September 24, 2024 • 30 mins
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Feeling like your routine isn’t keeping up with your ambition? You’re not alone. In this episode of Black Girls Consult Too!, we’re diving into the challenges that come with leveling up your business while juggling everything else on your plate—launching new projects, managing client work, and keeping things from falling apart.
If you’ve ever felt stretched thin trying to grow your consultancy while balancing life’s demands, this episode is for you. We’ll explore the reality of taking on new ventures with limited resources and why sometimes the messiest moments are where the most growth happens.
So, grab your coffee, tea, or even a glass of wine 🍷 and join us for a candid, empowering conversation that’ll give you the insights and energy to keep pushing forward.
Curious to learn more? Hit play and dive in!
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For more information on how to start, grow, or scale your consulting business, visit https://excelatconsulting.com/
Let's Connect! I'd love to continue this conversation with you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
They say, the odds are stacked against us as women,
especially women of color,trying to thrive in the
consulting world.
But rather than wait for a seatat the table that may never
come, what if we build our owntables?
What if we channeled ourtalents into guiding each other
towards the success we deserve?
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsulting Podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, and I've walked the path
(00:25):
from healthcare consultant to amentor for women like you,
ambitious, unstoppable and readyto make waves in the consulting
world.
This podcast is your go-to spotfor all things entrepreneurial
consulting.
For us as women, especiallywomen of color, think of it as
your weekly coffee date with afriend who's here to dish out
real talk on building a solidbusiness, elevating your thought
(00:48):
leadership and mastering thatall important mindset.
And let's not forget, we'redoing all of this while
balancing day jobs, family lifeand running teams.
Yes, we can do it all.
So if you're ready to dive intohow you can grow a thriving
consultancy or get strategiesand insights that actually fit
your busy lifestyle, then you'rein the right place.
(01:09):
Grab your coffee, tea or, hey,even a glass of wine, I won't
judge and let's get started.
Hello, hello, hello.
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsole 2 podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, and you know I'm excited
(01:31):
to just be here on the mictalking to you today.
I have been building out thisYouTube channel and I will tell
you that it has been a steeplearning curve, for sure.
So if you've been tuning intothe video podcast on YouTube, I
am so thankful for all of yourdownloads and your support.
(01:53):
So please continue to spreadthe word, pass it along.
Those episodes are going tocontinue, but I wanted to take
this time to just pause for amoment, because I've been
learning so much along thisjourney, so many things that
I've been learning.
Really, it just applies to anynew venture that we may have,
(02:14):
especially in the process ofbuilding a business and doing so
as a solo consultant, or evenif you have a very small team or
you're working with even maybea VA, or maybe you have a
partner that you're working with.
All of these things that I'mgoing to talk about today are
going to be things that arereally pertinent to building any
(02:36):
business where there's limitedcapacity or limited resources.
So if you find yourself in thatsituation right now, then I
think that you're going toreally enjoy what I have to
share.
Now, if you're wondering whatit takes to balance launching a
video podcast and running aconsulting business, having your
(02:59):
audio podcast plus doing allthe things on social media and
serving clients, then let mejust tell you it's a lot.
It's a lot, but, with thatbeing said, it's been a
wonderful experience so far.
I've just learned so much aboutmyself, about what it means to
(03:19):
grow and expand and to move indifferent directions, what it
means to get back to this messymiddle, that you felt like you
left a long time ago.
As you begin to build yourbusiness and things begin to
smooth out, you feel as ifyou're trying to refine the way
things are running and you wantto elevate your image.
And now you're feeling a littlebit back at the starting point
(03:42):
because, let's be honest, whenyou're starting something new,
it's not going to be as polishedas you would like at the start.
You're going to go through alot of ups and downs and the
building process is not going toalways look pretty, but it
worked, and so I think that wehave to keep in mind what we
want to accomplish in the midstof going through these difficult
(04:05):
periods, in this transition,and I do think that what helps
navigate this process is havingworkflow efficiency, because
when you take on anything new,you're expanding your capacity.
Oh, you have to be able toexpand your capacity at least,
and if you're unable to do so,then you're going to become
overwhelmed or you may burn out.
(04:26):
Things definitely can fallapart very quickly.
So we have to be careful aboutwhat we're taking on, how we're
taking it on, and then thesystems and the structure that
we're creating to be able tomaintain it.
So today I want to share someof those lessons.
Now, one of the first thingsthat I learned in this process
is that I had to create a newroutine and system when I was
(04:50):
starting the podcast on YouTube,so when I was moving to doing
these video episodes, it broughton an entirely new set of tasks
.
Whatever reason in my mind, Iwas telling myself it would not
be vastly different from what Ido to prepare for the podcast.
So when I'm preparing for thepodcast, I develop my outline, I
(05:12):
do my research, I'm pullingtogether all the information I
want to share with you and I'mthinking about the message that
I want to convey.
And usually when I'm havingthese conversations, I feel like
it's just me and you talking.
We're having a sister to sister, girlfriend to girlfriend type
of conversation about what'sbeen going on in the consulting
(05:34):
world and how we need tonavigate it to build and
strengthen our businesses.
Well listen, doing the videoscripting was not like that.
It was not like that at all.
The shooting, the editing, thepromoting, all of that on top of
running the business.
It was a challenge and my oldroutine was not working for me
(05:54):
anymore.
I realized that I needed tocome up with new routines.
I needed to create a new systemto really be able to
accommodate the newresponsibilities that I was
taking on.
So one of the best things thatI did was just completely
restructuring my schedule.
I had to just change the waythat I was creating content for
(06:16):
the podcast.
I no longer could rely on justhaving an outline available and
talking off the cuff.
The video podcast required alittle bit more preparation.
So, number one, getting throughthat was a challenge.
Two is that an unusual findingfor me was and something I
(06:37):
didn't expect actually was thatI had difficulty talking on
camera, just like I'm havingthis conversation now and
flowing and just it's reallyrelaxed.
I wasn't able to do that withthe camera on, for whatever
reason, my mind shifts insubconsciously, my voice changes
(06:57):
, my energy changes, and thatwas difficult to overcome.
