Seven Figure Consultant with Jessica Fearnley

Are you frustrated that you aren't bringing home the money you want to be?

You work hard in your business. You put your heart and soul into your work. It means a lot to you that your clients have a good experience of working with you, and you go the extra mile to make sure they have a positive experience.

You're fully booked. And yet you still aren't making the money you want to.

In this week's episode I'm talking about the most common issue I see in woman-owned consultancy businesses: prioritising volume over value.

I talk about:

• Needing more hours in order to make more money
• Developing a premium, super high-ticket offer
• Always being busy in your business
• Fulfilling your potential
• Pouring your time into the wrong things

Useful links:

Limited time offer - Video training on How To Attract High Value Clients

Book in for a one-off call with Jessica to discuss what you are charging in your consulting business.

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Do you feel like you are already charging at the maximum level for your industry?

Do you sometimes wonder if your clients respect you? They can be demanding, and dismissive of your input. Sometimes they seek alternative advice even when you've discussed it in detail with them.

You never plan to work late but you seem to spend your evenings and weekends checking your work emails on your phone, and then either feeling duty-bound to respond right away or feeling stressed when you don't reply until the next day.

These are all signs you might be undercharging and overdelivering. It is a huge issue for many of the women consultants I speak to.

This week on the podcast I am talking about what you can do about it.

I talk about:

• Having blind spots in our business
• The emotional toll of starting a business
• Pricing as if you need companies to do you a favour by hiring you
• Putting professional boundaries in place with your clients
• How to shift out of a negative mindset

Useful links:

Limited time offer - Video training on How To Attract High Value Clients

Book in for a one-off call with Jessica for help to see the blind spots in your business.

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

It feels like there's an end in sight for the first time this year. After reports this crisis could continue for another 5 years, there is a possibility of a vaccine.

We have also seen two really important glass ceilings shatter with the election of Kamala Harris as the first woman Vice President and non-white Vice President. It's great to feel that wave of optimism.

One of the best things about my job is working with women who are making a difference. This week on the podcast I am talking about three ways women consultants can have a positive impact during the Covid crisis.

I talk about:

• The positive effect of good news
• Wanting to show empathy to others who are struggling
• Seeing yourself as you truly are
• Being a force for good
• Ways you can help others
• Broadening your horizons

Useful links:

Book in for a one-off call with Jessica to discuss the narrative you have about yourself in relation to money and success.

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

We are in Lockdown 2.0 in the UK at the moment. It's a bit of a blow, but also not really a surprise.

Back in March there was a real sense of shock and trauma. Companies were planning to furlough or postpone projects.

This time around, there's more of an emphasis on continuity. We want things to be as normal as possible. Your B2B clients can't afford to stay on pause for another 6 months.

So, how can you prepare yourself for the months ahead, with yet more uncertainty and a question mark over how long and exactly what the transition out of lockdown will look like?

This week on the podcast, I am talking about doing business in the middle of a global pandemic.

I talk about:

• The shift to online working
• Understanding the landscape of your industry
• Following the money
• Making lead generation your 'new normal'
• Showing up as a leader
• Attracting higher value clients

This is episode 50 of the Seven Figure Consultant Podcast! Thanks so much for tuning in. I am so thankful for your support.

Useful links:

Get the Attracting Higher Value Clients video

Book in for a one-off call with Jessica to talk through how you're adapting your consultancy business

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Confidence and assertiveness are both issues that come up often for women, and they can be huge issues in our professional lives as well as our personal lives.

When you run your own business, despite being in charge, making decisions, you can still find yourself in situations where you are on the back foot. Those times when you want a conversation, or a situation to have a particular outcome, but you feel you aren't allowed it.

This week on the podcast, I am talking about power because when you realise that you are giving your power away in the way you interact with others and conduct your business, it becomes easier to see how you can start taking it back.

I talk about:

• How it feels when a client is ignoring your boundaries
• When you price yourself lower than you want to in order to win a contract
• Sales and making the first move
• Your superpowers as a consultant
• Saying yes, when you want to say no
• Showing up as a leader

Useful links:

If you are struggling with taking power back in your business, book in for a one-off call with Jessica.

Jessica's LinkedIn profile.

What do you do with all the thoughts, ideas, notes, and possibly doubts that don't necessarily belong on your task list or in your business planner?

We have so much in our heads, and when you run your own consulting business it feels like you are juggling a million thoughts at the same time. We need somewhere to put the thoughts which don't necessarily need to be acted on today, or this week, or that is not part of a work we are doing with our clients.

