  Evergreen Leadership is known for its high-impact retreats, coaching, and learning programs, specializing in fostering agility, collaboration, relationship building, accountability, creativity, and innovation.

Kris writes, speaks, teaches, and coaches leaders at all levels, from the C-suite to high-potential emerging leaders. She is committed to giving back in meaningful ways, most visibly with Evergreen’s Annual Community Builder Award. Since 2015, fifteen leaders across the mid-west have come together for the Connect and Create Retreat.

Her many years of work experience are rich in variety – beginning in education and non-profit for ten years before making a career change with RR Donnelley. In this Fortune 200 company, she fulfilled many roles from Human Resources to Operations to a corporate role in Learning and Development over fourteen years.

On the faculty of Purdue’s Certificate Program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation for seven years, Kris developed and taught a course on consulting, as well as a course entitled Your Entrepreneurial Career. Kris is also the author of author of Owning It: Take Control of Your Life, Work and Career and  The Leader’s Guide to Turbulent Times: a practical, easy-to-use guide to leading in today’s times. She holds a Master’s Degree from Krannert Business School at Purdue University and did her undergraduate work at West Virginia University.