And that was difficult toovercome.
I did have to create newroutines for myself around that
that involve, for instance,using video affirmation cards or
restructuring the way that I'mrecording, using different tools
that I felt like I could useand navigate more naturally.
(07:19):
All of that had to change andshift.
I had to really think about howI conserved my energy so I
could be more excited on camera,because that doesn't translate
the same way as it does viaaudio when you're looking at
somebody on the screen.
So there was so much that I hadto build into number one the
process and the system for justrecording the episodes but then
(07:40):
also preparing it, not just interms of the outline but also in
terms of mindset, as well asbeing able to show up with the
level of energy necessary toconvey the message.
And I realized that I was notgoing to be able to fit that
into the same routine that I had.
If you notice, if you are alistener of the podcast, then
(08:00):
there were a couple of episodeswhere they were stretching out
to maybe every other weekinstead of weekly, and a lot of
that was because I was havingdifficulty during that time just
being very transparent, havingdifficulty staying on schedule
with all of these newresponsibilities that I had when
it came to creating theepisodes.
So I had to think long and hardhow can you begin to simplify
(08:24):
this process?
How can I change my routine andmy structure so that things got
a lot easier?
Now, one of the things that I'vealways done is I've used
project management tools.
My favorite is Notion.
If you have not heard me talkabout Notion, I love it,
absolutely love it.
I have so many dashboards builtout for managing my business
within Notion.
I love it, absolutely love it.
(08:45):
And I have so many dashboardsbuilt out for managing my
business within Notion, but thenalso I do use it for podcast
creation and just keeping upwith the workflow regards to the
podcast, and so I had to leaneven heavier into that dashboard
, into those tools, so that Icould manage and keep up with
the information as I wascreating it.
(09:06):
I had to be able to manage beingable to work on a particular
episode over a number of days,being able to think through what
it took for me to create theepisodes, the mindset work that
I needed to do, the scriptingwork that I needed to do, even
the physical appearance, keepingup with what outfits I was
going to wear, how my hair wasgoing to be styled, that type of
(09:27):
thing.
All those things had to beworked in.
Right now, when I'm behind amic, you don't see my hair, you
don't have to see my curls allover the place, right.
But when we get on camera, wehave to factor those types of
things in.
But that's going to be truewhen we take on any new project.
There are going to berequirements of that project
that we have not consideredbefore and we have not made time
(09:49):
for it.
When I was thinking abouttaking on the YouTube podcast, I
was not thinking about hair.
I wasn't thinking about clothes.
I wasn't thinking about how I'mgoing to read affirmations.
None of that was part of myplan.
I really had not consideredthat that would even be
something I would give anythought or care about, but I did
have to back to that end.
(10:10):
I think that we have to showourselves a lot of grace when
we're taking on new projects andnew initiatives, because there
is going to be a learning curveto just figure out what it takes
to carry this out day to dayand then realizing that maybe
the routine that we've had for anumber of years, the routine
that we've relied on, theroutine that has worked for us,
(10:33):
that has kept us being highlyproductive and high performing
in the work that we do, thatthose routines may not be the
best for our new purpose.
So being able to rework thoseroutines and to restructure them
and to be open to changing theway that we're showing up day to
day was huge.
(10:53):
I know that was huge for me,and if you have been running
into difficulty with somethingnew that you have been trying to
work through and facing similarchallenges, then if you have
been tied to a routine I wantchallenges.
Then, if you have been tied toa routine, I want to encourage
you to think about how you canrevisit that routine.
How can you improve it, how canyou change the systems that
you're using currently so thatthey work in your favor, so that
(11:16):
you are able to carry out thetask efficiently, but then also
do so without burning yourselfout or overwhelming yourself by
trying to keep up with theroutine that did not have this
new effort, this new project,this new initiative in mind.
So that's the first thing I hadto change my routine, I had to
change my systems.
Now the second lesson that Ilearned is that and I mentioned
(11:39):
this in the opening I had to getcomfortable with being in the
messy middle again, and I willtell you that the messy middle
hit me a lot harder than Iexpected.
I did not expect for me to feellike I was brand new at
consulting again, but I'mtelling you, the minute that
camera came on, it was justtypical.
(12:01):
It was something very new andmentally it was just difficult.
It was something very new andmentally it posed a challenge.
And getting used to how you showup on camera, how succinct my
message had to be, what, forinstance, visually I had to look
like, the mannerisms I hadneeded to make sure that I was
mindful of or controlling, Ithink there's all of these
(12:22):
little things that are difficultto learn and to put into
process when you're firststarting.
So it begins to look a littlemessy, it's not going to be as
polished, and that was hard forme to swallow because I had
gotten to a point where I feltlike I could portray myself in a
quote, unquote professionalmanner and I felt like these
(12:45):
imperfections, the way thevideos were turning out.
I felt like it wasn't aspolished and perfect as I wanted
it to be.
Well, I had to learn to acceptthat.
You know what Perfection is notnecessary at this stage.
It's not necessary ever, if I'mhonest.
But definitely at this stagewhere I'm starting out and I'm
trying to get this YouTubechannel off the ground and
(13:06):
probably that will be for anumber of episodes, I will tell
you that my coach, when it comesto video podcasting and video
in general, one thing she wassharing with me was that, listen
, don't expect anything untilafter you've done the 50 videos.
So I'm in it for the long haul.
Like really thinking ahead,like, ok, I have to get all
(13:27):
these videos done.
The more videos I get done, thefaster I get those videos done,
the easier it's going to be forme to get to that next level
where I'm able to maybe makethings look a little bit better,
and that gets better over time.
But right now, in this stage,in this early learning stage and
building stage, it's going tolook messy.
It's not going to be perfectand some people may look at that
(13:48):
and judge me or judge mybusiness by it.
But what I have to do is thinkbeyond that, and this is what we
all have to do.
