Grow Your Independent Consulting Business

Have you wanted an anchor consulting client?

Or do you have an anchor consulting client in place now?

An anchor consulting client gives you recurring revenue, a predictable revenue stream, and room to plan your business without starting from scratch every quarter.

It's a legitimate business goal.

A lot of independent consultants land anchor clients.

And there's a real strategy for doing it intentionally.

But anchor clients also carry hidden costs that most independent consultants don't account for until they're already working with one.

Independent consultants with anchor clients sometimes end up with a faux employer, no pipeline, and feeling too dependent on that client to walk away.

In Episode 291, Melisa Liberman walks through six specific ways to land an anchor consulting client and how to avoid the hidden and avoidable costs.

Melisa shares her own anchor client story in this episode. It ran 18-plus months longer than it should have. The costs weren't obvious while she was in it. They were very obvious when she got out.

Melisa closes with a concrete anchor client protocol: how to set a floor rate, what non-monetary conditions a consulting client needs to meet to earn a spot on your roster, and how to review the relationship on your terms rather than waiting for the client to initiate.

If you're looking to land your first anchor consulting client, this episode gives you the strategy.

If you already have one and you're starting to feel the pull of the hidden costs, this episode gives you the protocol.

Resources Mentioned:

Companion Resource: Grow Your Consulting Business: The 14-Step Roadmap to Make Your Independent Consulting Goals a Reality: consultingbusinessbook.com

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-291/

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

There's a version of quarterly planning that gets you through the next 90 days. 

And there's a version that actually shifts where you end up.

Breaking through a plateau.

Achieving both your revenue AND the way you want to be working.

Growing the business toward your big vision.

In Episode 290 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business podcast, I'm opening up my actual Q4 planning process and walking you through the six-layer framework I use to build a quarterly plan that changes where I end up, not just gets me through 90 days.

I share 

- The two questions I ask myself at the end of every quarter (not the ones you'd expect), 
- The planning step I kept skipping that was keeping me in the same place, and 
- Why I stopped setting just a revenue number as my starting point.

I also get into why hitting 98% of my revenue goal and feeling crammed all quarter are actually the same problem, and how that changes the way I'm approaching Q4.

Don't plan Q4 without listening to this first.

Tune in to Episode 290.

The six layers, mapped out: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-290

Resources Mentioned:

Quarterly Business Planner and Business Brain Journal: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF2Q8NPR (also available at growthatlas.solutions)

Episode 176 on Compound Goals: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-176/

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

For a lot of independent consultants, $500K feels out of reach. Or it feels like the wrong goal, because you assume it'll mean longer hours, less time off, and a consulting business you can't sustain.

For other independent consultants, $500K is just normal. Some of them get there working about 25 hours a week.

In Episode 289, Melisa Liberman breaks down the six components that independent consultants earning $500K a year have in common.

She explains why she has you plan for $600K when your goal is $500K, and what a swim coach's story about missing a qualifying time by 0.01 seconds has to do with it.

She shares one four-month project that created $9.35 million in client value, and why a $500K consulting business has to create value on that scale.

You'll learn why you don't need to be the best-known name in your field to have enough opportunities in your pipeline to be selective.

Melisa also explains why so many independent consultants still see themselves as the earner they were in corporate, and how that keeps their revenue right where it was. 

Plus, you'll hear the actual beliefs of $500K earners:

"500K is not exceptional."

"More revenue does not have to mean more work."

"I don't need the whole market."

And why some consultants who reach $500K slide right back.

If you've been telling yourself $500K isn't for you, listen to this one before you decide.

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:28] Why $500K doesn't have to mean more hours
[05:29] The 0.01 second lesson for your revenue goal
[09:27] The client value number behind a $500K business
[15:00] How to become sought after in your circle
[17:20] What happens to your identity after corporate
[21:41] What $500K earners believe, and why some slide back
[26:25] The kind of action $500K earners take 

Resources Mentioned:

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-289

Companion Resource: Grow Your Consulting Business Book and Toolkit. Download free at melisabook.com or consultingbusinessbook.com, or buy on Amazon.

Mentioned in this Episode: Episode 87 - Risk-Free Pricing Strategy for the Independent Consultant: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-87/ 

Mentioned in this Episode: Episode 213 - Four Components to Create 50K Months: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-213/ 

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

You put in the work to find the opportunity.

