Seven Figure Consultant with Jessica Fearnley

How much do you write for your business? When you start out as a consultant you might not write that much marketing material.

You have probably put a website together but how well does it represent you now? And you might be noticing all the additional writing you are doing, from emails to your list to the preparation for a launch.

I've been talking a lot on the podcast recently about what it means to be a CEO and doing all the writing you need for your business demands is one area to look at.

If you are wondering how to outsource writing, then this week's podcast interview is for you. I am talking to Kim Kiel, a direct response strategist and founder of boutique copywriting agency Kim Kiel Copy. With 15+ years of writing multi-6-figure campaigns for small businesses and non-profits, Kim helps brainy brands and experts share their gifts and positive impact with the world.

We talk about:

• Knowing when you need to outsource your copywriting
• Using email when you are launching a course
• Common copywriting mistakes people make on their websites
• Copywriting frameworks you can use to make writing easier
• Whether it's best to wait until inspiration strikes or to make a habit of writing

Useful links

The Ultimate Checklist for Magnetic Copy that Attracts & Sells

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Have things started to come together in your consulting business? You've put your heart and soul into your work and now it's paying off. You're approaching projects with energy and confidence and your bank balance has increased.

You're now earning a really good salary, possibly more than you did in your corporate job. But if you are married or in a lifelong partnership, this can raise an important issue. That is, do you see your consulting business as the 'supporting income' in your household? If so, is that something you are happy about?

This week on the podcast, I am discussing the transition to earning more than your partner.

I talk about:

• The impact of the pandemic on women-owned businesses
• How women see themselves as business owners
• The potential of your consultancy business to be life-changing for you
• How earning more than your partner can mean a shift in your relationship
• Figuring out what your dreams and aspirations are

Useful links

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Do you offer coaching to your clients as well as consulting? Are you drawn to one more than the other, or you are offering consulting, but increasingly feel you want to be a coach?

I speak to a lot of women who get torn between two directions in their business. It can be difficult to decide where to focus your efforts, or what to say to your clients about your offers. Sometimes you are doing one thing, but you really wish you were doing the other and this can lead to feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

This week on the podcast, I am discussing the dilemma of how best to run your business if you are offering both consulting and coaching, or thinking of branching out from one of these into the other.

I talk about:

• Whether you need to be accredited
• Researching qualifications
• Paying attention to the norms in your industry
• Mapping out your business
• Whether you have two distinct businesses
• Avoiding building up debts

Useful links

Get in touch with Jessica to discuss your consulting business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

There's no need to be a lone wolf in your business, and work everything out the hard way. You don't need to make all the mistakes that others have before you. There are no medals for the business school of hard knocks, and there are enough knocks on the journey anyway.

Right at the start of my business when I was still finding my feet, I took a big detour and started offering low ticket services. When I came through the other side, I suddenly realised I had gone full circle. I hadn't been wrong when I first mapped my brand, in the way that I thought I had at the time - I was bang on right from the word go.

This week on the podcast I am sharing what happens when you take the long way around and the impact that can have on your business.

I talk about:

• How it feels when we're pushing up against a mindset block
• What happens when we back away from a challenge
• Realising when you have to step up
• The 'future you'
• How journaling can help you get unstuck

Useful links:

Find out more about working with me and apply

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

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There's a lot of fear right now. There's a lot of uncertainty about what the next few months will hold. Some of us are in lockdown again and have kids at home instead of at school, with all the pressure and cabin fever and frustration that can bring (for us AND for them).

It might feel like 2021 is over before it's begun. We start the new year with such promise don't we? We make plans, set goals, and look forward. But this year we've been hit with so many events beyond our control in just a few short weeks.

This week on the podcast, I am talking about how you can reframe this story about 2021. Rather than looking at everything going on around you and thinking the outlook is bleak, times of crisis can actually uplevel your consulting business.

I talk about:

• Setting your sights higher
• Unravelling the stories you are telling yourself that keep you stuck
• What holds you back in business
• How normality can be the enemy of progress
• Refining your role as CEO of your business

Useful links:

Find out more about working with me and apply

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts

The corporate world has rapidly adapted to online working over the past year. Companies are now better set up to cope with a remote workforce, and there's a real need to ensure continuity in business so that the impact on the economy of lockdown is kept to a minimum.

But even though we are all getting better at doing life and work in lockdown, it is still hugely important that you adapt your routines to build in the self-care you need to show up as the best version of yourself this quarter.