So, if you are in the pointwhere you're either starting
your consulting business rightnow or you have been practicing
for a while and you're trying toexpand it, but maybe you're
going and you're doing morespeaking engagements, maybe you
(14:10):
have a podcast of your own oryou start a YouTube channel of
your own, whatever it may be,when you first start it may look
messier than you desire, youmay feel as if it is a negative
reflection on you or yourbusiness, but what I want to
encourage you to think about isthe growth that you're
(14:30):
experiencing the growth thatcomes with starting this new
journey.
The growth that comes withbeing able to sit in that
messiness and to still perform.
The growth that comes withbeing able to sit in that
messiness and to still perform.
The growth that comes withbeing able to sell from that
messiness.
The growth that comes frombeing able to move from the
(14:50):
messiness to the polishedoutcome or the result that you
want to share.
I think so much of this goesinto really building our
character for the work thatwe're doing with clients,
because, as they navigate theprocess of working with us.
It's going to feel this way forthem, too when you're working
(15:11):
with other businesses and otherexperts in the space.
They're not used to being inthis messy middle, they're not
used to seeking out this messymiddle.
They're not used to seeking outthis level of help and guidance
.
So it helps us to remember whatit feels like to be in that
place where you're trying tolearn from others and you feel
like the student again, and so,whether or not it's dealing with
(15:34):
imperfect lighting andunscripted moments and tech
glitches like I had toexperience in terms of creating
these videos or you walking intoa situation where you're
seeking out help and support tobuild your business and to close
those gaps that you need toclose, I want you to think
(15:54):
through what's relatable aboutthat.
Think through how, either whatyou're experiencing is exactly
what other people haveexperienced Even the people that
you look to for help or supportthey're going through the same
experience on some level and theclients that you're serving,
how it feels to go through thatexperience and how you can
(16:17):
provide that support and thatcomfort and that nurturing and
that empathy to carry themthrough.
You know, I think that thatmessy middle filling is
something that can be such ablessing if we allow it to work
for our good, because, see, whenthe real progress happens, when
the change happens, there'sgoing to be so much growth with
(16:39):
it.
It won't be pretty as you gothrough it right, it's part of
the process, but the key is tokeep moving.
And if you keep moving throughthe process, if you keep moving
through the mess, instead oftrying to wait until everything
is perfect which I know it'stempting to do, it's tempting to
say I want to start thispodcast, but I'm going to wait
until I can get someone to editall my episodes and for me to
(17:01):
have the high level guests comeon my show.
I'm going to wait until I canget to that point where
everybody's going to be talkingabout my podcast episode on my
YouTube or my speakingengagement, whatever it may be.
You want to wait to that pointwhere you're able to showcase
your absolute best before youstart.
But then I will tell you thattime will never come because it
(17:22):
requires you to go through themess.
Take it from me it's notcomfortable being in the messy
middle, but if you move throughit, it is going to get easier
and easier day by day, andyou're going to feel so good
when you're on the other side.
I must tell you that whenever Ilook at some of the videos on
(17:43):
YouTube I've created so far,there are some cringe moments
that I feel are cringe worthy,but at the same time, I'm proud
of myself.
I'm proud because I see theevolution.
I'm proud because I know whatit felt like with the first
video that I put out.
I know what it feels like nowwith the most recent video I've
put out.
I see the change, I feel thegrowth, and I think that
(18:06):
empowers you to do even more,because I will tell you if it's
anything like what I've beenexperiencing, you'll get more
people downloading, more peoplesigning up to your email list,
more inquiries about your offers, more clients, more people
signing up to your email list,more inquiries about your offers
, more clients, more sales.
All of that comes from justbeing willing to be in the
(18:26):
messiness of it all and to keepmoving forward.
That's what growth is all about.
So I will say that if you arefinding yourself in this messy
middle, remember you're notalone.
Number one.
Number two keep going.
Don't wait for things to beperfect and know that, whatever
(18:46):
you are sharing, if you aredoing your best, if you're doing
it in excellence, then it isgoing to generate the positive
feedback and the positiveresults that you desire Now, and
the third thing that I'velearned and this is the biggest
lesson and this is where I wannaspend some time talking about
is I had to expand my capacityto do work, because up until
(19:11):
this point, I already had quitea bit of things on my plate.
I had really more than Iprobably should be juggling
right now if I was to becompletely honest and
transparent.
I've been trying to think abouthow I can continue to
streamline my business model sothat I can simplify things a lot
more.
In the future, you may see somechanges coming to some of that,
(19:33):
but up until this pointthinking about everything from
the podcast to social mediamarketing, to email marketing,
to client service just all ofthe things it had become a lot,
and I don't work with a teamright now.
One of the reasons why I don'twork with a team right now is
because I have learned how touse artificial intelligence to
(19:57):
my advantage.
Now I do believe that having asmall team can be beneficial for
some people, depending uponwhat that team is needed to do,
but if you are doing a lot ofadministrative tasks, I always
urge clients to maximize the useof a lot of tools and AI
resources before you jump tobringing on other contractors.
(20:22):
One of the reasons is becauseit helps you to understand the
workflow a lot better.
It helps you to really focusand streamline your efforts, and
then when you bring on a team,when you bring on that added
help, they're doing somethingthat really is worth the money.
They're doing something that isgoing to move the needle
instead of tying up their timedoing tasks that really can be
(20:43):
done through simpler means.
So I see this as like astepping stone, so to speak, to
you being able to build a teamthat is highly effective and
productive in the future.
And so I had to lean in deeplyinto my knowledge of artificial
intelligence, which is gone fromme just vaguely knowing about
(21:04):
what chat, gbt or cloud AI isall about, to now having very
robust artificial intelligenceor AI bots built into those
tools that I can use to help meto do some of the basic work
that I normally would have to doin the business.
And so AI can make a hugedifference in your ability to
(21:26):
expand your capacity and take onnew projects.
For me, it's helped me toautomate a lot of tasks, even
things such as writing theepisode outlines that I have.
If I'm able to create onearticle and then turn that
article into a podcast andsocial media content, et cetera,
(21:48):
with the use of AI, instead ofme trying to sit there and
brainstorm every aspect of how Ican break these things down, it
makes it a lot easier to showup and be consistent.
