Send me a text message and get your questions answered on the podcast! I'd love to hear from you!
Ready to conquer the challenges and stressors of running a consulting business? We dive into the indispensable role of resilience for female entrepreneurs and women of color, particularly in the competitive consulting landscape. Together, we'll uncover strategies to manage stress effectively, embrace healthy stressors, and rise above adversity with renewed strength and resolve. Don't let adversity become a burden on your journey to building a resilient and thriving consulting business!
******
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
There's a misconception that we don't
exist, that somehow our abilityto excel at the highest level of
our industry is limited, thatovercoming barriers as a woman
of color would be insurmountable.
But what would happen if wedecided to venture out on our
own, despite everything we're upagainst?
I'll tell you Welcome to theBlack Girls Consult 2 podcast.
(00:24):
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, a healthcare consultant,
consulting coach, highperformance fanatic wife and
proud girl mom.
I help transform femaleprofessionals into thriving solo
consultants And, just like you,i'm wearing all the hats and
doing all the things.
So this podcast is to empowerthe busy female professionals to
(00:46):
move past fear, to start andgrow a successful consulting
business, despite the obstaclesyou may encounter.
We'll dive deep into consultingpractice, business strategy,
mindset and more.
So grab your cup of coffee ortea, if that's your thing, and
let's get started.
Hello, hello, hello.
(01:14):
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsult 2 podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis.
And guess what, guys?
I cannot believe we're alreadyat the end of May, so that means
that we're closing out MentalHealth Awareness Month.
But we know that this workdoesn't stop.
We keep going.
As a matter of fact, if youfollow me on Instagram, you know
(01:34):
that I have been walking everyday for the month of May, mainly
for mental health reasons.
I was in a challenge in justgetting out in nature, making
this walk outside the vastmajority of the days and being
able to be mindful of mysurroundings and decompress
(01:55):
during those times, because Ioften will walk in the evening.
It has been such a wonderfuljourney, so much so that I think
I have made this into a habit.
So I don't plan to stop,although we are wrapping up at
least our acknowledgement ofMental Health Awareness Month
But we know that this workcontinues to go on and on and on
(02:17):
, and because we know we have toface a lot of these challenges
on an ongoing basis, that's oneof the reasons why I thought
that it would be great for us tocover this whole aspect of
resilience, because in order forus to be successful in business
, as entrepreneurs, asconsultants, women in consulting
(02:37):
, especially women of color inconsulting in this highly
competitive male-dominated arena, then we really do need to
begin to have more in ourtoolkit when it comes to
resiliency.
And this episode is going to befocused on that conversation
(02:58):
and hopefully giving you someideas as to ways that you can
build a stronger toolkit foryourself so that you're able to
show up in your strength foryears and decades to come.
To be honest, there's just somuch that keeps us often
stressed out, whether it is ourlaundry list of work that we
(03:21):
have to do, all the things thatwould be piling up on your desk.
I'm actually looking around nowand looking at all the work
that I need to complete.
I actually have some things,some projects I've been working
on, that need to get out,whether you are carrying the
load of taking care of family orfriends, being able to show up
(03:42):
completely and wholeheartedlyfor the clients that you serve.
There are just so many thingsin our lives that can bring on a
lot of stress And, if we'rehonest, you know with ourselves,
it's not always easy to managethat stress.
I know that I get overwhelmedfrom time to time.
That's normal, that's human.
We just want to make sure, asthis series of episodes has
(04:06):
shared, not to get to the pointof burnout.
So when we think aboutresilience, resilience is
actually defined as the abilityto achieve a successful outcome
in the face of adversity.
So I want you to think aboutall of those difficult
situations that you've been inor that you've had, where you've
shown up, in spite of all ofthose times, in those corporate
(04:29):
meetings where you sat there andhad to listen to someone either
completely ignore yourstatement or somehow not hold
your contribution at itsappropriate value.
All of those difficult momentsthat you may have experienced,
and still managed to navigate itsuccessfully and come out on
(04:51):
the other side more successfuland accomplish as a result of it
.
That is due to your ability tobe resilient, and the one thing
that I know to be true and ifyou look in literature, this
actually supports it is thatresilience is something that you
can continue to develop.
So, even if you've had thosedifficult moments in the past
(05:12):
where you have not been able tohandle things the way that
you've desired, you can buildthe muscle, the skill, to become
more resilient over time.
And it doesn't mean that youhave to put yourself through
nonstop trauma.
You don't have to have tons ofstress and trauma in order to
build resilience.
There is data that says andsupports the fact that you do
(05:37):
need some meaning that if youare completely in a situation
where there is the absence ofadversity or absence of these
difficult and stressful moments,that doesn't necessarily
contribute to your futureresilience, meaning that there's
a certain muscle that you haveto work when you're going
through these experiences.
(05:58):
That builds that level ofresilience that prepares you for
the next time.
So there's the stress that'shealthy, and then there's the
stress that's not, and we wantto stay away from the stress
that is not.
And it's okay for us to learn,adapt, be able to build from
those stressors that may presentthemselves as challenges but
(06:22):
that we're able to control.
Because as long as we're ableto control the circumstances
reasonably and we have tools inour toolkit, such as being able
to relax and be more mindful and, you know, other stress related
approaches to control andnavigate that space, then the
(06:43):
resilience is actually somethingthat will be built over time
And it will continue to getstronger and stronger as we move
forward.
But what I want to talk aboutare just really some other
things that we don't oftenconsider.
Yes, we always think abouttaking time off.
We may think about our selfcare days as ways of building
(07:05):
this time in, to decompress andhave the ability to manage the
stressors.
But those are not the only waysto build resilience.
And also, you don't have towait until everything just
crumbles and falls apart for youto build that back up.
