The 2x2 for Consultants

There's a point in every independent consultant's career when the math stops working. You're fully booked, your income is solid, but earning more means working more hours. And there are only so many hours in a day.

So, how do you grow without burning yourself out?

In this AMAS episode, I talked about what I learned about raising rates, bringing on other consultants, and using AI and administrative support to create more capacity. We also tackle the bigger question: Do you actually need to grow beyond yourself?

Sam Shar went from selling luxury homes to running a consulting firm. Turns out, he didn't have to relearn how to sell. 

After building a successful career in luxury real estate, Sam’s life took an unexpected turn. After a series of life-changing events unfolding within months, he found himself leading a consulting business his father founded, in an industry he never planned to enter. 

But Sam quickly discovered that the skills he'd developed in real estate translated surprisingly well to consulting. 

In our conversation, we explore those skills and why they’re valuable to his work. 

What’s it like to leave corporate life in D.C. for consulting work in Panama?

I sat down with Kari Huske to talk about her bold career shift, the power of stepping outside your comfort zone, and how she’s building a consulting practice abroad.

We also covered her work with Strategy Tools, work-life balance, and landing clients big and small through strong networks.

Turn a ‘no no’ into a ‘yes yes’.

Vindali Vartak spent most of her career in the healthcare industry, mostly in value-based care. Her leap to consulting hasn’t been an easy journey, but she managed to secure four clients (in one year) through perseverance and resilience.

In this interview, Vindali takes us through her early journey as a consultant and gives us some golden nuggets from which every new independent consultant can benefit.

What keeps work interesting for you?

I sat down with Dana Hager to talk about career transitions, the leap from corporate to independent work, and embracing flexibility (geographically and otherwise).

We also got into the “squirrel mentality,” staying engaged, and what it really takes to build a path that fits *you*.

How do you go from BCG to startups—and homeschool your kids along the way?

I sat down with Amelia Waters to talk about career transitions, managing operational chaos, and what it means to build a life that works on your terms.

We also got into learning science, work-from-home flexibility, and raising curious kids while leading big projects.

Susan Dabbar never really retired. She just keeps climbing uphill. 

She's designed nuclear submarines, played professional poker in Russia, built and sold an educational consulting practice. Then, at an age when most people retire, she launched PROVOKEDmagazine, a media company for women over 60 that's already hit 45,000 subscribers with a team of 20+ writers. 

For Susan, every new chapter is just another hard problem worth solving. 

Here, she breaks down exactly how she thinks about starting over, at any age. 

Leaving a prestigious job and starting a consulting business is a hard decision that every independent consultant had to face. 

But Pradnya Haldipur did it and she did it successfully – no consulting business plan involved. 

She left a senior role at Doctors Without Borders to start a consulting company. Twelve months in, she was doing better than she'd expected. 

We first talked to Pradnya during the first few months of her launching her independent practice. We brought her back a year later to see what happened, and ask her a few things we missed the first time around.  

This is the third part of our Win Trust, Win Six Figures series about establishing a trusted brand as an independent consultant. 

Pradnya Haldipur to show us what happens when someone executes this advice under real pressure. 

For PropelGrowth CEO Candyce Edelen, sales calls and transcripts are a gold mine if you’re looking to build an authentic brand as a fractional executive. 

With some of the best AI tools for marketing today, extracting ideas from those assets is easier and faster than ever. Finding the message-market fit hidden in the transcripts is the key to writing thought leadership content that resonates. 

Candyce is also an expert when it comes to building the best LinkedIn profile for consultants – one that sounds like your most authentic self, not the polished version. 

We talk about it and more in the second part of our Win Trust, Win Six Figures series. 

Angie Jones knows how hard it is to establish a personal branding for consultants. Even after years in publishing and marketing, she still struggled to find an authentic personal brand as a fractional executive. 

After all, you can’t read the label from inside the bottle. 

In this first part of our Win Trust, Win Six Figures podcast series, Angie lays out the how-to’s of narrowing your expertise and turning them into thought leadership content examples that build trust. 

This one’s worth a listen, especially if you’re looking to upgrade your marketing and LinkedIn content strategy.