Using things such as Notion towalk through my workflow to make
sure that I'm moving throughthe creation of the episodes in
a very streamlined and logicalway.
(22:10):
So if I do send it off for anyediting, that it can be sent off
in a package that allows theeditor to be able to perform
that task, simply because a lotof pre-work has already been
done.
Doing this and building outthese tools and using these
other resources will help you tocreate the workflows and the
(22:36):
processes needed to create ateam in the future, because now
you're beginning to automatethings, you're beginning to
create a repeatable process, astructure that's in place for
you to carry out the work, ifyou're using tools and AI and
resources for managingadministrative tasks, managing
(22:57):
emails being sent, managing theresponses that you're getting
from prospects, that wanna bookcalls, or all of these things.
If they're being managed byautomations, if they're being
managed by these tools, that canhelp you navigate the process a
lot easier, then you have anopportunity to do more with your
time because you have thecapacity.
You're not bogged down with theadministrative tasks that
(23:22):
typically would take up a lot ofyour time.
As you're thinking about howyou're able to use these lessons
to expand your business, I wantyou to start leaning a little
bit more into some of thesetools, whether they're tools for
video editing or podcasting, orwriting, posting, emailing you
(23:43):
name it.
There is a tool for everything.
There's so many out there and Idon't believe in having, let's
say, 10, 20 different tools thatyou're using Now.
That can cause a lot of stress,headache and confusion.
But if you can have a corethree to five tools that you use
for specific projects withinyour business that you can
(24:04):
reliably build into yourworkflow to simplify your
process, it's going to make it alot easier for you to get
things done.
It's going to make it easierfor you to stay prepared.
It's going to make it easierfor you to be able to generate
the results that you need togenerate for clients, as well as
all the work that you need todo to market and sell your
(24:26):
services.
There's so many out there thatyou can use so many different
versions, but the key is justchoosing those that will work
best for you, getting to knowand understand how to work them
at a high level and thenallowing those tools to serve
you.
Not using those tools to do thework, because if you do that,
(24:48):
you're going to sound and looklike everybody else.
I'm not saying do that at all,but I'm saying taking what
you've already created, whatyou've already been doing, and
getting those tools to help youbreak that out and to renew and
refresh that content, to renewand refresh that message, to
renew and refresh that speechthat you have to give.
This is how you begin to take alot of work off your plate, and
(25:14):
the more you can do that, themore it's going to free you up
to take on the work and theprojects that you need in order
to grow your business furtherand to move in a different
direction.
So, all in all, it has been alearning experience.
It definitely has been ajourney.
It's been fun, but it has alsobeen a challenge to get all
(25:34):
these things accomplished andI'm hoping as I move forward,
you'll see the episodes becomingmore and more consistent on
YouTube.
You'll see them improving interms of style.
Thank you so much for justhanging in there with me and
being a member of this communityand the podcast, because I know
things have been changing alittle bit lately, but I really
(25:55):
do hope that this will continueto build into something much
larger, to really a movementaround us as women, especially
women of color, buildingsuccessful consulting businesses
in this space.
Like I said before, build a newroutine and system that works
for your current season ofbusiness.
Don't get stuck on the oldstuff.
(26:15):
If you need a new routine, ifthings have been stressing you
out, trying to fit everything inlike you used to, then that's a
signal that things need tochange.
Don't be afraid of that change.
Let that old routine go.
Put in a new routine that worksfor you today, right now, in a
system that works today, rightnow, and I promise you that's
going to take a lot of stressoff your plate.
(26:36):
The second is to just embracethe messy middle.
It's going to be messy.
It's going to be messy whenyou're growing and when you're
making progress.
So, instead of running from it,instead of trying to avoid it,
instead of thinking that it isgoing to somehow leave a
negative impression that youcan't recover from, let all that
go, because the quicker youembrace the messy middle and
move through it, the more growthand the more success you're
(26:58):
going to have.
And then, last but not least,use AI.
That is your friend.
It helps you to expand yourcapacity.
It's going to help you automateyour systems.
It's going to help you get somuch more done than you've been
able to get done in the past.
So if you focus on taking thosetasks the repetitive, simple,
tedious tasks off your plate andfocus on what matters most,
(27:21):
then you're going to see aexplosion in your capacity.
You're going to be able to doso much more because you are
utilizing these tools, and thesetools are going to cost you a
fraction of what it would costto hire a team or a contractor,
and it's going to make yourinvestment in the team or the
contractors that you work withor you build beyond this.
(27:42):
It's going to make thatinvestment a much stronger one,
because then you're going to berelying on them to be doing much
higher level work, and it'sgoing to be definitely worth
your money and you're going tobe more profitable in the long
run.
So you don't have to do it allyourself.
You don't have to do it bystressing yourself out and
(28:02):
burning the candle.
That both ends.
You just have to get smartabout how you are utilizing
these resources and tools thatare available to you.
Listen, being able to grow andstreamline a consulting business
isn't easy.
It is hard for all of us.
We have to constantly makeadjustments, but we want those
adjustments to be smart.
We want to make sure that we'removing forward but, at the same
(28:25):
time, we are able to keepthings on track, where things
are not falling apart and we arenot stressing ourselves out.
So I really want to encourageyou this week, whether it's
auditing your current workflowor trying a new tool, or just
simply you letting go of theidea of perfection and taking
that first step in doingsomething that you see to be a
(28:47):
little bit messy.
I want you to do that this week.
And then I want you to DM me onsocial media, on Instagram or
LinkedIn.
I want you to send me a messageand share with me how you took
some step forward this week.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode as I break down some of
the lessons I've been using as Igrow out this YouTube channel.
Pray for me as I continue topress forward with building it
(29:09):
out and I hope you are going totune in to future episodes here
on the podcast, but then alsosubscribe to YouTube.
It's Black Girls Consult 2.
Same name, same titleeverywhere on social media,
youtube everywhere.
So just subscribe to thatchannel, share with a friend and
I look forward to talking toyou again soon.
Take care.
(29:30):
Thank you for tuning in to theBlack Girls Console 2 podcast.
