September 20, 2023 • 27 mins
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Are you operating a small consulting business or thinking of starting one? It's time to shatter common misconceptions, redefine what it means to be small and embrace the inherent value that small businesses bring to the table. In this episode, we are looking at how many 'big' businesses are actually small by definition and explore the power of being small and how to harness this power to compete with larger entities. Through examining two value models - business-to-consumer and business-to-business - we'll demonstrate how to apply them to lift your offerings. Tune in to learn how!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We have to erase this assumption that big business,
big corporations, automaticallyyield big money, because that is
not always the case, especiallyif the offer is not designed in
the right way, where you'redelivering without a lot of
overhead.
You know this is a conversationfor another day, but I think a
(00:20):
lot of times we forget that whenwe're talking about money and
we're talking aboutprofitability, it's not just the
money that you're bringing in,but it's also the money that
you're pouring out.
There's a misconception that wedon't exist, that somehow our
ability to excel at the highestlevel of our industry is limited
(00:41):
, that overcoming barriers as awoman 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 To Podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, a healthcare consultant,
consulting coach, highperformance fanatic wife and
(01:04):
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
move past fear to start andgrow a successful consulting
business, despite the obstaclesyou may encounter.
(01:24):
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.
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsult To Podcast.
(01:46):
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, and I am excited to be
tuning in for another podcastepisode today.
One of the things that has beenon my mind very recently is a
conversation that I saw kind ofplaying out in the online space.
It was all about notconsidering yourself as a small
(02:09):
business.
Pretty much, being a smallbusiness seemed like an ugly
word, a word that you didn'twant to use.
No one wants to be small.
Everybody wants to have a bigbusiness, and I was sitting back
thinking about this, really,because, when you think about it
, most of the businesses thatare in the marketplace today are
(02:31):
considered, by definition,small businesses.
So I was thinking about wherethis would actually leave us in
the long run, when we'reconsidering how we are showing
up in our space and winningbusiness and growing our
consulting firms.
Are we doing ourselves adisservice by not honoring the
fact that we are in a differentspace and that we are small
(02:51):
businesses oftentimes and thatwe have something that is very
different and unique that we canoffer?
Are we somehow keepingourselves from growing, scaling,
advancing and growing to thatlarger size because we're
unwilling to embrace where weare currently?
So in this episode, I want todive deeper into that.
(03:11):
I want to talk about how we canbetter understand our value as
a small business, in particular,a small consulting business and
firm, and what that means foryou in terms of you being able
to build your business over theyears to come.
You know, one thing that I wantto remind us of is how the
(03:32):
government sees our businessesin terms of size.
So when we are talking aboutsmall businesses in general,
we're talking about businessesthat have fewer than 1500
employees and up to a maximum of$38 or $38.5 million in revenue
.
So when you're thinking aboutwhat it means to be a small
(03:55):
business, you know, oftentimesmany of the businesses that we
reference as being largerentities are actually small
businesses by definition.
So this leads us to understandbetter where we fall in terms of
this definition and the realityof where we are in our industry
(04:20):
or in our marketplace, becauseit is apparent that very few
businesses actually reach thismuch larger level of the massive
corporations that we'rethinking about.
You know we're thinking aboutlarger businesses.
We're thinking About firms suchas like Deloitte or a censure
or you know any of these majororganizations, but there are so
(04:40):
many lucrative boutique A firm,so there are so many lucrative
and very wealthy multimillionaire solo consultants and
consultants who have smallteams and they are highly
successful by our standards andwe consider them as being bigger
fish in the pond Really, whenin all actuality, they are
actually small business owners.
(05:02):
And so I think if we begin toreframe this conversation, we
can better understand the valuethat we're bringing to the table
and what we can offer thepotential clients that we want
to serve.
But I want us to think abouthow being small can actually
work to our advantage, becausewe're missing out on the value
that we bring to the table.
(05:23):
We're being small.
We are shooting ourselves inthe foot.
In order to understand thisbetter, I do think that we have
to dive deeper into how peopleperceive value.
There are two models that Ilike to reference often, and
they are considered the elementsof value, and so there's a
model for the business toconsumer space, and there's also
(05:45):
a model for the business tobusiness space.
I teach this a lot with theclients that I work with and the
clients that I serve for thisone reason, and it is because,
in order for you to create anoffer that truly resonates with
your market, you need to fullyunderstand the value that is
placed on different outcomes, sothat you have an idea as to
(06:11):
what you are going to offer whenyou create and establish the
service that you want to provide.
When we do this in advance, wehave a better idea as to how the
result that we're offering, thetransformation that we're
offering, how that will beperceived by many that may be in
our space.