You can actually be proactivewhen it comes to building
(07:25):
resilience and creating a moreresilient business, and for us
as entrepreneurs asentrepreneurs that are starting
out most often with less capital, less resources, less tools
available to us for us toachieve success, we have to have
some resilience, because ourroad, just realistically, just
(07:46):
honestly, is going to be alittle bit more rocky or steep
than others, and so thisresilience factor the ability
for us to be more resilient andbuild resilient bills businesses
is going to dictate ourlongevity in the industry
altogether.
So I was actually reading anarticle that was published by
(08:08):
Bayne and Company on gettingbusiness resilience right, and I
thought that this was awonderful read.
I was kind of coming through itas I was looking through some
of the information prepared forthis episode, and one of the
statistics that stood out for mein this particular article was
that it actually said that, ofcourse, more resilient
(08:29):
businesses in general are goingto have more successful outcomes
, that more resilient firms havenearly doubled the survival
rate, meaning that when youlooked at US companies and you
looked at the companies that hada low resilience index, those
(08:50):
companies only survived at arate of 35%, compared to 60% for
those who had a higherresilience index.
So when you're thinking aboutbeing able to navigate
challenges within the businessspace, and definitely when it
comes to entrepreneurship, themore resilient you are, the more
resilient you've built yourbusiness to be, the better, the
(09:12):
more likely that you're going tohave success and you have
longevity in the long term.
And because that's our overallgoal and mission, it's important
that we find ways toproactively build a level of
resilience into our businessesso that we don't have to worry
about these challenges thatinevitably will come, taking us
(09:36):
out.
So let's walk through some ofthe things that you can actually
implement in your consultingbusiness right now to make it
more resilient, so that you areable to adapt and navigate any
trouble or difficulty, i shouldrather say that may come your
way.
A thriving consulting businessis built on a solid business
(09:58):
foundation and a consulting codethat leads you toward your
ideal business and your ideallifestyle.
And the great thing about thiscode is that it works for any
type of consulting practice,whether you help clients with
professional development,business management, grant
writing, it or somethingentirely different.
This consulting code is notrocket science and is not beyond
(10:20):
your reach, and when you crackthe code, it can jumpstart the
growth of your solo consultingpractice and is what you need to
know to get started and lendyour first clients, and nothing
more.
This is a step by step processI wish I had so many years ago,
and that's why I wanted to sharethis with you and how you can
(10:40):
do this too.
So if you're interested instarting your consulting
business and creating adesirable offer to generate
leads for your offer and to makesales, then the consulting code
is your solution.
Visit wwwexcelatconsultingcomfor more information.
(11:01):
One of the first ways that youcan build more resilience in
your business is to be creativeand innovative, and one of the
reasons why this helps isbecause often we get to a point
where we run into a challenge orsomething that is preventing us
from achieving a goal.
(11:22):
Usually, when we get in thosecircumstances, the path that
we've taken or the strategy thatwe're using, whatever we are
doing in order to accomplishthat task, is something that
often has been outlined for usor it's an approach that you
have seen implemented time andtime again.
So we get to these points wherewe're trying with all of our
(11:47):
effort and things are just notgoing the way that we feel they
should go.
We can easily become stressed,overwhelmed and defeated,
especially if you get yourselfinto this cycle on a hamster
wheel just trying to do all thatyou can to achieve the outcome
of the goal.
We say this a lot right now.
Even in the online space, thereare so many people walking away
(12:10):
from their businesses that arehighly successful because they
cannot figure out how to make itfit their life or their
lifestyle, and so they feeltrapped by their success.
That's not uncommon, even withcareers.
How often do we feel trapped byall of the success that we've
had?
(12:30):
because you have had a lot ofsuccess, people add more to your
plate and you have anexpectation of yourself to do
your best work, so therefore, itcreates this cycle of just
never ending work, stresswithout reward.
That is highly defeating, andthat's something that can begin
(12:51):
to wear on you over time.
So being able to approach thesecircumstances with more
creativity and innovation canmake all of the difference,
because, instead of beating yourhead against the wall, trying
to make this one thing thatyou've been told should work
work out for you, you can thinkabout how you can adapt and
(13:13):
become more agile and takeanother approach that will still
lead you to the end result, butmaybe along a different path.
That's an aspect of resilienceyour ability to confront the
adversity or the challenge, tosee it and face it head on and
think about how you can overcomeit in a different way.
So leaning into this aspect ofcreativity and innovation is key
(13:38):
, and I always say that you haveto get comfortable with doing
things your way.
This is your business, this isyour business, this is your
dream, this is your vision, andyou do not have to follow a
certain guideline or path orstructure.
If it does not help you reachyour goal, you can adapt it.
(14:02):
Most often, especially when itcomes to many other strategies
and the techniques and thingsthat have been at least
publishing a lot of the booksthat are out on the market today
for consulting.
Many of those approaches, yes,they work, but they have to be
adapted.
They have to be adapted becauseyou're a woman, especially a
woman of color in this field,and that book wasn't written for
(14:23):
you.
So when you can acknowledgethat and you understand it, you
become less stressed out by thefact that this method may not be
working exactly as you wouldhave thought or exactly as it
has worked for somebody else.
When you attempt to use it, youwill already be very mindful
(14:46):
that there may be some changesthat you have to make.
So this is an aspect of thatresilience remaining creative
and being innovative when itcomes to how you approach
problems that you face in yourbusiness.
Do not feel like you have tofollow a set unwritten rule
(15:07):
because you don't.
This is your opportunity tocreate what you need in order to
achieve your goal.
So, creativity and innovation,that's the first thing.
Now the second one should ringhome for, i think, anyone
listening, because right nowwe're in the midst of a lot of
uncertainty when it comes toeconomic stability overall,
(15:30):
globally, within the US, withinthe entrepreneurial space,
everywhere you turn.