You had the conversations. You went through discovery. Maybe you've already sent a proposal. The potential client seemed genuinely interested, and now nothing is happening.

Getting told no is not the hardest part of running a consulting business. The hardest part is the deals that go quiet.

In Episode 288, Melisa Liberman walks through the seven specific reasons consulting prospects stall before they get to a decision. Not the obvious reasons. The ones that are easy to misread while you're inside them. She starts with the most common (not talking to the actual buyer) and ends with the one she calls her favorite: the reason that, once fixed, makes the other six easier to solve.

She also makes a case most consultants resist: you created the stall. Not as a way to blame yourself, but because if you created it, you can fix it.

Each reason comes with the diagnostic questions to ask when a deal goes quiet, so you stop reacting emotionally and start addressing the actual root cause.

If you've got deals in your pipeline right now that should have moved forward and haven't, this episode is exactly where to start.

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:00] Why stalling deals are harder to handle than hearing no
[00:04] Companion resource: Lead Gen Sprint at www.ConsultantSprint.com
[00:07] Overview of all seven reasons
[00:08] Reason 1: The right buyer isn't involved
[00:11] Reason 2: Mistaking interest for buying intent
[00:13] Reason 3: They care, but not enough to act now
[00:15] Reason 4: Being interviewed instead of leading
[00:23] Reason 5: No clear sales process
[00:27] Reason 6: Misinterpreting the stall
[00:32] Reason 7: Too much riding on one opportunity
[00:35] How to diagnose the root cause and put this into action

Resources Mentioned:

Companion Resource: The Consultant's Lead Gen Sprint. Enroll at www.ConsultantSprint.com

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-288

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

When Brian Hansen left corporate to start his consulting business, he assumed his network would help him land clients.

It didn’t happen that way.

His expertise was clear. He had more than 15 years of experience. He knew the type of problems he could solve.

But his existing network didn’t include enough of the B2B SaaS CEOs, founders, and investors who were most likely to need his help.

So Brian had to build a new way of creating consulting opportunities.

In Episode 287, Melisa Liberman sits down with Brian to unpack how he’s been building his consulting business since leaving corporate, including what it looks like to serve primarily US-based clients while living abroad in Malaysia.

Brian shares how he landed his first client through a relationship he intentionally developed outside his existing network, why relying heavily on referrals started to feel too reactive, and what he changed when he decided he wanted a more proactive and repeatable approach to business development.

But this episode isn’t about replacing referrals.

It’s about building a consulting business where referrals are one source of opportunities instead of the entire strategy.

How do you expand your network when your current contacts aren’t your ideal buyers?

How do you proactively create demand?

How do you know which business development activities deserve your time?

Brian shares how he thinks about all of these questions, including the mindset he relies on to navigate the uncertainty that comes with building an independent consulting business.

If you’re still relying on referrals and timing to determine where your next engagement comes from, this episode is for you.

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:28] Introduction to Brian Hansen and building a business beyond referrals
[04:13] Running a US-based consulting business from Malaysia
[09:40] What happens when your existing network isn’t enough
[27:44] What Brian learned after losing a proposal
[32:38] Managing the mental side of an unpredictable consulting pipeline
[39:31] Brian’s advice for consultants who want more predictable lead generation
[42:01] Mindset, manifestation, and continuing to take action

Resources Mentioned:

Companion Resource: The Consultant's Lead Gen Sprint. Enroll at www.ConsultantSprint.com

Brian Hansen Consulting: www.brianhansenconsulting.com

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bhansenconsulting

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-287

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

Crystal Hincks generated more than $250,000 in consulting engagements in a single month.

But that result came after months of experimenting with lead generation strategies that worked... just not well enough.

Listening tours. White papers. Webinars.

She started getting in front of more decision makers.

But those conversations still weren’t consistently turning into paid consulting engagements.

In Episode 286, Melisa Liberman sits down with Crystal to unpack the full journey behind the $250K result: the lead generation strategies she tried, what she learned from each experiment, what was breaking down between conversations and paid work, and what finally changed.

Crystal shares what she discovered about her sales process, how she changed the way she showed up in conversations with prospective clients, and why that shift mattered.