It's not an absolute, but it'sa wonderful starting point
(06:32):
because it highlights the factthat, similar to Maslow's
hierarchy of needs because thisis a model that shape in a
pyramid, the similar to Maslow'shierarchy of needs there is a
foundational level that has tobe established in order for a
business or consumer to seegreater value in some of the
options or some of the resultsthat can be offered at a higher
(06:54):
level.
So always use an example of abusiness that you may be
interested in serving or workingwith.
If they do not have the abilityto keep the lights on and to
pay their staff and to meettheir financial expectations,
then it's going to be difficultfor them to find greater value
and offers.
They may focus on some aspectof streamlining their processes
(07:18):
that don't directly tie into acost savings or some other
monetary benefit, or for them tofocus on proving client
satisfaction or customersatisfaction, although we know
that will be tied to them beingable to retain business and gain
referrals and additionalclientele in the long run.
(07:39):
It's going to be hard for themto place a lot of value in that
because they are right now verymuch fixated on the urgent need
that they have to stayfinancially solid and stable.
So when we're thinking abouthow we're able to help our
target audience, we want tocontinue to keep all these
(08:00):
things in mind.
So instead of us playing bigand thinking about offers that
are going to target a higherlevel of need is not that we
don't want to do that, butsometimes there can be a lot of
value in being able toincorporate some of these basic
foundational elements that helpus to provide a perceived value
in the long run.
And what studies have shown ingeneral is that one of the most
(08:23):
common elements that anybusiness is going to desire and
want and value is quality.
It's quality.
Quality means a lot.
Quality is valuable, and whenyou're able to increase the
quality of the services that youprovide, you are doing yourself
and your clients the biggestservice.
(08:45):
You are creating a scenariowhere you, pretty much, are
going to inevitably win.
So I want to spend some of thistime just talking about how, as
a small business owner, as asolo consultant, as a small firm
, how you're able to competewith some of the larger players
in your industry, and you'reable to do that by Taking into
(09:08):
account everything that youbring to the table, by being
being a smaller organizationthat can provide a more intimate
Approach or higher quality inthe services that you provide.
Thriving consulting business isbuilt on a solid business
foundation and a consulting codethat leads you toward your
(09:30):
ideal business and your ideallifestyle, and the great thing
about this code is that it worksfor any type of consulting
practice, whether you helpclients with professional
development, business management, grant writing, it or something
entirely different.
This consulting code is notrocket science and is not beyond
your reach, and when you crackthe code, it can jump start the
(09:52):
growth of your solo consultingpractice and is what you need to
know to get started and landyour 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
do this too.
So if you're interested instarting your consulting
(10:12):
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.
Now, one thing that I want topoint out is that by being the
(10:39):
smaller player, the smallerbusiness, a smaller consulting
firm, what you're able to do isactually Compete in a much
larger field with less opponents.
And I like to point it out thisway because, keep in mind, you
(11:00):
have to think about the mindsetthat many other businesses have
and business owners have.
They often go after a Largerentity, try to compete with the
biggest and the best in theirindustry, in their field, and
they want to have thatcompetition more directly,
instead of Building up to thepoint where they can compete
(11:21):
more directly by utilizing theirstrengths at a different level.
So what this looks like isgoing after larger businesses
and trying to offer similarservices, being a smaller team,
or maybe even a solo consulting,compared to a larger
organization that may have aTeam of experts at each level,
(11:44):
in each division that can offermore tailored services and have
greater capacity to do so.
If you are setting yourself uphead-to-head to compete in that
scenario, I would hate to tellyou you're probably gonna fail
because you're not Equipped tobe able to offer that same level
of service in that same levelof quality, which I just spoke
(12:07):
of before is one of the thingsthat many people highly value
and perceive to be valuable andthink in something that they
want, in need.
So another option is to thinkabout all of those other Clients
that are not being served bythose larger corporations or
those larger entities that arenot able to Work with them
(12:29):
because they don't have, maybe,that budget or they don't have
Access to be able to do so.
And it's not that you're comingin second best, but what you're
doing is actually being able toprovide a more tailored service
that may be smaller andpackaged differently.
That allows them to work moreseamlessly with you, and and by
(12:53):
doing this, this means that youcan actually target a lot of
Organizations and smallerbusinesses that many are going
to overlook.
And so, instead of youcompeting at this level, where
everybody else is trying tofight for business and trying to
win these larger contractsthrough RFPs and the that RFP
process and whatnot.
(13:14):
You are snatching up all thebusiness around you that also is
going to bring in a lot ofmoney, without the time spent
and wasted on you Securing theseother RFPs and these contracts
through Methods and means thatdo not favor you as a business
owner, especially if you're awoman or a woman of color, or do
(13:35):
not favor you in terms of thesize and the capacity For you to
be able to fulfill the serviceas needed.