Who knows what's going tohappen next?
I feel like ever since thepandemic we have just been in
this world of I don't know, rollthe dice and see what happens.
Is that, is that a way toexplain it?
(15:51):
That's how I feel, at least.
I feel like we're just rollingthe dice and trying to figure
out what's going to happen next.
But overall, we do have theseuncertainties around the economy
, and that is going to be normal.
We're going to always havethose fluctuations that occur.
This can cause a lot of anxiety,because when you're thinking
about stability in your businessespecially if you have yet to
(16:14):
leave your nine to five and youwant to make that transition you
want to be able to see someaspect of stability and security
so that you feel comfortabledoing so.
You want to know that you cankeep the lights on.
Everybody wants that securityand that safety when it comes to
your business or even yourcareer.
We crave that.
(16:36):
We need that.
Security is part of the basicneeds.
Even when you look at Maslow'shierarchy of needs is one of the
basic needs that we have, andso it's going to be something
that is going to cause usanxiety when that is threatened.
So one way of being able tothink ahead and prepare
(16:56):
ourselves to be more resilientif there were any type of shake
up or change when it comes toour financial resources or
ability to generate revenue andmoney is to make sure that you
are running your business usinglean systems.
I am a big advocate for usinglean systems.
(17:22):
You do not need a massive team.
You don't need it.
If you need help, that's fine.
You can delegate, You can bringon contractors for specific
projects, but you do not need tohave ongoing people on payroll
until you get to the point whereyou have your finances set up
and structured to be able tohold that space for them and to
(17:46):
make sure that you can providethat stability and that security
for those individuals withinyour business.
And what happens often is thatmany entrepreneurs get out in
this space and we hear all ofthis talk about delegation and
outsourcing and building yourteam, and everybody feels as if
(18:07):
they need a massive team inorder to have a successful
business.
I was actually listening to apodcast by Amy Porterfield not
too long ago and I thought itwas very interesting when she
shared her behind the scenes ofher business and building out
her team structure.
But it wasn't until she mademillions of dollars before she
(18:28):
ever got her small team, which Ican't remember how many people
she said maybe around five or so, but either way, it was a very
small team that she has now.
Before then, up until the pointof which she had reached
millions and I keep putting theS on the end because it wasn't
just one million, it wasmillions of dollars.
She had not brought onfull-time employees, she used
(18:55):
contractors or she had set helpor freelancers for projects and
for shorter periods of time,because you have to realize that
when we make these promises andextend ourselves to cover so
much financially, that's a levelof stress.
(19:16):
You have a level of addedresponsibility on your plate And
, yes, when the money is flowingand things are good, then it's
easy to do.
But people fail to create thenecessary protections so that
you can ensure that wheneverthese challenges come about, if
(19:37):
there's any type of adversity ordownturn, that you can still
maintain the same expenses asyou would have before.
In order to do that or the bestway, i would argue, to do that
is to make sure that you runwith a lean system.
Keep your expenses to a minimum.
If you keep your expenses to aminimum number one, that's not
(19:59):
an increase your profitability,which is always a great thing,
but one of the reasons why thathelps to increase your
likelihood of success andlongevity is because, if there
were any difficulty financially,you will be able to maintain
yourself during that timebecause you would not have as
much overhead.
So when you're able to run yourbusiness using more automations
(20:23):
or structuring your offers in away that it doesn't require so
much added assistance to help todeliver.
All those things make it mucheasier for you to create a
resilient business so thatyou're able to weather any
changes or shifts, especiallywhen it comes to finances or the
economy.
That's one of the major reasonswhy many businesses go out of
(20:45):
business, why they fail, and soif we're able to think ahead and
know that this is one of thereasons why businesses fail,
therefore, i want to make surethat I have a cushion, something
that is comfortable for me tomaintain in terms of expenses,
so that I can be more resilient.
If there is anything that comesmy way, i will be able to
(21:08):
handle it.
It will not be a stress or astressor that will overtake me.
Those are some of the thingsthat we want to remember the
fact that we can prepare forthis resilience ahead of time,
and, especially when it comes tohaving the financial resilience
that we need, making sure thatwe are running with a lean
(21:28):
system, using the fewest amountof financial resources necessary
to be able to run our businesseffectively.
So I don't want you to feellike you can do everything by
yourself That's not what I'msaying but making sure that you
hire at the right time, that youare not bringing on more
expenses and other types offinancial responsibilities that
(21:53):
you cannot maintain.
This is going to lift so muchbaggage and weight from your
shoulders so that you canbreathe, so that you can handle
whatever challenges you may haveto face without having this
huge mental burden of thefinancial responsibilities that
(22:14):
you have to maintain.
This is an opportunity, in away, to free yourself of that
added stressor by making surethat you aren't creating a load
that's going to be too hard tocarry.
And the last thing that I wantto stress is the importance of
(22:35):
having a proven playbook tofollow.
There is something to be saidfor having guidance.
You know we all work asconsultants, so we're giving
that advice and that guidance toother people.
We know the value that weprovide to businesses or to the
(22:56):
clients that we work with.
We know that we can shed lighton difficult circumstances,
challenges.
We can tell them how to adapt,we can tell them what they need
to do, we can give them strategy.
We can do all of these thingsfor everyone else, but often,
when it comes to our ownbusinesses, we struggle.
We struggle because in thosetimes, we don't have guidance
(23:21):
for ourselves, we don't have aplaybook for ourselves, we don't
have anything to follow, andone of the things that happens
when you do have something tofollow, when you do have a
methodology or a framework thatyou're following when you're
going through this buildingprocess, is that it's going to
(23:42):
help you avoid coming pitfalls.
