Seven Figure Consultant with Jessica Fearnley

What do you bring to the table that nobody else does? When you start a business it's so easy to try to fit in. You can find yourself effectively saying, 'tell me who you want me to be and I'll do it'.

But there's a reason why you didn't fit into the corporate box. You have an energy and a sparkle that you bring to your work. You do things in a way other people don't. Maybe you see things differently, or you have your own framework.

What you bring to your business, audience and clients is your magic and I see so many women consultants who hide this away. They don't want people to discover the real them. But when you uncover her and let her shine, that's when magic really does happen for your business and your clients.

This week on the podcast, I'm talking to Michelle McGlade who believes success is an inside out game and leadership of self is the key to building teams and unlocking your next level growth in business and life. Michelle is an award-winning CEO, best-selling author, speaker and podcast host.

We talk about:

• How we hide behind our brands
• Feeling stuck and knowing there is something bigger for you
• Holding back what we think and how we're feeling
• Recreating what you didn't like about your corporate career in your business
• The vulnerability involved in self-growth

Useful links

Take the Unhide Your Magic Quiz

Find out more about Michelle McGlade on her website

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

So many discussions around building a seven-figure business are focused on the balance sheet, and doing the work. But you didn't start your consulting business to work around the clock and never see your friends or family. Maybe you had a bigger dream. Maybe it's a dream you are thinking will always be a dream.

This week on the podcast, I'm talking to Sumeena Gupta who took a sabbatical after 10 years working in the City and went travelling with her husband. They ended up building a new life for themselves in Indonesia and a seven-figure business. I met Sumeena at an online retreat last year and when we were chatting we realised we are from adjacent towns in north London.

Sumeena has built multiple successful hospitality businesses over the last 15 years and now works with women as a business mentor. She helps women build businesses that allow them to have freedom, impact and build wealth, with the ultimate result of generational change. She's on a mission to be part of the change she wants to see in this world!

We talk about:

• The lack of role models for women of colour
• Building an alternative lifestyle
• Creating a seven-figure lifestyle business
• Breaking free from other people's expectations and not asking for permission
• Being a role model for your children

Useful links

Join Sumeena's Facebook group Womxn who Business

Find out more about Sumeena on her website

Connect with her on LinkedIn

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Are you growing your business accidentally or intentionally?

Sometimes we can feel more comfortable with 'accidentally' doing it. That champagne moment when you land a contract which makes a significant change to your bottom line without purposefully seeking it.

Intentionally growing your business is when you work towards a big picture you have in your mind.

But I see so many women who do this: you might have a goal in mind but you shy away from writing it down, or telling it to anyone.

And then when you do talk to someone about it, or you start to think about that goal, you find yourself saying, 'but I suppose I have to be realistic…' And you make it smaller.

If you have found yourself setting a goal and then dialling down your expectations of what is possible, then this episode is for you. I am talking about the limiting power of 'realism' in your consulting business.

I discuss:

• The power that comes from speaking our intentions
• Creating supportive close relationships
• What you need to do to hit your financial goals
• The first conversation I often have with my clients
• Telling ourselves we can't - when actually, we can

Useful links

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Do you know what you are going to do with it? I don't mean going on a shopping spree or buying a dream property, but how you will manage that wealth. A sudden change in fortune can be destabilising. What can feel like a piece of the puzzle slotting into place can open up a new section of the board as you take decisions you haven't had to make before.

Wealth brings new decisions and you might find it difficult to talk about those with friends and family who are not in your position. There's also such a cultural discomfort with women and wealth.

My guest on the podcast this week is Kaitlyn Carlson, who is President and Founder of Theory Planning Partners, a boutique wealth management firm for women in business.

We talk about:

• The cultural discomfort around women and wealth
• Managing quantities of money you may not have experienced before
• Options your business gives you for building wealth
• Developing a wealth mindset
• What you need to do if your financial situation has changed

Useful links

Find out more about Kaitlyn at Theory Planning Partners and book a free 30 minute call.

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Do you long for a freedom lifestyle instead of your business replicating the chaotic weekly schedule you left behind in corporate?

You're stuck on the hamster wheel. You tell yourself that busy is good, it shows you're being productive. But are you spending your time working on the right things?

If you are a regular listener of the show you might have been surprised to see the title of this episode because one of the things I almost always say is that I don't really believe in time management. That's still the case.

This week on the podcast I am talking about time management now you're the CEO, and it's not about using the Pomodoro Technique or any other systems you might have heard about to get more done in your day.