So here is where being able tocompete in a completely
different space works to youradvantage, and not only does it
(13:57):
work to your advantage from thestandpoint that you are now
offering services to people whohave many times been overlooked
or maybe even forgotten, and nowyou can actually offer greater
value because you are able tocreate a scenario where you can
(14:17):
perform at a higher level andproduce higher quality work.
This is something that I thinkwe do not fully take advantage
of often times, especially whenwe're working as solo
consultants or as small affirms,because your ability to pay
(14:38):
greater attention to detail, tohave quicker follow up, to be
able to turn around projectsfaster, to be able to deliver at
a faster rate.
All of those things equate togreater value to the clients
that you want to serve, and soif you are producing higher
quality, if you're turning thataround at a faster rate, those
(15:00):
things lead to cost savings andthe ability to generate more
revenue more swiftly for theclients that you want to secure.
That is highly valuable.
That will definitely allow youto land a contract a lot quicker
than someone else who istelling that potential client
(15:22):
that it's going to take a threemonth, six month turnaround.
If you're able to come in anddo that work in a shorter
timeframe, that is not onlyvaluable from the standpoint of
them being excited to work withyou because they can get things
up and running faster, but youcan actually charge more money
for that because you'recondensing the timeframe.
So there is a lot of value inbeing able to do that, and
(15:46):
oftentimes we don't think aboutthis as being valuable in a way
for us to land more business.
We are fixated on the fact manytimes that we're not as big or
seemingly as powerful or visibleas maybe another larger entity
(16:07):
may be.
But if you're able to do betterwork, if you're able to do
better work faster, if you'reable to make the process
seamless to work with you, ifyou're able to get back in touch
with people and provide a levelof personal engagement that is
highly desired, especially intoday's day and time, then that
(16:28):
is something that people willsign up for time and time again.
It will work to your advantage.
And then the last thing I wantto remind you is that small
businesses don't mean smallmoney.
So we think about thesecorporate contracts, because
most people are interested inlanding what we call big money
and we're trying to secure that,but we don't consider all the
(16:52):
time that's spent trying to winthat business.
How much time are you spendingsubmitting all of these RFPs?
How much time are you spendinggetting those to, so many of
these proposals that you'resending out so that you can win
that business that way?
How much time are you spendingtrying to compete against so
(17:15):
many others in your field?
Think about that, because allof the time that's spent is not
necessarily time wasted.
I don't believe in time beingwasted.
You're learning as you go along, you're making connections as
you go along, but I want you tothink about your ability to
spend that same amount of timebeing able to build
(17:35):
Relationships and establishrelationships with other
Businesses that have similarneeds, that don't have all the
red tape that you need to jumpthrough in the hoops that you
need to jump through In order toland business and land a larger
contract with them.
Those are the types of thingsthat you want to consider and
(17:56):
Keep in mind when we're talkingabout those types of business.
No, they may not necessarily bea Coca-Cola, or Maybe they're.
They're not Verizon or somelarge organization to that
extent, but maybe they arebusinesses that have a few
hundred or a thousand employees.
Right, those organizationsstill can be very, very
(18:18):
lucrative.
You have a lot of big-timeplayers that do not necessarily
have the size that would Givethem the ability to fall into
the definition of having alarger business.
So maybe they do small, fallinto the category of a small
business, but they generatemillions upon millions of
(18:40):
dollars and you can actuallybuild a relationship that allows
you to win a larger contractworking with them, because you
are focused on delivering ahigher quality service and and
being able to perform at ahigher level that they are going
to desire.
And I think that we have toerase this assumption that big
(19:06):
business, big operations,automatically yield big money,
because that is not always thecase, especially if the offer is
not designed in the right way,where you're delivering without
a lot of overhead.
You know this is a conversationfor another day, but I think a
lot of times we Forget that whenwe're talking about money and
(19:28):
we're talking aboutprofitability, it's not just the
money that you're bringing in,but it's also the money that
you're pouring out.
So how much money are youspending on contractors?
How much money are you spendingtrying to Deliver the service
that you're promising to provide?
If you have a lot of overhead,that's eating away at this
(19:49):
larger contract that you want,then is that as lucrative of a
Contract that you had originallythought?
Or or maybe you're notconsidering Every aspect of the
sales cycle and what it took toget there and what it takes also
to fulfill on that servicethat's provided.
(20:12):
And what I found is that manytimes, when people are not
careful In terms of building outtheir service offer and mapping
out how they provide theirservices in a way that allows
them to be more profitable inmore streamlined, then you can
get into delivering thesebloated services that can limit
(20:33):
your profitability, no matterhow big your contract was right.