So it's not necessarily aboutthe strategy itself, because,
like I said before, you may haveto adapt the strategy, may have
to make modifications in orderfor it to fit your business and
your lifestyle, but one of thethings that it should help you
do is to identify thosecircumstances or situations that
(24:06):
can lead to a negative outcomeif you don't approach it the
right way.
It can also give you an idea asto how to navigate your path of
journey so that you avoid thesestumbling blocks, because
resilience is something that, ofcourse, is built over time,
based upon the adversities thatwe experience.
(24:26):
However, there is a breakingpoint that we all have, so we
don't want to build up so muchadversity and build such a
challenge for ourselves that wemake it nearly impossible to be
successful.
We don't wanna stand in our ownway, we don't wanna sabotage
ourselves, and one of the waysthat we can avoid that is by
(24:50):
learning from the journeys andmistakes and experiences of
others.
When we have that guidance, whenwe have that knowledge, then we
can actually map a path out forourselves that helps us to kind
of navigate around thosepotholes.
We can get around all of thatwithout having to take a hit.
(25:11):
You don't have to experiencethe same thing that someone else
did, because they're able toshare their experience with you.
That's one of the values ofhaving so many books as your
wealth of knowledge to justlearn from some of the
experiences that people have hadover years and decades and been
(25:32):
able to compile it intosomething for you to consume and
read.
But one of the things aboutbooks is that it's not going to
speak to some of the challengesthat may be new today, because
maybe these are experiences thatsomeone has had from the past
and therefore they're nottalking about what happened in
the last few years.
(25:53):
Think about it who would haveever thought that we would have
been in the middle of a pandemicfor three years?
Who would have thought that?
No one no one has that in abook until now?
So when you get to that pointwhere you're facing these new
challenges and circumstances,then that's where we have to
learn from people who arecurrently in kind of in the fire
(26:16):
with you, but walked a fewsteps ahead and begin to
understand what they have beenable to do to navigate that path
.
And that's so true for us aswomen in consulting, because I
say this all the time but wehave to start sharing our
experiences openly more often.
(26:37):
Many of us have been through alot.
We've been through a lot in thecorporate space.
We've been through a lot withinour businesses.
We've navigated a lot ofchallenges with clients.
We know how to overcome.
We have that resilience in somany ways And if we're able to
share that more often, that'sgonna speak to some of the
(26:59):
challenges that many of us aswomen, especially women of color
, are facing right now in thisindustry.
Most of our challenges aren'tlike our male counterparts.
Most of the challenges are notlike the challenges that our
cisgender, white malecounterparts are facing.
They have a differentexperience.
That's not a bad thing, that'sjust some real thing, right,
(27:23):
it's our reality.
So sometimes we just have toshare more of what we know, what
we've experienced in ourbusinesses, so that others who
are coming behind us have abetter understanding as to how
to navigate that space and toavoid those pitfalls, so that
they have more energy.
They have more strength,support, focus, all those things
(27:46):
to withstand whateverchallenges that may be coming
ahead for them, and they can bemore resilient as a result,
because they haven't been beatdown and been through the fire
nonstop.
They've avoided a lot of that.
They've avoided a lot of thatbecause they learn from others
Just so important.
It's one of the reasons why Ibelieve so strongly in having
(28:07):
mentors and coaches and guides,because there's so much you can
learn from others and there's somuch that you can learn that
helps you to avoid many of thepitfalls that you will otherwise
have to face.
So that is one of the biggestways for us to remain resilient
is to also learn from themistakes and challenges of
(28:28):
others in avoiding a lot ofthose pitfalls, so that we can
maintain our focus, our energyand our enthusiasm to navigate
those challenges that areunavoidable.
So these three things are justso important for us to kind of
remember.
The bottom line is thatresilience is something that we
(28:50):
can develop, we can enhance, wecan grow, we can build as a
muscle that we are going to need, and I think, as long as we
make sure that we are focused onnot just taking breaks and
trying to reduce the amount ofstress that we have, which is
very important, but alsothinking about how we take those
(29:13):
challenges and the adversitythat shows up in our journey,
learn from it, adapt and thenapproach our businesses and our
new journey in a different way,with more creativity and
innovation, with greater insightaround just reducing those
(29:36):
things that may cause us a lotof stress, such as finances, and
also learning from the mistakesand challenges of others.
Those things are going to beWhat we need in order to
continue to grow in advance andreach the highest levels that I
know you are meant for.
(29:57):
So I hope you've enjoyed theseries.
I have really enjoyed it myself.
You know, for these episodes Ihad a chance to read up on some
additional information, a littlebit more about our field.
I think sometimes we don't taketime out I know I don't always
to just read some of thepublications in terms of white
(30:18):
papers that may come outspecific to the consulting
industry, and so is a wonderfulopportunity to kind of dive
deeper into that and think abouta lot of these things how we
avoid this level of burnout thathas really played so many
Consultants in our field.
We are fighting back againstthat.
We're minding our mind and wehave the tools now in hand so
(30:44):
that we can be the mostresilient, amazing, successful
consultants that people know,right?
If you enjoyed this episode ofthis series, do not forget,
please, please, please, share itwith a friend.
Also, don't forget to leaveyour review on Apple podcast or
your radio, spotify And reachout to me, as always Instagram,
(31:08):
linkedin, dm me.
I am there, i love to chat andthose of you have already
reached out, you know that Idefinitely welcome Any
conversation around consultingin this podcast and anything and
everything high performance,productivity, let's see what
else you name it good books, butseriously, reach out and I
(31:31):
can't wait to talk to you guysagain soon.
We'll be turning into anothermonth.
That went by fast.
All right, guys, take care bye.
Thank you for tuning in to theBlack Girls console to podcast.
If you enjoyed today's episode,be sure to leave your review on
Apple podcast, subscribe andshare it with a friend.
(31:52):
We're on a mission to increasethe success and longevity of
women in consulting and you canhelp us do that Also.