Then she built a lead generation initiative around how her buyers already behave.

That experiment generated more than 100 applications and led to more than $250,000 in paid consulting engagements in one month.

But this episode isn’t about copying Crystal’s tactic.

It’s about the process she used to get there.

How do you know whether to keep going with a lead generation strategy, refine it, or replace it?

How do you stay with an experiment long enough to learn from it without wasting months on something that isn’t working?

And how do you recognize when the problem isn’t your lead generation tactic at all, but something else in the way you’re creating and converting consulting opportunities?

Crystal shares what she learned from the strategies that didn’t work, the ones that worked only partially, and the shifts that ultimately brought the pieces together.

If you’re working on lead generation but still wondering why your effort isn’t translating into enough consulting clients or paid opportunities, this episode will help you see what to evaluate next instead of assuming you simply need to do more.

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:00] Introduction to Crystal Hincks and why her story matters
[00:02] Companion resource: Lead Gen Sprint at www.ConsultantSprint.com
[00:20] Getting stuck in the friend zone and the premature proposal problem
[00:29] The mindset shift: from helpful vendor to expert and peer
[00:34] Value Made Visible: the initiative that created $250K in one month
[00:41] What the experiment taught her about lead generation
[00:45] Advice for consultants who are experimenting but not yet seeing results

Resources Mentioned:

Companion Resource: The Consultant's Lead Gen Sprint. Fall cohort starts September 22nd. Enroll at www.ConsultantSprint.com 

Crystal’s website: www.uncommonevaluation.com
Crystal’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystal-hincks-7217556b/ 

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-286

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

Kymm Martinez was doing the work to land clients.

She had scorecards. She had a tracker. She was having discovery meetings and working her network. She had nearly 20 years of marketing experience at General Mills plus two CMO roles so she understood business development. 

And yet her pipeline wasn't becoming predictable, and she couldn't figure out why.

In Episode 285, Melisa Liberman sits down with Kymm to unpack what was actually happening and what changed when she put a microscope to the activity instead of just doing more of it.

Kymm shares how she discovered she was focused on quantity instead of quality, the corporate habits she didn't realize she'd carried into her consulting business, and how perfectionism was quietly blocking her at every stage of business development.

She also shares what shifted in how she thinks about her goals, from replicating her corporate income to setting a very different vision for what her business could become.

If you've been putting effort into business development and still don't have a pipeline that feels predictable, Kymm's story will help you figure out exactly where to look.

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:00] Introduction to Kymm Martinez and why her story matters
[00:02] Companion resource: Lead Gen Sprint at www.ConsultantSprint.com
[00:04] Kymm's background and what surprised her about going independent
[00:07] The corporate habits she didn't realize she'd brought with her
[00:22] Perfectionism as a BD blocker and how she's managing it
[00:29] What surprised Kymm about the Sprint cohort
[00:38] Dreaming bigger: from replicating corporate income to a million-dollar goal
[00:43] Advice for fellow independent consultants

Resources Mentioned:

Companion Resource: The Consultant's Lead Gen Sprint. Fall cohort starts September 22nd. Enroll at www.ConsultantSprint.com

Guest website: www.wildermarketinggroup.com
Guest LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kymmmartinez
The Wilder Brief (newsletter): www.wildermarketinggroup.com/the-wilder-brief

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-285

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

Chelsea Lewis quit her corporate job in October 2025, took three months to rest, and started her independent consulting business in January 2026.

By the time she recorded this episode, she had built a six-figure business in seven months, a current six-figure client engagement, a $20K-per-month advisory retainer proposal on the table, and a pipeline of $1.1 million.

In Episode 284, Melisa Liberman sits down with Chelsea to find out exactly how she got from there to here, what she was doing that wasn't working, what changed, and what she’s been doing doing to build the pipeline to where it stands today.

Chelsea shares how she moved warm network conversations out of the friend zone, the value-first approach she's using to open new client relationships and get hired, the specific mindset shifts that made the biggest difference, and how she changed her relationship with rejection.

She also talks about what it means to run your business development like a scientist — collecting data, running experiments, and not letting outcomes define your worth as a business owner.

If you're an independent consultant who knows you should be doing more with your network and your pipeline but can't seem to make it consistent, Chelsea's story is the one to listen to.