So I think there are a lot oflayers to this process that we
overlook and we don't considerand we get fixated and focus on
the fact that Trying to workwith a larger corporation is
going to automatically be thebig money win that we need in
(20:55):
order to Sustain our businessfor the years to come.
But the diversification of thebusinesses that you work with,
as well as your ability to Beable to sustain those
relationships and increase thelifetime value of that
(21:15):
particular client, is going toalso be Just as lucrative.
I will argue as you being ableto go after these large contract
from year to year.
It's a different approach.
It's not that one is right orwrong, but I want you to just
understand that you offer a lotof value as a small business, as
(21:38):
a smaller entity.
When you build out yourboutique firm if that's your
goal or desire, or if you'reshowing up as a solo consultant
in your space, you're deliveringa higher quality service that
still is highly valuable andworthy of being properly
compensated.
So it's not that you areAssuming small contracts and
(22:03):
trying to make up your businessand create your business and
build your business on volume,but you're still building your
business based upon quality.
It's still a higher ticketservice and the greater quality
that you're able to offer, theHigher touch that you're able to
provide, is going to be worthyof greater reimbursement.
(22:26):
So lean into that, don't beafraid of it.
It's not anything to be ashamedof, you know.
Just because someone says thatyou have a small business,
that's not an insult.
I want you to really thinkdifferently and also I want to
clarify that this is not alimiting thought.
(22:47):
You're not limiting yourself toa certain size or a certain
amount of money.
The sky is the limit.
But what I'm trying to say isthat, as you're going through
this journey, you will have togo through the phase of being
small in order to get big, andif you don't appreciate the
value and the benefit of beingsmall when you are small, then
you will never get to the pointwhere you are big enough to be
(23:10):
able to rightfully hold thatspace and to last as a larger
entity over time.
Everything has a season,everything has its time and by
embracing the space that you'recurrently in, it will get you to
that larger goal much faster.
So you know, I really hope thatthis conversation is helpful.
(23:33):
I hope that you can walk awayfeeling reassured that, being a
smaller entity in your spacewhether you're a smaller firm,
solo consultant, boutique firm,smaller agency that you're
building and establishing rightnow that you understand that
you're in a space where you havethe ability to land highly
(23:54):
lucrative contracts by leaninginto your power of being the one
that can deliver a higherquality service, that is able to
provide a level of high touchand interaction and
responsiveness that others areunable to do, that you can keep
(24:18):
your client first in mind andyou can win over their business
and not show up in magazines andarticles for not taking the
client's needs intoconsideration and focusing
solely on the dollar.
See, people are looking forsomething different and when you
show up as that differentconsultant, that different
(24:40):
business in your space, that iswhat wins people over.
That's what's going to help youcompete as a woman, especially
a woman of color, in thisindustry.
It's going to be being able toutilize your strengths to your
advantage, to be smart in howyou build out your services so
(25:02):
that you're not bloating themwith unnecessary needs and other
expenses that can lead you tolanding lucrative contracts and
still coming up short.
So, once again, being small isnot bad.
Instead, being small can bepowerful.
You can be small and mightyright now, and I will argue that
(25:25):
the more you lean into thevalue that you can provide by
being a smaller entity right now, that's going to lead you to
even greater success in the end.
All right, guys, I hope youenjoyed this episode.
If you enjoyed this episode,don't forget to share it with a
friend, always, always, always.
I am so appreciative whenyou're able to do that and reach
(25:46):
out to me on LinkedIn orInstagram.
I do enjoy those conversationsand kind of continuing the
conversations that we have onthe podcast, and make sure that,
if you did enjoy the episode,that you leave a review on Apple
Podcasts or on Spotify.
I want you to embrace the valuethat you bring to the table and
being able to provide a higherquality of service and being
(26:08):
able to raise the level ofexpectations of the clients that
you serve and performing atyour highest level by being able
to pay attention to detail andservice them in a way that these
larger corporations cannot do.
All right with that, I knowthat you're going to be
successful.
Okay, guys, I love thisconversation and I can't wait to
(26:30):
talk to you again.
Take care, bye.
There's a misconception that wedon't exist, that somehow our
ability to excel at the highestlevel of our industry is limited
, that overcoming barriers as awoman of color would be
insurmountable.
But what would happen if wedecided to venture out on our
(26:50):
own, despite everything we're upagainst?
I'll tell you.
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsult To Podcast.
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
(27:13):
doing all the things.
So this podcast is to empowerthe busy female professionals to
move past fear to start andgrow a successful consulting
business.