I'd love to hear from you, solet's connect at Dr Angelina
Davis on Instagram or LinkedInAnd don't forget to visit Excel
at consulting dot com for moreinformation to support your
consulting journey.
Until next time, take care.
There's a misconception that we don't
exist, that somehow our abilityto excel at the highest level of
our industry is limited, thatovercoming barriers as a woman
of color would be insurmountable.
But what would happen if wedecided to venture out on our
own, despite everything we're upagainst?
I'll tell you Welcome to theBlack Girls Consult 2 podcast.
(00:24):
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, a healthcare consultant,
consulting coach, highperformance fanatic wife and
proud girl mom.
I help transform femaleprofessionals into thriving solo
consultants And, just like you,i'm wearing all the hats and
doing all the things.
So this podcast is to empowerthe busy female professionals to
(00:46):
move past fear, to start andgrow a successful consulting
business, despite the obstaclesyou may encounter.
We'll dive deep into consultingpractice, business strategy,
mindset and more.
So grab your cup of coffee ortea, if that's your thing, and
let's get started.
Hello, hello, hello.
(01:14):
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsult 2 podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis.
And guess what, guys?
I cannot believe we're alreadyat the end of May, so that means
that we're closing out MentalHealth Awareness Month.
But we know that this workdoesn't stop.
We keep going.
As a matter of fact, if youfollow me on Instagram, you know
(01:34):
that I have been walking everyday for the month of May, mainly
for mental health reasons.
I was in a challenge in justgetting out in nature, making
this walk outside the vastmajority of the days and being
able to be mindful of mysurroundings and decompress
(01:55):
during those times, because Ioften will walk in the evening.
It has been such a wonderfuljourney, so much so that I think
I have made this into a habit.
So I don't plan to stop,although we are wrapping up at
least our acknowledgement ofMental Health Awareness Month
But we know that this workcontinues to go on and on and on
(02:17):
, and because we know we have toface a lot of these challenges
on an ongoing basis, that's oneof the reasons why I thought
that it would be great for us tocover this whole aspect of
resilience, because in order forus to be successful in business
, as entrepreneurs, asconsultants, women in consulting
(02:37):
, especially women of color inconsulting in this highly
competitive male-dominated arena, then we really do need to
begin to have more in ourtoolkit when it comes to
resiliency.
And this episode is going to befocused on that conversation
(02:58):
and hopefully giving you someideas as to ways that you can
build a stronger toolkit foryourself so that you're able to
show up in your strength foryears and decades to come.
To be honest, there's just somuch that keeps us often
stressed out, whether it is ourlaundry list of work that we
(03:21):
have to do, all the things thatwould be piling up on your desk.
I'm actually looking around nowand looking at all the work
that I need to complete.
I actually have some things,some projects I've been working
on, that need to get out,whether you are carrying the
load of taking care of family orfriends, being able to show up
(03:42):
completely and wholeheartedlyfor the clients that you serve.
There are just so many thingsin our lives that can bring on a
lot of stress And, if we'rehonest, you know with ourselves,
it's not always easy to managethat stress.
I know that I get overwhelmedfrom time to time.
That's normal, that's human.
We just want to make sure, asthis series of episodes has
(04:06):
shared, not to get to the pointof burnout.
So when we think aboutresilience, resilience is
actually defined as the abilityto achieve a successful outcome
in the face of adversity.
So I want you to think aboutall of those difficult
situations that you've been inor that you've had, where you've
shown up, in spite of all ofthose times, in those corporate
(04:29):
meetings where you sat there andhad to listen to someone either
completely ignore yourstatement or somehow not hold
your contribution at itsappropriate value.
All of those difficult momentsthat you may have experienced,
and still managed to navigate itsuccessfully and come out on
(04:51):
the other side more successfuland accomplish as a result of it
.
That is due to your ability tobe resilient, and the one thing
that I know to be true and ifyou look in literature, this
actually supports it is thatresilience is something that you
can continue to develop.
So, even if you've had thosedifficult moments in the past
(05:12):
where you have not been able tohandle things the way that
you've desired, you can buildthe muscle, the skill, to become
more resilient over time.
And it doesn't mean that youhave to put yourself through
nonstop trauma.
You don't have to have tons ofstress and trauma in order to
build resilience.
There is data that says andsupports the fact that you do
(05:37):
need some meaning that if youare completely in a situation
where there is the absence ofadversity or absence of these
difficult and stressful moments,that doesn't necessarily
contribute to your futureresilience, meaning that there's
a certain muscle that you haveto work when you're going
through these experiences.
(05:58):
That builds that level ofresilience that prepares you for
the next time.
So there's the stress that'shealthy, and then there's the
stress that's not, and we wantto stay away from the stress
that is not.
And it's okay for us to learn,adapt, be able to build from
those stressors that may presentthemselves as challenges but
(06:22):
that we're able to control.
Because as long as we're ableto control the circumstances
reasonably and we have tools inour toolkit, such as being able
to relax and be more mindful and, you know, other stress related
approaches to control andnavigate that space, then the
(06:43):
resilience is actually somethingthat will be built over time
And it will continue to getstronger and stronger as we move
forward.
But what I want to talk aboutare just really some other
things that we don't oftenconsider.
Yes, we always think abouttaking time off.
We may think about our selfcare days as ways of building
(07:05):
this time in, to decompress andhave the ability to manage the
stressors.
But those are not the only waysto build resilience.
And also, you don't have towait until everything just
crumbles and falls apart for youto build that back up.
You can actually be proactivewhen it comes to building
(07:25):
resilience and creating a moreresilient business, and for us
as entrepreneurs asentrepreneurs that are starting
out most often with less capital, less resources, less tools
available to us for us toachieve success, we have to have
some resilience, because ourroad, just realistically, just
(07:46):
honestly, is going to be alittle bit more rocky or steep
than others, and so thisresilience factor the ability
for us to be more resilient andbuild resilient bills businesses
is going to dictate ourlongevity in the industry
altogether.