Things feel uncertain. There's a lot of talk about the economy and how it will all take decades to recover from and other equally negative predictions. Despite our best intentions, it can be hard to get your best energy flowing against this backdrop.

This week on the podcast I am talking about how to show up as the best version of yourself when the pressure is on.

I talk about:

• Building in the self-care you need to show up as the best version of yourself
• Knowing what you need to focus on
• How you show up day to day
• Taking the pressure off yourself
• Showing yourself compassion and acceptance

Useful links:

Find out more about working with me and apply

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts

If there's ever been a year that has done really hard things to our mindset, it's definitely the one we've just had. Now it's time to look ahead and we are wondering what the new year will bring.

My guest expert for this episode is Jaclyn Mellone, a mindset coach, founder of the Go-To Gal podcast and of Pays To Podcast. She helps her clients anchor in their authority, grow their revenue, and build a loyal audience.

I think of Jaclyn as the go-to gal for mindset. This is a topic I've been speaking about in the last two episodes of the podcast and I'm delighted to share my conversation with Jaclyn with you. It's a really helpful discussion as we prepare for 2021.

We talk about:

• What happens when our mindset is not in alignment with where we want to go
• How draining the past few months have been and the impact of that on ourselves
• Being grateful for what we've got and still wanting more
• The ripple effect of going bigger
• Being afraid to allow ourselves to go to that next step
• How the rules have changed this year

Useful links:

Jaclyn Mellone's mindset exercise

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Join The Work Less, Earn More Mentorship

When I first set up my business I quickly discovered some great Facebook groups for women business owners. It always jarred with me a bit that there was a real new-age spiritualism that often accompanied this. I didn't have a problem with other people going down this route – it just didn't particularly chime with me.

I bundled money mindset up with all this talk about spiritualism and manifesting and the law of attraction and I found it a bit 'much'.

But over time I've really come to appreciate how valuable it is to talk about money mindset, because like mindset and particularly, scarcity mindset, it has a huge impact on how we do life and because of that – how we do business.

This week on the podcast I am talking about money mindset and the part it plays in your consulting business.

I talk about:

• How my life looked great on the outside, but actually I was broke
• How I burst into tears when I suddenly made £4k in one month
• The beliefs we have around money
• What you can do to change how you think about money

Useful links:

You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

When I was new in business, if someone said they didn't know how to get clients I would have sat down with them and got to work coming up with strategies. I would have suggested 7 things they could try like speak at a conference, go networking, or reach out to prospective clients on LinkedIn.

What would often happen then was that, even though they went away with a list of things to do, we would meet again for our next session and they wouldn't have done any of them. They might have made a half-hearted attempt at one or two things. But there would often be a real sense of despondency and failure.

People are giving you solutions, you might even be paying people to produce strategies and plans, but none of them are working. In fact, you might even be applying strategy to a situation where you are bent on sabotaging your own efforts without realising that's what you are doing.

Over the last 6 years I have changed how I respond when someone says they don't know how to get clients. I have realised that when we feel like we don't know what to do, it's not a strategy problem, it's a mindset problem. And this is my topic for discussion on the podcast this week.

I talk about:

• When you don't truly believe you are good enough to be a consultant
• What happens when we want our prospective clients to validate us
• What you need to remember when thinking about who your ideal clients are
• Beliefs around what people will pay
• Some of my clients' stories

Useful links

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Most people start a consulting business and put themselves at the heart of it. You are selling your skills and expertise, possibly even your time. But really, you want your business to be able to run without you, enabling someone else to take charge.

Selling your business might seem a long way in the future. You might not even have considered it. But even if this idea isn't on your radar, the processes involved will help you spend less time working and enable you to become more profitable. So how do you go about scaling your consultancy business to sell?

My guest on the podcast this week is Michael Zipursky, CEO of Consulting Success. He has helped more than 400 consultants from around the world add six and seven figures to their revenue. We discussed how to build your business so that it is not reliant on you and becomes attractive to a potential buyer.

We talked about:

• Understanding the criteria that makes a good business
• Structuring your business so it can support the lifestyle you want
• Knowing what you want to accomplish and working backwards
• Different models for your business
• Breaking your annual goals down into quarterly and monthly goals
• How to structure your business for sale
• Understanding the value of your business to a potential buyer

Useful resources:

Get a free copy of Michael Zipursky's book Act Now: How successful consultants thrive during chaos and uncertainty

Jessica's LinkedIn profile