Despite the obstacles you mayencounter.
We'll dive deep into consultingpractice, business strategy,
mindset and more.
So grab your cup of coffee ortea, if that's your thing, and
(27:34):
let's get started.
We have to erase this assumption that big business,
big corporations, automaticallyyield big money, because that is
not always the case, especiallyif the offer is not designed in
the right way, where you'redelivering without a lot of
overhead.
You know this is a conversationfor another day, but I think a
(00:20):
lot of times we forget that whenwe're talking about money and
we're talking aboutprofitability, it's not just the
money that you're bringing in,but it's also the money that
you're pouring out.
There's a misconception that wedon't exist, that somehow our
ability to excel at the highestlevel of our industry is limited
(00:41):
, that overcoming barriers as awoman 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 To Podcast.
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, a healthcare consultant,
consulting coach, highperformance fanatic wife and
(01:04):
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
move past fear to start andgrow a successful consulting
business, despite the obstaclesyou may encounter.
(01:24):
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.
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsult To Podcast.
(01:46):
I'm your host, dr AngelinaDavis, and I am excited to be
tuning in for another podcastepisode today.
One of the things that has beenon my mind very recently is a
conversation that I saw kind ofplaying out in the online space.
It was all about notconsidering yourself as a small
(02:09):
business.
Pretty much, being a smallbusiness seemed like an ugly
word, a word that you didn'twant to use.
No one wants to be small.
Everybody wants to have a bigbusiness, and I was sitting back
thinking about this, really,because, when you think about it
, most of the businesses thatare in the marketplace today are
(02:31):
considered, by definition,small businesses.
So I was thinking about wherethis would actually leave us in
the long run, when we'reconsidering how we are showing
up in our space and winningbusiness and growing our
consulting firms.
Are we doing ourselves adisservice by not honoring the
fact that we are in a differentspace and that we are small
(02:51):
businesses oftentimes and thatwe have something that is very
different and unique that we canoffer?
Are we somehow keepingourselves from growing, scaling,
advancing and growing to thatlarger size because we're
unwilling to embrace where weare currently?
So in this episode, I want todive deeper into that.
(03:11):
I want to talk about how we canbetter understand our value as
a small business, in particular,a small consulting business and
firm, and what that means foryou in terms of you being able
to build your business over theyears to come.
You know, one thing that I wantto remind us of is how the
(03:32):
government sees our businessesin terms of size.
So when we are talking aboutsmall businesses in general,
we're talking about businessesthat have fewer than 1500
employees and up to a maximum of$38 or $38.5 million in revenue
.
So when you're thinking aboutwhat it means to be a small
(03:55):
business, you know, oftentimesmany of the businesses that we
reference as being largerentities are actually small
businesses by definition.
So this leads us to understandbetter where we fall in terms of
this definition and the realityof where we are in our industry
(04:20):
or in our marketplace, becauseit is apparent that very few
businesses actually reach thismuch larger level of the massive
corporations that we'rethinking about.
You know we're thinking aboutlarger businesses.
We're thinking About firms suchas like Deloitte or a censure
or you know any of these majororganizations, but there are so
(04:40):
many lucrative boutique A firm,so there are so many lucrative
and very wealthy multimillionaire solo consultants and
consultants who have smallteams and they are highly
successful by our standards andwe consider them as being bigger
fish in the pond Really, whenin all actuality, they are
actually small business owners.
(05:02):
And so I think if we begin toreframe this conversation, we
can better understand the valuethat we're bringing to the table
and what we can offer thepotential clients that we want
to serve.
But I want us to think abouthow being small can actually
work to our advantage, becausewe're missing out on the value
that we bring to the table.
(05:23):
We're being small.
We are shooting ourselves inthe foot.
In order to understand thisbetter, I do think that we have
to dive deeper into how peopleperceive value.
There are two models that Ilike to reference often, and
they are considered the elementsof value, and so there's a
model for the business toconsumer space, and there's also
(05:45):
a model for the business tobusiness space.
I teach this a lot with theclients that I work with and the
clients that I serve for thisone reason, and it is because,
in order for you to create anoffer that truly resonates with
your market, you need to fullyunderstand the value that is
placed on different outcomes, sothat you have an idea as to
(06:11):
what you are going to offer whenyou create and establish the
service that you want to provide.
When we do this in advance, wehave a better idea as to how the
result that we're offering, thetransformation that we're
offering, how that will beperceived by many that may be in
our space.
It's not an absolute, but it'sa wonderful starting point
(06:32):
because it highlights the factthat, similar to Maslow's
hierarchy of needs because thisis a model that shape in a
pyramid, the similar to Maslow'shierarchy of needs there is a
foundational level that has tobe established in order for a
business or consumer to seegreater value in some of the
options or some of the resultsthat can be offered at a higher
(06:54):
level.