So I was actually reading anarticle that was published by
(08:08):
Bayne and Company on gettingbusiness resilience right, and I
thought that this was awonderful read.
I was kind of coming through itas I was looking through some
of the information prepared forthis episode, and one of the
statistics that stood out for mein this particular article was
that it actually said that, ofcourse, more resilient
(08:29):
businesses in general are goingto have more successful outcomes
, that more resilient firms havenearly doubled the survival
rate, meaning that when youlooked at US companies and you
looked at the companies that hada low resilience index, those
(08:50):
companies only survived at arate of 35%, compared to 60% for
those who had a higherresilience index.
So when you're thinking aboutbeing able to navigate
challenges within the businessspace, and definitely when it
comes to entrepreneurship, themore resilient you are, the more
resilient you've built yourbusiness to be, the better, the
(09:12):
more likely that you're going tohave success and you have
longevity in the long term.
And because that's our overallgoal and mission, it's important
that we find ways toproactively build a level of
resilience into our businessesso that we don't have to worry
about these challenges thatinevitably will come, taking us
(09:36):
out.
So let's walk through some ofthe things that you can actually
implement in your consultingbusiness right now to make it
more resilient, so that you areable to adapt and navigate any
trouble or difficulty, i shouldrather say that may come your
way.
A thriving consulting businessis built on a solid business
(09:58):
foundation and a consulting codethat leads you toward your
ideal business and your ideallifestyle.
And the great thing about thiscode is that it works for any
type of consulting practice,whether you help clients with
professional development,business management, grant
writing, it or somethingentirely different.
This consulting code is notrocket science and is not beyond
(10:20):
your reach, and when you crackthe code, it can jumpstart the
growth of your solo consultingpractice and is what you need to
know to get started and lendyour first clients, and nothing
more.
This is a step by step processI wish I had so many years ago,
and that's why I wanted to sharethis with you and how you can
(10:40):
do this too.
So if you're interested instarting your consulting
business and creating adesirable offer to generate
leads for your offer and to makesales, then the consulting code
is your solution.
Visit wwwexcelatconsultingcomfor more information.
(11:01):
One of the first ways that youcan build more resilience in
your business is to be creativeand innovative, and one of the
reasons why this helps isbecause often we get to a point
where we run into a challenge orsomething that is preventing us
from achieving a goal.
(11:22):
Usually, when we get in thosecircumstances, the path that
we've taken or the strategy thatwe're using, whatever we are
doing in order to accomplishthat task, is something that
often has been outlined for usor it's an approach that you
have seen implemented time andtime again.
So we get to these points wherewe're trying with all of our
(11:47):
effort and things are just notgoing the way that we feel they
should go.
We can easily become stressed,overwhelmed and defeated,
especially if you get yourselfinto this cycle on a hamster
wheel just trying to do all thatyou can to achieve the outcome
of the goal.
We say this a lot right now.
Even in the online space, thereare so many people walking away
(12:10):
from their businesses that arehighly successful because they
cannot figure out how to make itfit their life or their
lifestyle, and so they feeltrapped by their success.
That's not uncommon, even withcareers.
How often do we feel trapped byall of the success that we've
had?
(12:30):
because you have had a lot ofsuccess, people add more to your
plate and you have anexpectation of yourself to do
your best work, so therefore, itcreates this cycle of just
never ending work, stresswithout reward.
That is highly defeating, andthat's something that can begin
(12:51):
to wear on you over time.
So being able to approach thesecircumstances with more
creativity and innovation canmake all of the difference,
because, instead of beating yourhead against the wall, trying
to make this one thing thatyou've been told should work
work out for you, you can thinkabout how you can adapt and
(13:13):
become more agile and takeanother approach that will still
lead you to the end result, butmaybe along a different path.
That's an aspect of resilienceyour ability to confront the
adversity or the challenge, tosee it and face it head on and
think about how you can overcomeit in a different way.
So leaning into this aspect ofcreativity and innovation is key
(13:38):
, and I always say that you haveto get comfortable with doing
things your way.
This is your business, this isyour business, this is your
dream, this is your vision, andyou do not have to follow a
certain guideline or path orstructure.
If it does not help you reachyour goal, you can adapt it.
(14:02):
Most often, especially when itcomes to many other strategies
and the techniques and thingsthat have been at least
publishing a lot of the booksthat are out on the market today
for consulting.
Many of those approaches, yes,they work, but they have to be
adapted.
They have to be adapted becauseyou're a woman, especially a
woman of color in this field,and that book wasn't written for
(14:23):
you.
So when you can acknowledgethat and you understand it, you
become less stressed out by thefact that this method may not be
working exactly as you wouldhave thought or exactly as it
has worked for somebody else.
When you attempt to use it, youwill already be very mindful
(14:46):
that there may be some changesthat you have to make.
So this is an aspect of thatresilience remaining creative
and being innovative when itcomes to how you approach
problems that you face in yourbusiness.
Do not feel like you have tofollow a set unwritten rule
(15:07):
because you don't.
This is your opportunity tocreate what you need in order to
achieve your goal.
So, creativity and innovation,that's the first thing.
Now the second one should ringhome for, i think, anyone
listening, because right nowwe're in the midst of a lot of
uncertainty when it comes toeconomic stability overall,
(15:30):
globally, within the US, withinthe entrepreneurial space,
everywhere you turn.
Who knows what's going tohappen next?
I feel like ever since thepandemic we have just been in
this world of I don't know, rollthe dice and see what happens.
Is that, is that a way toexplain it?
(15:51):
That's how I feel, at least.