If you enjoyed today's episode,be sure to leave your review on
Apple Podcasts, subscribe andshare it with a friend.
We're on a mission to increasethe success and longevity of
women in consulting, and you canhelp us do just that.
Also, I'd love to hear from you.
(29:51):
So let's connect at Dr AngelinaDavis on Instagram or LinkedIn
and don't forget to visitexcelatconsultingcom for more
information to support yourconsulting journey.
Until next time, keep breakingglass ceiling, all right, take
care.
They say, the odds are stacked against us as women,
especially women of color,trying to thrive in the
consulting world.
But rather than wait for a seatat the table that may never
come, what if we build our owntables?
What if we channeled ourtalents into guiding each other
towards the success we deserve?
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsulting Podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, and I've walked the path
(00:25):
from healthcare consultant to amentor for women like you,
ambitious, unstoppable and readyto make waves in the consulting
world.
This podcast is your go-to spotfor all things entrepreneurial
consulting.
For us as women, especiallywomen of color, think of it as
your weekly coffee date with afriend who's here to dish out
real talk on building a solidbusiness, elevating your thought
(00:48):
leadership and mastering thatall important mindset.
And let's not forget, we'redoing all of this while
balancing day jobs, family lifeand running teams.
Yes, we can do it all.
So if you're ready to dive intohow you can grow a thriving
consultancy or get strategiesand insights that actually fit
your busy lifestyle, then you'rein the right place.
(01:09):
Grab your coffee, tea or, hey,even a glass of wine, I won't
judge and let's get started.
Hello, hello, hello.
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsole 2 podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, and you know I'm excited
(01:31):
to just be here on the mictalking to you today.
I have been building out thisYouTube channel and I will tell
you that it has been a steeplearning curve, for sure.
So if you've been tuning intothe video podcast on YouTube, I
am so thankful for all of yourdownloads and your support.
(01:53):
So please continue to spreadthe word, pass it along.
Those episodes are going tocontinue, but I wanted to take
this time to just pause for amoment, because I've been
learning so much along thisjourney, so many things that
I've been learning.
Really, it just applies to anynew venture that we may have,
(02:14):
especially in the process ofbuilding a business and doing so
as a solo consultant, or evenif you have a very small team or
you're working with even maybea VA, or maybe you have a
partner that you're working with.
All of these things that I'mgoing to talk about today are
going to be things that arereally pertinent to building any
(02:36):
business where there's limitedcapacity or limited resources.
So if you find yourself in thatsituation right now, then I
think that you're going toreally enjoy what I have to
share.
Now, if you're wondering whatit takes to balance launching a
video podcast and running aconsulting business, having your
(02:59):
audio podcast plus doing allthe things on social media and
serving clients, then let mejust tell you it's a lot.
It's a lot, but, with thatbeing said, it's been a
wonderful experience so far.
I've just learned so much aboutmyself, about what it means to
(03:19):
grow and expand and to move indifferent directions, what it
means to get back to this messymiddle, that you felt like you
left a long time ago.
As you begin to build yourbusiness and things begin to
smooth out, you feel as ifyou're trying to refine the way
things are running and you wantto elevate your image.
And now you're feeling a littlebit back at the starting point
(03:42):
because, let's be honest, whenyou're starting something new,
it's not going to be as polishedas you would like at the start.
You're going to go through alot of ups and downs and the
building process is not going toalways look pretty, but it
worked, and so I think that wehave to keep in mind what we
want to accomplish in the midstof going through these difficult
(04:05):
periods, in this transition,and I do think that what helps
navigate this process is havingworkflow efficiency, because
when you take on anything new,you're expanding your capacity.
Oh, you have to be able toexpand your capacity at least,
and if you're unable to do so,then you're going to become
overwhelmed or you may burn out.
(04:26):
Things definitely can fallapart very quickly.
So we have to be careful aboutwhat we're taking on, how we're
taking it on, and then thesystems and the structure that
we're creating to be able tomaintain it.
So today I want to share someof those lessons.
Now, one of the first thingsthat I learned in this process
is that I had to create a newroutine and system when I was
(04:50):
starting the podcast on YouTube,so when I was moving to doing
these video episodes, it broughton an entirely new set of tasks
.
Whatever reason in my mind, Iwas telling myself it would not
be vastly different from what Ido to prepare for the podcast.
So when I'm preparing for thepodcast, I develop my outline, I
(05:12):
do my research, I'm pullingtogether all the information I
want to share with you and I'mthinking about the message that
I want to convey.
And usually when I'm havingthese conversations, I feel like
it's just me and you talking.
We're having a sister to sister, girlfriend to girlfriend type
of conversation about what'sbeen going on in the consulting
(05:34):
world and how we need tonavigate it to build and
strengthen our businesses.
Well listen, doing the videoscripting was not like that.
It was not like that at all.
The shooting, the editing, thepromoting, all of that on top of
running the business.
It was a challenge and my oldroutine was not working for me
(05:54):
anymore.
I realized that I needed tocome up with new routines.
I needed to create a new systemto really be able to
accommodate the newresponsibilities that I was
taking on.
So one of the best things thatI did was just completely
restructuring my schedule.
I had to just change the waythat I was creating content for
(06:16):
the podcast.
I no longer could rely on justhaving an outline available and
talking off the cuff.
The video podcast required alittle bit more preparation.
So, number one, getting throughthat was a challenge.
Two is that an unusual findingfor me was and something I
(06:37):
didn't expect actually was thatI had difficulty talking on
camera, just like I'm havingthis conversation now and
flowing and just it's reallyrelaxed.
I wasn't able to do that withthe camera on, for whatever
reason, my mind shifts insubconsciously, my voice changes
(06:57):
, my energy changes, and thatwas difficult to overcome.
And that was difficult toovercome.
I did have to create newroutines for myself around that
that involve, for instance,using video affirmation cards or
restructuring the way that I'mrecording, using different tools
that I felt like I could useand navigate more naturally.
(07:19):
All of that had to change andshift.
I had to really think about howI conserved my energy so I
could be more excited on camera,because that doesn't translate
the same way as it does viaaudio when you're looking at
somebody on the screen.
