Consulting Success Podcast

How can experience in corporate sales roles and a digital marketing side hustle become the foundation for a thriving 7-figure consulting firm? Phil Risher, founder of Phlash Consulting, shares his unique journey, which included running a personal finance blog, living in a converted school bus, and dramatically boosting a client's business before launching his own consultancy focused on home service businesses.

Phil reveals the strategic thinking behind his service model and how he differentiates his firm. He emphasizes embracing the consulting aspect over being just another agency: "I could have called it Phlash Digital... but I didn't. I called it Phlash Consulting. Why? Because we're a consulting company. We take your data, we analyze your data, we make decisions, we help you grow your business. We're not just a cookie-cutter digital marketing company." Today, Phil details his path to building an 11-person team and achieving 7-figure revenues.

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Want to learn how we can help you grow your consulting business? Schedule your free Growth Session Call today!  www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Mentioned in this episode:

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

What are the steps involved in transitioning from a successful corporate executive role - having helped scale a startup to IPO - to launching your own thriving consulting firm? Neel Singh, co-founder of the commercialization firm Tropoly, did just that. A long-time listener of the Consulting Success podcast since his executive days, Neel shares how the show provided valuable insights and encouragement as he planned his leap into entrepreneurship. He found inspiration hearing the diverse paths consultants take: "I came across your podcast, and I found it valuable because... there are so many different journeys and so many different ways that people have pursued this path." Today, Neel details his journey from corporate leader to co-founding Tropoly and discusses the crucial steps he took before leaving his executive position, particularly the power of intentional networking years in advance.

If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.

Mentioned in this episode:

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Want to learn how we can help you grow your consulting business? Schedule your free Growth Session Call today!  www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Mentioned in this episode:

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

While some consultants brace for economic headwinds, a select few see downturns as their greatest opportunity for explosive growth. But clinging to conventional growth strategies simply won't cut it. You need a completely different playbook for creating capturing value in today's market. Dr. Nate Regier not only recognized this, he built a playbook, transforming from a small startup to a global enterprise solution with his compassionate accountability framework.

And today, in this episode, he reveals the counterintuitive strategy that helped him secure major enterprise clients during the 2008 recession, how to flip the script and shift your revenue from 65% service revenue to 65% scalable product revenue, and the proven framework for measuring and communicating ROI that's so compelling, it silences even the most skeptical CFOs. And if you know CFOs, you know what I'm talking about.

If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.

Want to learn how we can help you grow your consulting business? Schedule your free Growth Session Call today!  www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

So imagine this: You've built a successful consulting practice, but now you're trapped in the endless cycle of competing on expertise alone. So here's the uncomfortable truth - being right isn't enough anymore. Today's guest on the podcast, Alex Smith, pioneered a radically different approach to strategy that helped him build an 85,000 person strong following and transformed his business. What he reveals will challenge everything you believe about standing out in a crowded marketplace. The best part, it's not about working harder, it's about thinking differently. 

In this episode, you're going to learn why being different matters more than being right, how to create a business without competitors - yes, it is actually possible - and the counterintuitive approach to strategy that actually works for smaller firms. That's right, strategy is not only for bigger firms. I think you're going to enjoy this one. Dig in.

Don't wait years to find clarity. If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.

Alex Smith is a strategist, writer, and advisor to CEOs/founders who founded Basic Arts in 2016 to help brands stand out and deliver real value. The best-selling author of No Bullsh*t Strategy, Alex focuses on strategic clarity and escaping competition, empowering businesses to understand and articulate their unique value, achieving strategic advantage through differentiation. He also publishes "The Hidden Path" newsletter, a treasured publication offering its readers uncommon strategic insights.

Connect with Alex Smith

Discover more about Basic Arts

Mentioned in this episode:

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Want to learn how we can help you grow your consulting business? Schedule your free Growth Session Call today!  www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Mentioned in this episode:

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

If you've ever worked with a large client, for example, a Fortune 500 prospect, you might be familiar with a question they often ask, which is, “What size is your team? How many people do you have?” As a solo consultant, your heart might sink. You know you have the expertise, but you're wondering, how do I respond? How do I deal with my smaller size when a larger company is asking? Well, that was the situation that Ken Ramaley was in until he engineered a counterintuitive approach that transformed his consulting practice. By challenging the conventional wisdom about hiring, team building, and digital transformation, he architected a path to a successful seven figure plus consulting business. Now, Ken has also been a client in our Clarity Coaching Program, and I've had the pleasure of watching firsthand how he's grown his business. 

In this episode, you will uncover the mindset shift that helps you land major clients before building your team, a proven framework for commanding premium fees without perfect infrastructure, and the exact process for scaling your practice while reducing your operational hours. That's right. I'm sure you want that as well. Being more effective, making more money while spending fewer hours working in the business. You'll learn all that in this episode. Dig in and enjoy.

Welcome to the Consulting Success podcast. I'm your host Michael Zipursky, and in this podcast, we're going to dive deep into the world of elite consultants where you're going to learn the strategies, tactics and mindset to grow a highly profitable and successful consulting business.

Before we dive into today's episode. Are you ready to grow and take your consulting business to the next level? Many of the clients that we work with started as podcast listeners just like you, and a consistent theme they have shared with us is that they wished they had reached out sooner about our Clarity Coaching Program rather than waiting for that perfect time. If you're interested in learning more about how we help consultants just like you, we're offering a free, no pressure growth session call. On this call, we're going to dive deep into your goals, challenges and situation and outline a plan that is tailor made just for you. We will also help you identify where you may be making costly and time consuming mistakes to ensure you're benefiting from the proven methods and strategies to grow your consulting business. 

So don't wait years to find clarity. If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.

Ken Ramaley, founder of Ramaley Group, has 20+ years in process engineering, auditing, and business consulting. Passionate about cultivating process excellence through projects, training and coaching, Ken leverages Lean Six Sigma experience from GE, Prudential, and Bank of America. He's also a certified internal auditor with a risk management assurance certificate. A Brown BA in Mathematics and a UChicago MBA in Finance/Management underpin his expertise. Ken holds a patent for statistical sampling and is a published author in trade and academic journals.

Connect with Ken Ramaley

Discover more about Ramaley Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Want to learn how we can help you grow your consulting business? Schedule your free Growth Session Call today!  www.consultingsuccess.com/grow

Mentioned in this episode:

Join an Elite Group of Consulting Founders in Montreal for Serious Growth

Imagine being in a room where every other 6 or 7-figure consulting founder is as serious about growth as you are. That’s the Consulting Success Mastermind in Montreal (Sept 18-20, 2025). This is your opportunity to build real relationships with top-performing consultants, share wins and challenges, and grow strategically together. As one past attendee said, it's "exactly what I’ve been needing."

Get Expert Insights into Your Consulting Business: Claim Your FREE Growth Session Now!

Want to get personalized feedback and actionable insights on your consulting business from seasoned experts who've been in your shoes? The Consulting Success Clarity Coaching Program offers just that, and you can experience a taste of it with a FREE, no-obligation Growth Session. On this call, you'll explore how to optimize your business model, refine your messaging, and build a predictable stream of high-value clients. https://www.consultingsuccess.com/grow