So always use an example of abusiness that you may be
interested in serving or workingwith.
If they do not have the abilityto keep the lights on and to
pay their staff and to meettheir financial expectations,
then it's going to be difficultfor them to find greater value
and offers.
They may focus on some aspectof streamlining their processes
(07:18):
that don't directly tie into acost savings or some other
monetary benefit, or for them tofocus on proving client
satisfaction or customersatisfaction, although we know
that will be tied to them beingable to retain business and gain
referrals and additionalclientele in the long run.
(07:39):
It's going to be hard for themto place a lot of value in that
because they are right now verymuch fixated on the urgent need
that they have to stayfinancially solid and stable.
So when we're thinking abouthow we're able to help our
target audience, we want tocontinue to keep all these
(08:00):
things in mind.
So instead of us playing bigand thinking about offers that
are going to target a higherlevel of need is not that we
don't want to do that, butsometimes there can be a lot of
value in being able toincorporate some of these basic
foundational elements that helpus to provide a perceived value
in the long run.
And what studies have shown ingeneral is that one of the most
(08:23):
common elements that anybusiness is going to desire and
want and value is quality.
It's quality.
Quality means a lot.
Quality is valuable, and whenyou're able to increase the
quality of the services that youprovide, you are doing yourself
and your clients the biggestservice.
(08:45):
You are creating a scenariowhere you, pretty much, are
going to inevitably win.
So I want to spend some of thistime just talking about how, as
a small business owner, as asolo consultant, as a small firm
, how you're able to competewith some of the larger players
in your industry, and you'reable to do that by Taking into
(09:08):
account everything that youbring to the table, by being
being a smaller organizationthat can provide a more intimate
Approach or higher quality inthe services that you provide.
Thriving consulting business isbuilt on a solid business
foundation and a consulting codethat leads you toward your
(09:30):
ideal business and your ideallifestyle, and the great thing
about this code is that it worksfor any type of consulting
practice, whether you helpclients with professional
development, business management, grant writing, it or something
entirely different.
This consulting code is notrocket science and is not beyond
your reach, and when you crackthe code, it can jump start the
(09:52):
growth of your solo consultingpractice and is what you need to
know to get started and landyour 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
do this too.
So if you're interested instarting your consulting
(10:12):
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.
Now, one thing that I want topoint out is that by being the
(10:39):
smaller player, the smallerbusiness, a smaller consulting
firm, what you're able to do isactually Compete in a much
larger field with less opponents.
And I like to point it out thisway because, keep in mind, you
(11:00):
have to think about the mindsetthat many other businesses have
and business owners have.
They often go after a Largerentity, try to compete with the
biggest and the best in theirindustry, in their field, and
they want to have thatcompetition more directly,
instead of Building up to thepoint where they can compete
(11:21):
more directly by utilizing theirstrengths at a different level.
So what this looks like isgoing after larger businesses
and trying to offer similarservices, being a smaller team,
or maybe even a solo consulting,compared to a larger
organization that may have aTeam of experts at each level,
(11:44):
in each division that can offermore tailored services and have
greater capacity to do so.
If you are setting yourself uphead-to-head to compete in that
scenario, I would hate to tellyou you're probably gonna fail
because you're not Equipped tobe able to offer that same level
of service in that same levelof quality, which I just spoke
(12:07):
of before is one of the thingsthat many people highly value
and perceive to be valuable andthink in something that they
want, in need.
So another option is to thinkabout all of those other Clients
that are not being served bythose larger corporations or
those larger entities that arenot able to Work with them
(12:29):
because they don't have, maybe,that budget or they don't have
Access to be able to do so.
And it's not that you're comingin second best, but what you're
doing is actually being able toprovide a more tailored service
that may be smaller andpackaged differently.
That allows them to work moreseamlessly with you, and and by
(12:53):
doing this, this means that youcan actually target a lot of
Organizations and smallerbusinesses that many are going
to overlook.
And so, instead of youcompeting at this level, where
everybody else is trying tofight for business and trying to
win these larger contractsthrough RFPs and the that RFP
process and whatnot.
(13:14):
You are snatching up all thebusiness around you that also is
going to bring in a lot ofmoney, without the time spent
and wasted on you Securing theseother RFPs and these contracts
through Methods and means thatdo not favor you as a business
owner, especially if you're awoman or a woman of color, or do
(13:35):
not favor you in terms of thesize and the capacity For you to
be able to fulfill the serviceas needed.