So there was so much that I hadto build into number one the
process and the system for justrecording the episodes but then
(07:40):
also preparing it, not just interms of the outline but also in
terms of mindset, as well asbeing able to show up with the
level of energy necessary toconvey the message.
And I realized that I was notgoing to be able to fit that
into the same routine that I had.
If you notice, if you are alistener of the podcast, then
(08:00):
there were a couple of episodeswhere they were stretching out
to maybe every other weekinstead of weekly, and a lot of
that was because I was havingdifficulty during that time just
being very transparent, havingdifficulty staying on schedule
with all of these newresponsibilities that I had when
it came to creating theepisodes.
So I had to think long and hardhow can you begin to simplify
(08:24):
this process?
How can I change my routine andmy structure so that things got
a lot easier?
Now, one of the things that I'vealways done is I've used
project management tools.
My favorite is Notion.
If you have not heard me talkabout Notion, I love it,
absolutely love it.
I have so many dashboards builtout for managing my business
within Notion.
I love it, absolutely love it.
(08:45):
And I have so many dashboardsbuilt out for managing my
business within Notion, but thenalso I do use it for podcast
creation and just keeping upwith the workflow regards to the
podcast, and so I had to leaneven heavier into that dashboard
, into those tools, so that Icould manage and keep up with
the information as I wascreating it.
(09:06):
I had to be able to manage beingable to work on a particular
episode over a number of days,being able to think through what
it took for me to create theepisodes, the mindset work that
I needed to do, the scriptingwork that I needed to do, even
the physical appearance, keepingup with what outfits I was
going to wear, how my hair wasgoing to be styled, that type of
(09:27):
thing.
All those things had to beworked in.
Right now, when I'm behind amic, you don't see my hair, you
don't have to see my curls allover the place, right.
But when we get on camera, wehave to factor those types of
things in.
But that's going to be truewhen we take on any new project.
There are going to berequirements of that project
that we have not consideredbefore and we have not made time
(09:49):
for it.
When I was thinking abouttaking on the YouTube podcast, I
was not thinking about hair.
I wasn't thinking about clothes.
I wasn't thinking about how I'mgoing to read affirmations.
None of that was part of myplan.
I really had not consideredthat that would even be
something I would give anythought or care about, but I did
have to back to that end.
(10:10):
I think that we have to showourselves a lot of grace when
we're taking on new projects andnew initiatives, because there
is going to be a learning curveto just figure out what it takes
to carry this out day to dayand then realizing that maybe
the routine that we've had for anumber of years, the routine
that we've relied on, theroutine that has worked for us,
(10:33):
that has kept us being highlyproductive and high performing
in the work that we do, thatthose routines may not be the
best for our new purpose.
So being able to rework thoseroutines and to restructure them
and to be open to changing theway that we're showing up day to
day was huge.
(10:53):
I know that was huge for me,and if you have been running
into difficulty with somethingnew that you have been trying to
work through and facing similarchallenges, then if you have
been tied to a routine I wantchallenges.
Then, if you have been tied toa routine, I want to encourage
you to think about how you canrevisit that routine.
How can you improve it, how canyou change the systems that
you're using currently so thatthey work in your favor, so that
(11:16):
you are able to carry out thetask efficiently, but then also
do so without burning yourselfout or overwhelming yourself by
trying to keep up with theroutine that did not have this
new effort, this new project,this new initiative in mind.
So that's the first thing I hadto change my routine, I had to
change my systems.
Now the second lesson that Ilearned is that and I mentioned
(11:39):
this in the opening I had to getcomfortable with being in the
messy middle again, and I willtell you that the messy middle
hit me a lot harder than Iexpected.
I did not expect for me to feellike I was brand new at
consulting again, but I'mtelling you, the minute that
camera came on, it was justtypical.
(12:01):
It was something very new andmentally it was just difficult.
It was something very new andmentally it posed a challenge.
And getting used to how you showup on camera, how succinct my
message had to be, what, forinstance, visually I had to look
like, the mannerisms I hadneeded to make sure that I was
mindful of or controlling, Ithink there's all of these
(12:22):
little things that are difficultto learn and to put into
process when you're firststarting.
So it begins to look a littlemessy, it's not going to be as
polished, and that was hard forme to swallow because I had
gotten to a point where I feltlike I could portray myself in a
quote, unquote professionalmanner and I felt like these
(12:45):
imperfections, the way thevideos were turning out.
I felt like it wasn't aspolished and perfect as I wanted
it to be.
Well, I had to learn to acceptthat.
You know what Perfection is notnecessary at this stage.
It's not necessary ever, if I'mhonest.
But definitely at this stagewhere I'm starting out and I'm
trying to get this YouTubechannel off the ground and
(13:06):
probably that will be for anumber of episodes, I will tell
you that my coach, when it comesto video podcasting and video
in general, one thing she wassharing with me was that, listen
, don't expect anything untilafter you've done the 50 videos.
So I'm in it for the long haul.
Like really thinking ahead,like, ok, I have to get all
(13:27):
these videos done.
The more videos I get done, thefaster I get those videos done,
the easier it's going to be forme to get to that next level
where I'm able to maybe makethings look a little bit better,
and that gets better over time.
But right now, in this stage,in this early learning stage and
building stage, it's going tolook messy.
It's not going to be perfectand some people may look at that
(13:48):
and judge me or judge mybusiness by it.
But what I have to do is thinkbeyond that, and this is what we
all have to do.
So, if you are in the pointwhere you're either starting
your consulting business rightnow or you have been practicing
for a while and you're trying toexpand it, but maybe you're
going and you're doing morespeaking engagements, maybe you
(14:10):
have a podcast of your own oryou start a YouTube channel of
your own, whatever it may be,when you first start it may look
messier than you desire, youmay feel as if it is a negative
reflection on you or yourbusiness, but what I want to
encourage you to think about isthe growth that you're
(14:30):
experiencing the growth thatcomes with starting this new
journey.
The growth that comes withbeing able to sit in that
messiness and to still perform.
The growth that comes withbeing able to sit in that
messiness and to still perform.