Something which has really helped me in my life and my business is journaling. It's always been my go-to for mindset, dealing with stress, looking at why I am holding myself back, a place for working on strategic planning, and so much more. I love journaling and I encourage my clients to do it.

I'm quite an instinctive journaler and sometimes find myself flummoxed by the question: how do I journal? If that is something you would like to know the answer to, then this week my guest on the podcast is Moyra Mackie. She's an accredited coach and organisational consultant, and has developed Journal Safari to help people create a space where they can step away from being busy and articulate their thoughts and feelings.

We talk about:

• How journaling is like having a life coach
• Giving yourself permission to make space for yourself
• Figuring out your personal journaling practice
• Dealing with our emotions
• Starting from where you are
• Getting stuck and learning from it
• Talking down your inner critic
• Integrating the pieces of yourself

Useful links:

Join The Work Less Earn More Mentorship

Moyra Mackie's free Journal Taster Exercise (Happiness Deep Dive)

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

Are you finding it hard to get projects finished?

Is your to do list bursting at the seams? No matter how many hours you work, that list of tasks keeps growing.

None of us like not reaching our own standards, we are all trying to do our best. You might find this a painful realisation, but you could be the bottleneck in your business.

This week on the podcast I am talking about what happens when you are the one holding up progress.

I discuss:

• Wanting to do more than is physically possible
• Why understanding your role in your business is important
• Giving yourself permission to delegate
• Having the right systems in place
• How present you want to be in your business day to day
• Evaluating whether you're using your time in the best way possible

Useful links:

Book in for a one-off call with Jessica to discuss how to make your business run the way you want it to.

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

We often spend our time sitting on the sidelines, telling ourselves we will take a particular step in 6 months' time.

It might be starting your consulting business, or perhaps approaching a company you know you want to work with. Maybe you are planning to make your first hire or starting to scale your business with additional revenue streams.

This week on the podcast, I am talking about getting brave. If you have goals in your notebook that you haven't started taking action on yet, this episode is for you.

I talk about:

• The role mindset and personal conviction plays in business
• When you feel chronically 'stuck' in your business
• Resistance
• Experiencing growing pains in your business
• The pain of stagnation
• The role our beliefs play in our success

Useful links:

Book in for a one-off call with Jessica to discuss how to get the business you want this autumn.

Jessica's LinkedIn profile

What are you struggling with right now? What do you see holding back people around you? Your answer will be different to my answer, and our answers will not be the same as the next person's.

So many women consultants start their businesses because they want to make a change. They want to change the way things are done in their industry. They might need to change the way they work to fit around other aspects of their lives such as illness or caring for someone else.

Our role as businesswomen and as experts in our industries gives us the opportunity to lead inclusion. We can design the businesses we want to see more of.

This week my guest is Kay Fabella, a DEI consultant and remote teams specialist who builds diversity, equity and inclusion solutions for companies with distributed teams. She works with organisations around the world from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Kay and I talked about the power of inclusion, creating opportunities and the part women consultants can play as allies and leaders.

We discussed:

• Why equity is a critical part of the equation
• Recognising that people have different starting points in life
• Different experiences of situations
• How to think about socio-economic factors which could impact members of your team in different ways
• Being better allies to each other
• Dismantling systems to create more inclusivity
• The gender pay gap for women of colour and how women consultants can close this
• Making your network more inclusive
• Leaning in to discomfort and learning through it

Resources mentioned in this episode

Kay Fabella's Inclusion In Progress podcast.

The Future Of Work Whitepaper.

Lean In's research on the gender pay gap for black women.

Do you have an intense feeling of angst about your work? Perhaps there is a nagging doubt that you have done something wrong or that you are about to get 'found out' and will be asked to leave, or to give a client a refund.

You are not alone. This is an issue many consultants come across: it is called imposter syndrome, the feeling that your success is down to luck rather than being something you have earned.

You might feel unworthy, or anxious, or overwhelmed. It is normal to be nervous if you are doing a keynote for the first time or you are going to be pitching to a big company you really want to sign as a client. But imposter syndrome goes beyond 'normal' nerves, and it is more a feeling of wanting to run away or escape.

It is not unique to women, but it is something that many women I speak to experience.

This week on the podcast I am focusing on imposter syndrome, how to identify it, and how to deal with it.

I discuss:

• Signs you might have imposter syndrome
• The feeling of wanting to escape
• How to spot when you are self-sabotaging your business
• Fear of setting prices
• Playing small
• The need to invest in your mindset
• Key questions you need to ask yourself to get the life you want and deserve

Useful links:

Book in for a one-off call with Jessica to discuss what is holding you back.

Jessica's LinkedIn profile