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:00] Introduction to Chelsea Lewis and her results
[00:02] Companion resource: Lead Gen Sprint at www.ConsultantSprint.com
[00:03] Chelsea's background 
[00:09] Entrepreneurship as a learnable skill, not a personality trait
[00:16] The scientist mindset: 137 rejections and counting
[00:27] Moving warm network conversations out of the friend zone
[00:28] Adding value tangibly before the engagement starts
[00:34] Chelsea's results: six-figure business, $1.1M pipeline, $20K/month retainer
[00:45] Advice for first-generation business owners

Resources Mentioned:

Companion Resource: The Consultant's Lead Gen Sprint. Fall cohort starts September 22nd. Enroll at www.ConsultantSprint.com

Guest LinkedIn: Chelsea Lewis — linkedin.com/in/chelseamlewis/

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-284

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

You've said it to yourself more than once.

"If I were just more consistent. If I could do a little bit every week, every day, I'd have a healthier pipeline."

Most independent consultants have run that thought through their heads dozens of times.

Here's the thing: consistency isn't the problem. 

And trying to fix consistency is solving the wrong problem.

In Episode 283, Melisa Liberman makes a case that most independent consultants need to hear: the reason your pipeline is unreliable isn't that you lack discipline. 

It's that you've given yourself the wrong job. 

Melisa explains what the right business development focus actually is, and it's not finding clients. 

She also shares the story of Richard, a fully utilized consultant who understands that “being consistent” isn’t the key to a healthy pipeline, and what he specifically does to keep his pipeline full.

If you’ve been trying to solve your pipeline problem by being more consistent, listen to this episode before you create another checklist, routine, or plan that won’t stick. 

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:00] Why consistency isn't the solution to your pipeline problem
[00:03] Agenda overview
[00:04] Companion resource: Lead Gen Sprint at www.ConsultantSprint.com
[00:05] Why the pipeline problem seems like a consistency problem
[00:09] The real root cause
[00:12] The solution
[00:14] "But Melisa, I don't have enough time"
[00:17] Richard's story
[00:20] "But Melisa, I'm not established enough for this yet"
[00:23] The question to stop asking and the one to start asking instead
[00:25] Put this episode into action

Resources Mentioned:

Companion Resource: The Consultant's Lead Gen Sprint. Fall cohort starts September 22nd. Enroll at www.ConsultantSprint.com

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-283

Want 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.

You met them at an event. Or through a LinkedIn message. Or an intro you asked for.

However you found them, you thought the conversation you had was good. They showed real interest and said to follow up.

So you did.

And then nothing.

If you're like most independent consultants, you've got a stack of these. People you went out and found, who seemed genuinely interested, and then went silent.

You did the work to create the lead.

You had the conversation.

And it still died on the vine.

They ghost you.

They say they'll circle back, and don't.

They're genuinely interested on Tuesday and unreachable on Wednesday.

Here's the thing. It's not random. And it's not you being bad at sales.

There are five specific reasons outbound leads stall out before they become clients. Most consultants are tripping over three or four of them at once and don't even know it.

In Episode 282, Melisa Liberman walks you through all fiveY, and gives you the root cause and concrete fix for each one. 

You'll spot the ones costing you clients right now.

You'll hear the mindset shift sitting underneath all five.

And you'll know exactly what to do differently in your next outbound conversation.

If you're generating conversations and watching them stall or go nowhere, this is the episode that tells you why, and what to do about it.

Timestamps for Key Moments:

[00:00] Why outbound leads are different and why this episode matters

[00:03] Agenda overview

[00:04] Companion resource: free live training at icworkshop.info

[00:06] Why the source of the lead changes your entire business development process

[00:09] Overview of the five reasons and what they have in common

[00:33] The mindset underneath all five reasons

[00:36] Put this episode into action

Resources Mentioned:

Free live training: How to Always Have Your Next Consulting Client Lined Up Without the Constant Pressure. Register at www.ICworkshop.info

Full Show Notes: https://shownotes.melisaliberman.com/episode-282

Want More?

• 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-liberman

Want help achieving your consulting business goals? Melisa can help. Click here for more on coaching tailored to you as an independent consulting business owner.