So here is where being able tocompete in a completely
different space works to youradvantage, and not only does it
(13:57):
work to your advantage from thestandpoint that you are now
offering services to people whohave many times been overlooked
or maybe even forgotten, and nowyou can actually offer greater
value because you are able tocreate a scenario where you can
(14:17):
perform at a higher level andproduce higher quality work.
This is something that I thinkwe do not fully take advantage
of often times, especially whenwe're working as solo
consultants or as small affirms,because your ability to pay
(14:38):
greater attention to detail, tohave quicker follow up, to be
able to turn around projectsfaster, to be able to deliver at
a faster rate.
All of those things equate togreater value to the clients
that you want to serve, and soif you are producing higher
quality, if you're turning thataround at a faster rate, those
(15:00):
things lead to cost savings andthe ability to generate more
revenue more swiftly for theclients that you want to secure.
That is highly valuable.
That will definitely allow youto land a contract a lot quicker
than someone else who istelling that potential client
(15:22):
that it's going to take a threemonth, six month turnaround.
If you're able to come in anddo that work in a shorter
timeframe, that is not onlyvaluable from the standpoint of
them being excited to work withyou because they can get things
up and running faster, but youcan actually charge more money
for that because you'recondensing the timeframe.
So there is a lot of value inbeing able to do that, and
(15:46):
oftentimes we don't think aboutthis as being valuable in a way
for us to land more business.
We are fixated on the fact manytimes that we're not as big or
seemingly as powerful or visibleas maybe another larger entity
(16:07):
may be.
But if you're able to do betterwork, if you're able to do
better work faster, if you'reable to make the process
seamless to work with you, ifyou're able to get back in touch
with people and provide a levelof personal engagement that is
highly desired, especially intoday's day and time, then that
(16:28):
is something that people willsign up for time and time again.
It will work to your advantage.
And then the last thing I wantto remind you is that small
businesses don't mean smallmoney.
So we think about thesecorporate contracts, because
most people are interested inlanding what we call big money
and we're trying to secure that,but we don't consider all the
(16:52):
time that's spent trying to winthat business.
How much time are you spendingsubmitting all of these RFPs?
How much time are you spendinggetting those to, so many of
these proposals that you'resending out so that you can win
that business that way?
How much time are you spendingtrying to compete against so
(17:15):
many others in your field?
Think about that, because allof the time that's spent is not
necessarily time wasted.
I don't believe in time beingwasted.
You're learning as you go along, you're making connections as
you go along, but I want you tothink about your ability to
spend that same amount of timebeing able to build
(17:35):
Relationships and establishrelationships with other
Businesses that have similarneeds, that don't have all the
red tape that you need to jumpthrough in the hoops that you
need to jump through In order toland business and land a larger
contract with them.
Those are the types of thingsthat you want to consider and
(17:56):
Keep in mind when we're talkingabout those types of business.
No, they may not necessarily bea Coca-Cola, or Maybe they're.
They're not Verizon or somelarge organization to that
extent, but maybe they arebusinesses that have a few
hundred or a thousand employees.
Right, those organizationsstill can be very, very
(18:18):
lucrative.
You have a lot of big-timeplayers that do not necessarily
have the size that would Givethem the ability to fall into
the definition of having alarger business.
So maybe they do small, fallinto the category of a small
business, but they generatemillions upon millions of
(18:40):
dollars and you can actuallybuild a relationship that allows
you to win a larger contractworking with them, because you
are focused on delivering ahigher quality service and and
being able to perform at ahigher level that they are going
to desire.
And I think that we have toerase this assumption that big
(19:06):
business, big operations,automatically yield big money,
because that is not always thecase, especially if the offer is
not designed in the right way,where you're delivering without
a lot of overhead.
You know this is a conversationfor another day, but I think a
lot of times we Forget that whenwe're talking about money and
(19:28):
we're talking aboutprofitability, it's not just the
money that you're bringing in,but it's also the money that
you're pouring out.
So how much money are youspending on contractors?
How much money are you spendingtrying to Deliver the service
that you're promising to provide?
If you have a lot of overhead,that's eating away at this
(19:49):
larger contract that you want,then is that as lucrative of a
Contract that you had originallythought?
Or or maybe you're notconsidering Every aspect of the
sales cycle and what it took toget there and what it takes also
to fulfill on that servicethat's provided.
(20:12):
And what I found is that manytimes, when people are not
careful In terms of building outtheir service offer and mapping
out how they provide theirservices in a way that allows
them to be more profitable inmore streamlined, then you can
get into delivering thesebloated services that can limit
(20:33):
your profitability, no matterhow big your contract was right.
So I think there are a lot oflayers to this process that we
overlook and we don't considerand we get fixated and focus on
the fact that Trying to workwith a larger corporation is
going to automatically be thebig money win that we need in
(20:55):
order to Sustain our businessfor the years to come.
But the diversification of thebusinesses that you work with,
as well as your ability to Beable to sustain those
relationships and increase thelifetime value of that
(21:15):
particular client, is going toalso be Just as lucrative.
I will argue as you being ableto go after these large contract
from year to year.
It's a different approach.
It's not that one is right orwrong, but I want you to just
understand that you offer a lotof value as a small business, as
(21:38):
a smaller entity.
When you build out yourboutique firm if that's your
goal or desire, or if you'reshowing up as a solo consultant
in your space, you're deliveringa higher quality service that
still is highly valuable andworthy of being properly
compensated.
So it's not that you areAssuming small contracts and
(22:03):
trying to make up your businessand create your business and
build your business on volume,but you're still building your
business based upon quality.
It's still a higher ticketservice and the greater quality
that you're able to offer, theHigher touch that you're able to
provide, is going to be worthyof greater reimbursement.
(22:26):
So lean into that, don't beafraid of it.
It's not anything to be ashamedof, you know.
Just because someone says thatyou have a small business,
that's not an insult.
I want you to really thinkdifferently and also I want to
clarify that this is not alimiting thought.
(22:47):
You're not limiting yourself toa certain size or a certain
amount of money.
The sky is the limit.
But what I'm trying to say isthat, as you're going through
this journey, you will have togo through the phase of being
small in order to get big, andif you don't appreciate the
value and the benefit of beingsmall when you are small, then
you will never get to the pointwhere you are big enough to be
(23:10):
able to rightfully hold thatspace and to last as a larger
entity over time.
Everything has a season,everything has its time and by
embracing the space that you'recurrently in, it will get you to
that larger goal much faster.
So you know, I really hope thatthis conversation is helpful.
(23:33):
I hope that you can walk awayfeeling reassured that, being a
smaller entity in your spacewhether you're a smaller firm,
solo consultant, boutique firm,smaller agency that you're
building and establishing rightnow that you understand that
you're in a space where you havethe ability to land highly
(23:54):
lucrative contracts by leaninginto your power of being the one
that can deliver a higherquality service, that is able to
provide a level of high touchand interaction and
responsiveness that others areunable to do, that you can keep
(24:18):
your client first in mind andyou can win over their business
and not show up in magazines andarticles for not taking the
client's needs intoconsideration and focusing
solely on the dollar.
See, people are looking forsomething different and when you
show up as that differentconsultant, that different
(24:40):
business in your space, that iswhat wins people over.
That's what's going to help youcompete as a woman, especially
a woman of color, in thisindustry.
It's going to be being able toutilize your strengths to your
advantage, to be smart in howyou build out your services so
(25:02):
that you're not bloating themwith unnecessary needs and other
expenses that can lead you tolanding lucrative contracts and
still coming up short.
So, once again, being small isnot bad.
Instead, being small can bepowerful.
You can be small and mightyright now, and I will argue that
(25:25):
the more you lean into thevalue that you can provide by
being a smaller entity right now, that's going to lead you to
even greater success in the end.
All right, guys, I hope youenjoyed this episode.
If you enjoyed this episode,don't forget to share it with a
friend, always, always, always.
I am so appreciative whenyou're able to do that and reach
(25:46):
out to me on LinkedIn orInstagram.
I do enjoy those conversationsand kind of continuing the
conversations that we have onthe podcast, and make sure that,
if you did enjoy the episode,that you leave a review on Apple
Podcasts or on Spotify.
I want you to embrace the valuethat you bring to the table and
being able to provide a higherquality of service and being
(26:08):
able to raise the level ofexpectations of the clients that
you serve and performing atyour highest level by being able
to pay attention to detail andservice them in a way that these
larger corporations cannot do.
All right with that, I knowthat you're going to be
successful.
Okay, guys, I love thisconversation and I can't wait to
(26:30):
talk to you again.
Take care, bye.
There's a misconception that wedon't exist, that somehow our
ability to excel at the highestlevel of our industry is limited
, that overcoming barriers as awoman of color would be
insurmountable.
But what would happen if wedecided to venture out on our
(26:50):
own, despite everything we're upagainst?
I'll tell you.
Welcome to the Black GirlsConsult To Podcast.
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
(27:13):
doing all the things.
So this podcast is to empowerthe busy female professionals to
move past fear to start andgrow a successful consulting
business.
Despite the obstacles you mayencounter.
We'll dive deep into consultingpractice, business strategy,
mindset and more.
So grab your cup of coffee ortea, if that's your thing, and
(27:34):
let's get started.
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