The growth that comes withbeing able to sell from that
messiness.
The growth that comes frombeing able to move from the
(14:50):
messiness to the polishedoutcome or the result that you
want to share.
I think so much of this goesinto really building our
character for the work thatwe're doing with clients,
because, as they navigate theprocess of working with us.
It's going to feel this way forthem, too when you're working
(15:11):
with other businesses and otherexperts in the space.
They're not used to being inthis messy middle, they're not
used to seeking out this messymiddle.
They're not used to seeking outthis level of help and guidance
.
So it helps us to remember whatit feels like to be in that
place where you're trying tolearn from others and you feel
like the student again, and so,whether or not it's dealing with
(15:34):
imperfect lighting andunscripted moments and tech
glitches like I had toexperience in terms of creating
these videos or you walking intoa situation where you're
seeking out help and support tobuild your business and to close
those gaps that you need toclose, I want you to think
(15:54):
through what's relatable aboutthat.
Think through how, either whatyou're experiencing is exactly
what other people haveexperienced Even the people that
you look to for help or supportthey're going through the same
experience on some level and theclients that you're serving,
how it feels to go through thatexperience and how you can
(16:17):
provide that support and thatcomfort and that nurturing and
that empathy to carry themthrough.
You know, I think that thatmessy middle filling is
something that can be such ablessing if we allow it to work
for our good, because, see, whenthe real progress happens, when
the change happens, there'sgoing to be so much growth with
(16:39):
it.
It won't be pretty as you gothrough it right, it's part of
the process, but the key is tokeep moving.
And if you keep moving throughthe process, if you keep moving
through the mess, instead oftrying to wait until everything
is perfect which I know it'stempting to do, it's tempting to
say I want to start thispodcast, but I'm going to wait
until I can get someone to editall my episodes and for me to
(17:01):
have the high level guests comeon my show.
I'm going to wait until I canget to that point where
everybody's going to be talkingabout my podcast episode on my
YouTube or my speakingengagement, whatever it may be.
You want to wait to that pointwhere you're able to showcase
your absolute best before youstart.
But then I will tell you thattime will never come because it
(17:22):
requires you to go through themess.
Take it from me it's notcomfortable being in the messy
middle, but if you move throughit, it is going to get easier
and easier day by day, andyou're going to feel so good
when you're on the other side.
I must tell you that whenever Ilook at some of the videos on
(17:43):
YouTube I've created so far,there are some cringe moments
that I feel are cringe worthy,but at the same time, I'm proud
of myself.
I'm proud because I see theevolution.
I'm proud because I know whatit felt like with the first
video that I put out.
I know what it feels like nowwith the most recent video I've
put out.
I see the change, I feel thegrowth, and I think that
(18:06):
empowers you to do even more,because I will tell you if it's
anything like what I've beenexperiencing, you'll get more
people downloading, more peoplesigning up to your email list,
more inquiries about your offers, more clients, more people
signing up to your email list,more inquiries about your offers
, more clients, more sales.
All of that comes from justbeing willing to be in the
(18:26):
messiness of it all and to keepmoving forward.
That's what growth is all about.
So I will say that if you arefinding yourself in this messy
middle, remember you're notalone.
Number one.
Number two keep going.
Don't wait for things to beperfect and know that, whatever
(18:46):
you are sharing, if you aredoing your best, if you're doing
it in excellence, then it isgoing to generate the positive
feedback and the positiveresults that you desire Now, and
the third thing that I'velearned and this is the biggest
lesson and this is where I wannaspend some time talking about
is I had to expand my capacityto do work, because up until
(19:11):
this point, I already had quitea bit of things on my plate.
I had really more than Iprobably should be juggling
right now if I was to becompletely honest and
transparent.
I've been trying to think abouthow I can continue to
streamline my business model sothat I can simplify things a lot
more.
In the future, you may see somechanges coming to some of that,
(19:33):
but up until this pointthinking about everything from
the podcast to social mediamarketing, to email marketing,
to client service just all ofthe things it had become a lot,
and I don't work with a teamright now.
One of the reasons why I don'twork with a team right now is
because I have learned how touse artificial intelligence to
(19:57):
my advantage.
Now I do believe that having asmall team can be beneficial for
some people, depending uponwhat that team is needed to do,
but if you are doing a lot ofadministrative tasks, I always
urge clients to maximize the useof a lot of tools and AI
resources before you jump tobringing on other contractors.
(20:22):
One of the reasons is becauseit helps you to understand the
workflow a lot better.
It helps you to really focusand streamline your efforts, and
then when you bring on a team,when you bring on that added
help, they're doing somethingthat really is worth the money.
They're doing something that isgoing to move the needle
instead of tying up their timedoing tasks that really can be
(20:43):
done through simpler means.
So I see this as like astepping stone, so to speak, to
you being able to build a teamthat is highly effective and
productive in the future.
And so I had to lean in deeplyinto my knowledge of artificial
intelligence, which is gone fromme just vaguely knowing about
(21:04):
what chat, gbt or cloud AI isall about, to now having very
robust artificial intelligenceor AI bots built into those
tools that I can use to help meto do some of the basic work
that I normally would have to doin the business.
And so AI can make a hugedifference in your ability to
(21:26):
expand your capacity and take onnew projects.
For me, it's helped me toautomate a lot of tasks, even
things such as writing theepisode outlines that I have.
If I'm able to create onearticle and then turn that
article into a podcast andsocial media content, et cetera,
(21:48):
with the use of AI, instead ofme trying to sit there and
brainstorm every aspect of how Ican break these things down, it
makes it a lot easier to showup and be consistent.
Using things such as Notion towalk through my workflow to make
sure that I'm moving throughthe creation of the episodes in
a very streamlined and logicalway.
(22:10):
So if I do send it off for anyediting, that it can be sent off
in a package that allows theeditor to be able to perform
that task, simply because a lotof pre-work has already been
done.