I talk about:

• Why you need to embrace leadership to grow your business
• Feeling uncomfortable about having a team
• The only 4 things that CEOs should spend time on
• Setting up your business to run without you
• Rethinking the way you do your schedule

Useful links

Get instant access to Jessica's free workshop Stop Overworking and Make More Money

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

You know those days when you wake up knowing exactly what you're going to do in your business and you start working and you just don't have the energy.

You feel flat. You know what you should be doing but no matter how much you berate yourself for not getting on with what's on your task list, work is slow. You don't feel like this is what's right for you. Your body is saying no, while your head is saying, 'you had a plan! A timetable! Get on with it!'

And then there are times when you get a really good feeling about doing something but your logical brain isn't so sure. You know, your heart or gut says go for it but your mind says, 'no' or 'wait'.

What is happening here? Why do we go off course? Well you might not be. You're trying to do things while ignoring your energy. This week on the podcast, I am talking to Amber Annette, a soul-powered life and business coach, dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs do what sets their soul on fire.

We talk about:

• Tracking your energy and spotting patterns
• Using the elements of air, earth, water, and fire
• Knowing when you're in the right phase for different activities
• Allowing yourself to rest when your body tells you to

Useful links

Find out more about Amber Annette at amberannette.com

Watch Amber's masterclass on Business Magic with the Elements

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

As you start to charge more for your services or when you deliver larger projects and contracts for higher profile clients, something unexpected happens.

Actually, several things. But the one I'm talking about today is that you can find your boundaries are tested. You might have various rules that you stick to like no work after 6pm or no replying to emails at the weekend. But then you get a gig that has you jumping around the room with joy and when you get an email on a Saturday about it, you find yourself replying. After all, it's a big client, you want to show them you're on it.

Suddenly, you find you're working on the weekend, because it's never just replying to one email is it?

Your boundaries are an important part of your business, not just for you but for your clients. In this week's podcast episode, I'm talking about honouring your boundaries as your business grows.

I talk about:

• When you get a gig that takes you to a new level in your business
• Getting comfortable with your prices
• What drives you to overdeliver
• What to do if you're tempted to drop a boundary

Useful links

Come along to my free workshop on How To Handle Fast Growth In Your Consulting Business on Tuesday, May 25 at 4pm UK (11am EST, 8am PST).

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

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When you set up a consulting business it's often just you delivering the work at the start. But if you want to sell it or make it less reliant on you being present every day, you need something other than your expertise to sell.

Whether you plan to exit by selling your business or not, it's really good to understand what makes for a good sales proposition. This changes everything about how you approach your business.

You might be thinking, 'but there's only me, I don't have anything else to offer'. My guest on the podcast this week is Erin Austin, who is a lawyer and consultant using her experience in big law and corporations to help consultants identify the hidden assets in their business.

She shares strategies to decouple your time from your income and how to plan for when a potential acquirer comes calling.

We talk about:

• Using our businesses to generate wealth
• Where the 'Rembrandts in the attic' are in your business
• What happens when you get fully booked
• Developing your process and creating a system
• Licensing your framework

Useful links

Find out more about Erin and get the free download "Is There A Rembrandt In Your Attic?" at https://thinkbeyondip.com

Erin's 8 Strategies To Decouple Your Time And From Your Income - Download here

Erin's Due Diligence Readiness Checklist - Download here

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

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What does your desk look like? Super tidy? Key things out but generally clutter free? Or paper everywhere?

No, this isn't an episode about how a tidy desk means you are super organised and set for success. It's about people's perceptions of us and focusing on what matters. As you'll hear, it's inspired by a conversation I had with a business friend and I realised it had quite a few business lessons I'm going to share with you.

You'll have guessed from the title that I have a messy desk and in this episode I share why.

I talk about:

• How trying to save money costs a lot of time and might mean you never reach your goal
• How believing you 'should' do something means it's the last thing you want to do
• Focusing on what's really important in your business and life
• My biggest frustration with social media
• Letting go of perfectionism

Useful links

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Abundance can be a loaded word for lots of us. Life doesn't always feel abundant.

We can grow up full of fear, convinced the world is a hostile place and that we are going to have to fight hard to make something of ourselves.

This week on the podcast I am talking about stepping into abundance after a client got in touch with me following Episode 71 when I discussed what to do if your client is stuck in scarcity. She asked, 'how do I know if I'm stepping into abundance, or just making really reckless financial decisions in my business?'

It's such a great question and this is the conversation we're having this week.

I discuss:

• Our understanding of abundance
• Making key decisions in life and business
• Beliefs around the choices we make
• The emotional baggage other people's responses can create
• The scarcity women bring to the first years of their businesses

Useful links

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile