How to shape your consulting firm for success

“𝗡𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺.” Almost every founder I talk to tells me the same story. They didn’t set out to build a company. They just wanted to do great work. It starts with one client. Then two. Then, a few contractors to help with the workload. And before they know it, they look around the room and they’re running a firm. Except no one ever taught them “how.” There’s no playbook; just a straight jump from delivering projects to managing people, setting budgets, forecasting revenue, and trying to hire the right people. This shift catches almost every consulting leader off guard. What they don’t tell you is that the skills that make you great at 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 aren’t the same ones that make you great at 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. At that point, instinct stops being enough.Being the person who makes all the decisions stops being enough. You need systems, visibility… a team. You need: → A unique differentiation in the market → A strong go-to-market approach to find and sign new clients → Consistent forecasting and forward planning → Good data that tracks utilization and profitability in real time Every small consulting firm eventually hits that moment when they stop being small. It’s the moment they realize: The craft got them here but the processes, people, and systems will take them further. That’s when the founders come to us.

Common Myths About Consulting Let’s bust a few myths about consulting: ❌ Myth: You need decades of CEO-level experience. ✅ Reality: Many consultants succeed by leveraging specialized expertise. ❌ Myth: Consulting means endless travel. ✅ Reality: Today’s consultants often work locally or virtually. ❌ Myth: Only big firms hire consultants. ✅ Reality: Small and mid-sized businesses rely on consultants, too. The truth? Consulting is more accessible than most people think. #ConsultingCareer #IndependentConsulting #MythBusting #BusinessConsulting

The article argues that to successfully move into consulting, you need to clearly define the expertise you bring, identify who actually needs it, and then “package” that expertise into a offer others can buy. #BusinessTips #ASCA #ConsultingArborists Learn more here: https://ow.ly/4rCY50X8wOg

The hardest part of growing my consulting firm wasn’t the work itself. It was learning which contradictions I could live with. Over the years, I kept running into the same tensions. The kind you can’t fully solve, only manage. Should we stay narrow or go broad? Standardise or tailor for every client? Protect profitability or push for perfect delivery? In my early consulting years, I regarded them as problems to resolve. I sought balance, developed frameworks, and debated trade-offs endlessly. It often kept me awake at night. But the true turning point came when I stopped trying to resolve them and began making deliberate choices. It transformed my life. Each decision shaped how I built and led the firm: with greater clarity, more focus, and less reactivity. In this carousel, I’ve shared ten of the biggest consulting conundrums I faced and the choices I made along the way.

🚀 In consulting, speed isn’t optional - it’s everything. Since launching Hills Consultancy LLP, I’ve spoken to many friends, colleagues and connections who’ve taken the same leap, one theme keeps coming up: you have to get moving quickly. Those “first 100 days” books? Either throw them out… or keep the principles, but compress them. Drastically. In the world of contracts, consultancy and interim roles, there’s no luxury of time, you’re expected to diagnose, decide and deliver now. In my first few weeks, I was reminded how much you have to trust your instincts. Experience gives you a kind of internal compass, the ability to make confident calls before all the data’s in. That’s the real difference between thinking fast and acting fast. 💬 What’s your best tip for hitting the ground running when you start something new - a contract, project or interim role? Thank you to my fellow thinkers on this post Ian Owen Josh Daly Jamie Lomax

To assess a consulting firm’s performance, I had to look under the hood. Traditional financial analysis gives comfort. But it does not sufficiently test the performance design of the consulting firm. That's what I learned the hard way. As a member of an acquisition committee for several years, assessing numerous consulting firm acquisition targets, I learned to look deeper. The framework in my article comes from that experience, deal-tested, built in the trenches. It pushes beyond the usual financial analysis and has proven its value in real assessments. Any consulting firm can borrow the same lens to improve daily decisions and reduce variance in the consulting work. We developed this framework to force ourselves to look under the hood of a consulting firm, and my article explains how we used it. If you are a consulting firm leader, partner, or owner, have a look and assess how well you are doing. https://lnkd.in/e766kRke

Myth: “Consulting is only for big companies with big budgets.” Reality: Most of the real change happens in smaller organisations where decisions are faster, stakes are personal, and progress is visible. Weirwood Consulting was built for that space → for the businesses that don’t need 80-page decks, they need clarity, and a partner who tells the truth. Consulting isn’t about size. It’s about readiness to change. #WeirwoodConsulting #ConsultingWithIntegrity #MythBusting

The value trap: why firms get stuck offering advisory but not charging for it. You’re already offering advisory—you just might not be getting paid for it. It happens in subtle ways: • A client calls with a “quick question.” • You spend 20 minutes helping them make a major decision. • They thank you… and you move on. Multiply that by a dozen clients, and you’ve quietly given away thousands in unpaid expertise. That’s the value trap—delivering advisory insights while still billing like a compliance firm. Here’s what’s really happening: You see the bigger picture for your clients. They trust your strategic input. But your pricing model hasn’t caught up with your value. How to Break the Value Trap 1️⃣ Track your advisory time for one week. Notice how often you give strategic input. 2️⃣ Name it. If you can describe the result you deliver, you can price it. 3️⃣ Package it. Turn recurring conversations into defined services—forecasting, planning, or decision support. 4️⃣ Price for outcomes, not hours. Clients buy results, not your time. Once you make the shift, you’ll realize clients want to pay for clarity—they just need to know it’s on the menu. Have you ever given away advisory discussions for free and what did that actually cost you? Save this post if you’re ready to stop working for free and start pricing your value. #PricingStrategy #Profitability #StrategicAdvisor #BusinessLeadership #FirmGrowth

Good consultants don’t give answers. They ask the questions no one inside the room wants to ask. That’s where clarity starts not in fancy reports or buzzwords, but in uncomfortable questions that expose what’s really slowing the business down. A proper audit isn’t about criticism. It’s about precision, finding what’s blocking efficiency before you throw more resources at it. Consultancy isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about seeing what others stopped noticing.

Consulting Tips #5: Understanding Consulting Models In this new edition, Sarah unpacks the different types of consulting models; from solo practitioners to hybrid setups. Each model shapes how you work, earn, and grow. The key is finding the one that fits your values, capacity, and long-term vision, not just your current workload. If you’re reflecting on your next step in consulting, this tip offers clarity on what structure best supports your goals and lifestyle. Which consulting model feels most aligned with where you are now? 🔗 Sign up to Ela for more consulting tips and resources: https://lnkd.in/dCtmpFpG -- #Consulting #Consultant #ConsultingTips #ElaCommunity #WomenInConsulting #GlobalMajorityConsultants #IndependentConsulting #CareerDesign