Doing this and building outthese tools and using these
other resources will help you tocreate the workflows and the
(22:36):
processes needed to create ateam in the future, because now
you're beginning to automatethings, you're beginning to
create a repeatable process, astructure that's in place for
you to carry out the work, ifyou're using tools and AI and
resources for managingadministrative tasks, managing
(22:57):
emails being sent, managing theresponses that you're getting
from prospects, that wanna bookcalls, or all of these things.
If they're being managed byautomations, if they're being
managed by these tools, that canhelp you navigate the process a
lot easier, then you have anopportunity to do more with your
time because you have thecapacity.
You're not bogged down with theadministrative tasks that
(23:22):
typically would take up a lot ofyour time.
As you're thinking about howyou're able to use these lessons
to expand your business, I wantyou to start leaning a little
bit more into some of thesetools, whether they're tools for
video editing or podcasting, orwriting, posting, emailing you
(23:43):
name it.
There is a tool for everything.
There's so many out there and Idon't believe in having, let's
say, 10, 20 different tools thatyou're using Now.
That can cause a lot of stress,headache and confusion.
But if you can have a corethree to five tools that you use
for specific projects withinyour business that you can
(24:04):
reliably build into yourworkflow to simplify your
process, it's going to make it alot easier for you to get
things done.
It's going to make it easierfor you to stay prepared.
It's going to make it easierfor you to be able to generate
the results that you need togenerate for clients, as well as
all the work that you need todo to market and sell your
(24:26):
services.
There's so many out there thatyou can use so many different
versions, but the key is justchoosing those that will work
best for you, getting to knowand understand how to work them
at a high level and thenallowing those tools to serve
you.
Not using those tools to do thework, because if you do that,
(24:48):
you're going to sound and looklike everybody else.
I'm not saying do that at all,but I'm saying taking what
you've already created, whatyou've already been doing, and
getting those tools to help youbreak that out and to renew and
refresh that content, to renewand refresh that message, to
renew and refresh that speechthat you have to give.
This is how you begin to take alot of work off your plate, and
(25:14):
the more you can do that, themore it's going to free you up
to take on the work and theprojects that you need in order
to grow your business furtherand to move in a different
direction.
So, all in all, it has been alearning experience.
It definitely has been ajourney.
It's been fun, but it has alsobeen a challenge to get all
(25:34):
these things accomplished andI'm hoping as I move forward,
you'll see the episodes becomingmore and more consistent on
YouTube.
You'll see them improving interms of style.
Thank you so much for justhanging in there with me and
being a member of this communityand the podcast, because I know
things have been changing alittle bit lately, but I really
(25:55):
do hope that this will continueto build into something much
larger, to really a movementaround us as women, especially
women of color, buildingsuccessful consulting businesses
in this space.
Like I said before, build a newroutine and system that works
for your current season ofbusiness.
Don't get stuck on the oldstuff.
(26:15):
If you need a new routine, ifthings have been stressing you
out, trying to fit everything inlike you used to, then that's a
signal that things need tochange.
Don't be afraid of that change.
Let that old routine go.
Put in a new routine that worksfor you today, right now, in a
system that works today, rightnow, and I promise you that's
going to take a lot of stressoff your plate.
(26:36):
The second is to just embracethe messy middle.
It's going to be messy.
It's going to be messy whenyou're growing and when you're
making progress.
So, instead of running from it,instead of trying to avoid it,
instead of thinking that it isgoing to somehow leave a
negative impression that youcan't recover from, let all that
go, because the quicker youembrace the messy middle and
move through it, the more growthand the more success you're
(26:58):
going to have.
And then, last but not least,use AI.
That is your friend.
It helps you to expand yourcapacity.
It's going to help you automateyour systems.
It's going to help you get somuch more done than you've been
able to get done in the past.
So if you focus on taking thosetasks the repetitive, simple,
tedious tasks off your plate andfocus on what matters most,
(27:21):
then you're going to see aexplosion in your capacity.
You're going to be able to doso much more because you are
utilizing these tools, and thesetools are going to cost you a
fraction of what it would costto hire a team or a contractor,
and it's going to make yourinvestment in the team or the
contractors that you work withor you build beyond this.
(27:42):
It's going to make thatinvestment a much stronger one,
because then you're going to berelying on them to be doing much
higher level work, and it'sgoing to be definitely worth
your money and you're going tobe more profitable in the long
run.
So you don't have to do it allyourself.
You don't have to do it bystressing yourself out and
(28:02):
burning the candle.
That both ends.
You just have to get smartabout how you are utilizing
these resources and tools thatare available to you.
Listen, being able to grow andstreamline a consulting business
isn't easy.
It is hard for all of us.
We have to constantly makeadjustments, but we want those
adjustments to be smart.
We want to make sure that we'removing forward but, at the same
(28:25):
time, we are able to keepthings on track, where things
are not falling apart and we arenot stressing ourselves out.
So I really want to encourageyou this week, whether it's
auditing your current workflowor trying a new tool, or just
simply you letting go of theidea of perfection and taking
that first step in doingsomething that you see to be a
(28:47):
little bit messy.
I want you to do that this week.
And then I want you to DM me onsocial media, on Instagram or
LinkedIn.
I want you to send me a messageand share with me how you took
some step forward this week.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode as I break down some of
the lessons I've been using as Igrow out this YouTube channel.
Pray for me as I continue topress forward with building it
(29:09):
out and I hope you are going totune in to future episodes here
on the podcast, but then alsosubscribe to YouTube.
It's Black Girls Consult 2.
Same name, same titleeverywhere on social media,
youtube everywhere.
So just subscribe to thatchannel, share with a friend and
I look forward to talking toyou again soon.
Take care.
(29:30):
Thank you for tuning in to theBlack Girls Console 2 podcast.
If you enjoyed today's episode,be sure to leave your review on
Apple Podcasts, subscribe andshare it with a friend.
We're on a mission to increasethe success and longevity of
women in consulting, and you canhelp us do just that.
Also, I'd love to hear from you.
(29:51):
So let's connect at Dr AngelinaDavis on Instagram or LinkedIn
and don't forget to visitexcelatconsultingcom for more
information to support yourconsulting journey.
Until next time, keep breakingglass ceiling, all right, take
care.
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