I feel like we're just rollingthe dice and trying to figure
out what's going to happen next.
But overall, we do have theseuncertainties around the economy
, and that is going to be normal.
We're going to always havethose fluctuations that occur.
This can cause a lot of anxiety,because when you're thinking
about stability in your businessespecially if you have yet to
(16:14):
leave your nine to five and youwant to make that transition you
want to be able to see someaspect of stability and security
so that you feel comfortabledoing so.
You want to know that you cankeep the lights on.
Everybody wants that securityand that safety when it comes to
your business or even yourcareer.
We crave that.
(16:36):
We need that.
Security is part of the basicneeds.
Even when you look at Maslow'shierarchy of needs is one of the
basic needs that we have, andso it's going to be something
that is going to cause usanxiety when that is threatened.
So one way of being able tothink ahead and prepare
(16:56):
ourselves to be more resilientif there were any type of shake
up or change when it comes toour financial resources or
ability to generate revenue andmoney is to make sure that you
are running your business usinglean systems.
I am a big advocate for usinglean systems.
(17:22):
You do not need a massive team.
You don't need it.
If you need help, that's fine.
You can delegate, You can bringon contractors for specific
projects, but you do not need tohave ongoing people on payroll
until you get to the point whereyou have your finances set up
and structured to be able tohold that space for them and to
(17:46):
make sure that you can providethat stability and that security
for those individuals withinyour business.
And what happens often is thatmany entrepreneurs get out in
this space and we hear all ofthis talk about delegation and
outsourcing and building yourteam, and everybody feels as if
(18:07):
they need a massive team inorder to have a successful
business.
I was actually listening to apodcast by Amy Porterfield not
too long ago and I thought itwas very interesting when she
shared her behind the scenes ofher business and building out
her team structure.
But it wasn't until she mademillions of dollars before she
(18:28):
ever got her small team, which Ican't remember how many people
she said maybe around five or so, but either way, it was a very
small team that she has now.
Before then, up until the pointof which she had reached
millions and I keep putting theS on the end because it wasn't
just one million, it wasmillions of dollars.
She had not brought onfull-time employees, she used
(18:55):
contractors or she had set helpor freelancers for projects and
for shorter periods of time,because you have to realize that
when we make these promises andextend ourselves to cover so
much financially, that's a levelof stress.
(19:16):
You have a level of addedresponsibility on your plate And
, yes, when the money is flowingand things are good, then it's
easy to do.
But people fail to create thenecessary protections so that
you can ensure that wheneverthese challenges come about, if
(19:37):
there's any type of adversity ordownturn, that you can still
maintain the same expenses asyou would have before.
In order to do that or the bestway, i would argue, to do that
is to make sure that you runwith a lean system.
Keep your expenses to a minimum.
If you keep your expenses to aminimum number one, that's not
(19:59):
an increase your profitability,which is always a great thing,
but one of the reasons why thathelps to increase your
likelihood of success andlongevity is because, if there
were any difficulty financially,you will be able to maintain
yourself during that timebecause you would not have as
much overhead.
So when you're able to run yourbusiness using more automations
(20:23):
or structuring your offers in away that it doesn't require so
much added assistance to help todeliver.
All those things make it mucheasier for you to create a
resilient business so thatyou're able to weather any
changes or shifts, especiallywhen it comes to finances or the
economy.
That's one of the major reasonswhy many businesses go out of
(20:45):
business, why they fail, and soif we're able to think ahead and
know that this is one of thereasons why businesses fail,
therefore, i want to make surethat I have a cushion, something
that is comfortable for me tomaintain in terms of expenses,
so that I can be more resilient.
If there is anything that comesmy way, i will be able to
(21:08):
handle it.
It will not be a stress or astressor that will overtake me.
Those are some of the thingsthat we want to remember the
fact that we can prepare forthis resilience ahead of time,
and, especially when it comes tohaving the financial resilience
that we need, making sure thatwe are running with a lean
(21:28):
system, using the fewest amountof financial resources necessary
to be able to run our businesseffectively.
So I don't want you to feellike you can do everything by
yourself That's not what I'msaying but making sure that you
hire at the right time, that youare not bringing on more
expenses and other types offinancial responsibilities that
(21:53):
you cannot maintain.
This is going to lift so muchbaggage and weight from your
shoulders so that you canbreathe, so that you can handle
whatever challenges you may haveto face without having this
huge mental burden of thefinancial responsibilities that
(22:14):
you have to maintain.
This is an opportunity, in away, to free yourself of that
added stressor by making surethat you aren't creating a load
that's going to be too hard tocarry.
And the last thing that I wantto stress is the importance of
(22:35):
having a proven playbook tofollow.
There is something to be saidfor having guidance.
You know we all work asconsultants, so we're giving
that advice and that guidance toother people.
We know the value that weprovide to businesses or to the
(22:56):
clients that we work with.
We know that we can shed lighton difficult circumstances,
challenges.
We can tell them how to adapt,we can tell them what they need
to do, we can give them strategy.
We can do all of these thingsfor everyone else, but often,
when it comes to our ownbusinesses, we struggle.
We struggle because in thosetimes, we don't have guidance
(23:21):
for ourselves, we don't have aplaybook for ourselves, we don't
have anything to follow, andone of the things that happens
when you do have something tofollow, when you do have a
methodology or a framework thatyou're following when you're
going through this buildingprocess, is that it's going to
(23:42):
help you avoid coming pitfalls.
So it's not necessarily aboutthe strategy itself, because,
like I said before, you may haveto adapt the strategy, may have
to make modifications in orderfor it to fit your business and
your lifestyle, but one of thethings that it should help you
do is to identify thosecircumstances or situations that
(24:06):
can lead to a negative outcomeif you don't approach it the
right way.
It can also give you an idea asto how to navigate your path of
journey so that you avoid thesestumbling blocks, because
resilience is something that, ofcourse, is built over time,
based upon the adversities thatwe experience.
(24:26):
However, there is a breakingpoint that we all have, so we
don't want to build up so muchadversity and build such a
challenge for ourselves that wemake it nearly impossible to be
successful.
We don't wanna stand in our ownway, we don't wanna sabotage
ourselves, and one of the waysthat we can avoid that is by
(24:50):
learning from the journeys andmistakes and experiences of
others.
When we have that guidance, whenwe have that knowledge, then we
can actually map a path out forourselves that helps us to kind
of navigate around thosepotholes.
We can get around all of thatwithout having to take a hit.
(25:11):
You don't have to experiencethe same thing that someone else
did, because they're able toshare their experience with you.
That's one of the values ofhaving so many books as your
wealth of knowledge to justlearn from some of the
experiences that people have hadover years and decades and been
(25:32):
able to compile it intosomething for you to consume and
read.
But one of the things aboutbooks is that it's not going to
speak to some of the challengesthat may be new today, because
maybe these are experiences thatsomeone has had from the past
and therefore they're nottalking about what happened in
the last few years.
(25:53):
Think about it who would haveever thought that we would have
been in the middle of a pandemicfor three years?
Who would have thought that?
No one no one has that in abook until now?
So when you get to that pointwhere you're facing these new
challenges and circumstances,then that's where we have to
learn from people who arecurrently in kind of in the fire
(26:16):
with you, but walked a fewsteps ahead and begin to
understand what they have beenable to do to navigate that path
.
And that's so true for us aswomen in consulting, because I
say this all the time but wehave to start sharing our
experiences openly more often.
(26:37):
Many of us have been through alot.
We've been through a lot in thecorporate space.
We've been through a lot withinour businesses.
We've navigated a lot ofchallenges with clients.
We know how to overcome.
We have that resilience in somany ways And if we're able to
share that more often, that'sgonna speak to some of the
(26:59):
challenges that many of us aswomen, especially women of color
, are facing right now in thisindustry.
Most of our challenges aren'tlike our male counterparts.
Most of the challenges are notlike the challenges that our
cisgender, white malecounterparts are facing.
They have a differentexperience.
That's not a bad thing, that'sjust some real thing, right,
(27:23):
it's our reality.
So sometimes we just have toshare more of what we know, what
we've experienced in ourbusinesses, so that others who
are coming behind us have abetter understanding as to how
to navigate that space and toavoid those pitfalls, so that
they have more energy.
They have more strength,support, focus, all those things
(27:46):
to withstand whateverchallenges that may be coming
ahead for them, and they can bemore resilient as a result,
because they haven't been beatdown and been through the fire
nonstop.
They've avoided a lot of that.
They've avoided a lot of thatbecause they learn from others
Just so important.
It's one of the reasons why Ibelieve so strongly in having
(28:07):
mentors and coaches and guides,because there's so much you can
learn from others and there's somuch that you can learn that
helps you to avoid many of thepitfalls that you will otherwise
have to face.
So that is one of the biggestways for us to remain resilient
is to also learn from themistakes and challenges of
(28:28):
others in avoiding a lot ofthose pitfalls, so that we can
maintain our focus, our energyand our enthusiasm to navigate
those challenges that areunavoidable.
So these three things are justso important for us to kind of
remember.
The bottom line is thatresilience is something that we
(28:50):
can develop, we can enhance, wecan grow, we can build as a
muscle that we are going to need, and I think, as long as we
make sure that we are focused onnot just taking breaks and
trying to reduce the amount ofstress that we have, which is
very important, but alsothinking about how we take those
(29:13):
challenges and the adversitythat shows up in our journey,
learn from it, adapt and thenapproach our businesses and our
new journey in a different way,with more creativity and
innovation, with greater insightaround just reducing those
(29:36):
things that may cause us a lotof stress, such as finances, and
also learning from the mistakesand challenges of others.
Those things are going to beWhat we need in order to
continue to grow in advance andreach the highest levels that I
know you are meant for.
(29:57):
So I hope you've enjoyed theseries.
I have really enjoyed it myself.
You know, for these episodes Ihad a chance to read up on some
additional information, a littlebit more about our field.
I think sometimes we don't taketime out I know I don't always
to just read some of thepublications in terms of white
(30:18):
papers that may come outspecific to the consulting
industry, and so is a wonderfulopportunity to kind of dive
deeper into that and think abouta lot of these things how we
avoid this level of burnout thathas really played so many
Consultants in our field.
We are fighting back againstthat.
We're minding our mind and wehave the tools now in hand so
(30:44):
that we can be the mostresilient, amazing, successful
consultants that people know,right?
If you enjoyed this episode ofthis series, do not forget,
please, please, please, share itwith a friend.
Also, don't forget to leaveyour review on Apple podcast or
your radio, spotify And reachout to me, as always Instagram,
(31:08):
linkedin, dm me.
I am there, i love to chat andthose of you have already
reached out, you know that Idefinitely welcome Any
conversation around consultingin this podcast and anything and
everything high performance,productivity, let's see what
else you name it good books, butseriously, reach out and I
(31:31):
can't wait to talk to you guysagain soon.
We'll be turning into anothermonth.
That went by fast.
All right, guys, take care bye.
Thank you for tuning in to theBlack Girls console to podcast.
If you enjoyed today's episode,be sure to leave your review on
Apple podcast, subscribe andshare it with a friend.
(31:52):
We're on a mission to increasethe success and longevity of
women in consulting and you canhelp us do that Also.
I'd love to hear from you, solet's connect at Dr Angelina
Davis on Instagram or LinkedInAnd don't forget to visit Excel
at consulting dot com for moreinformation to support your
consulting journey.
Until next time, take care.
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