Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / Turning a Career Gap Into a Consultant Calling Card
Transcript
- Lucas: You take five years off to raise kids, and the conventional wisdom says you'll have to fight your way back into a traditional job — lower title, lower pay, lots of explaining. But there's another path that flips the script entirely. Luna: Let me guess — you're talking about starting a consulting practice? Lucas: Exactly. And I want to ground this in a real case. Mia Chen — former marketing director at a mid-size CPG brand in Chicago. She took five years off to raise twins. When she was ready to return, she didn't apply for a single job. Instead, she built a consulting practice that grossed one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in year one, targeting mid-size brands trying to reach millennial moms. Luna: I love that example. Because the gap itself becomes the credential. She spent five years living inside her target audience's world. Lucas: That's the core insight. Her pitch wasn't 'I used to be a marketing director.' It was 'I am a millennial mom who knows what moves this demographic, and I also have a decade of CPG marketing chops.' The gap didn't weaken her story — it completed it. Luna: So how did she actually land that first client? Because the leap from 'I have an idea' to 'someone pays me' is the scary part. Lucas: She did three things. First, she built a one-page consulting prospectus — not a resume, not a full website. Just a clean PDF with her point of view on the millennial mom market, three case studies from her pre-gap career, and a list of specific services. Second, she identified twenty brands in the Chicago area that were trying to grow their family-oriented product lines. Third, she sent a cold email to the marketing director at each one — but not a typical cold email. Luna: What was different about it? Lucas: She opened with a specific observation about their brand. Not 'I love your product' — but 'I noticed your Instagram engagement rate dropped thirty percent among moms aged thirty to forty last quarter, and I think it's because your messaging shifted away from the morning-rush chaos. I have a framework to fix that.' That specificity got her a reply from four out of twenty. One turned into a six-month retainer at five thousand dollars a month. Luna: That's a twenty percent response rate on cold outreach. Almost unheard of. Lucas: Right, but it's replicable if you do the homework. Her observation came from spending time actually scrolling their feed and noting patterns. Anyone with a sharp eye and a few hours can do that. Luna: It also helps that she had a clear niche. 'I help mid-size CPG brands market to millennial moms.' That's specific enough to be credible, broad enough to have a market. Lucas: And she priced her services before she even sent the first email. She decided her baseline retainer was five thousand a month, which translates to about one hundred twenty-five dollars an hour if she works ten hours a week per client. That's a premium over what she'd earn as a salaried marketing director, but it's justified because she's selling expertise, not time. Luna: That pricing discipline is huge. I've seen too many career-gap consultants underprice themselves because they're anxious to get started. They charge thirty dollars an hour and end up burned out and resentful. Lucas: Mia's rule was simple: charge what you'd need to replace your old salary on a part-time basis, then add thirty percent for the overhead you're now covering yourself — taxes, health insurance, no paid vacation. Luna: That's a good formula. And she started with just one retainer client, then added a second three months later, then a third by month eight. By the end of year one, she had three retainers and a few project-based gigs. Lucas: And that diversification is smart. If one client drops off, you're not in crisis. But let's be honest — consulting has a downside. Income is lumpy. You don't get a steady paycheck. And you have to be comfortable selling yourself, which is a skill many people haven't practiced. Luna: Yeah, and there's data on this. MBO Partners does an annual survey of independent workers. They found that forty-two percent of consultants who started after a career gap reported higher job satisfaction than their previous full-time roles. But they also found that the first year is the hardest — about a third of new independent consultants don't make it past twelve months because they either run out of savings or can't handle the isolation. Lucas: So planning matters. You need at least six months of living expenses saved before you start. And you need a way to combat the isolation — coworking spaces, regular coffee meetings, even just a weekly video call with a former colleague who's also consulting. Luna: One thing I also want to highlight: Mia didn't start completely from scratch. She had a network from her previous career. She'd been a marketing director for eight years before the gap, so she had former colleagues and vendors she could reach out to. That's a huge advantage. Lucas: True. But what if your network is cold? What if you've been out for ten years and everyone you knew has moved on? You can still build from scratch. Attend industry events. Join relevant LinkedIn groups. Comment thoughtfully on posts. Offer free fifteen-minute consultations to five people. The first client is the hardest, but once you have one case study, the next one gets easier. Luna: And that first case study doesn't have to be a full-price client. You could offer a steep discount or even pro bono work in exchange for a testimonial and permission to use their name. That's a common strategy. Lucas: Yeah, I've seen that work. But I'd caution against doing too much free work — it can devalue your brand. Pick one or two strategic pro bono clients that give you visibility or a strong reference. Luna: Speaking of visibility — you mentioned the one-page prospectus. What exactly should be on it? Lucas: Mia's had four sections. First, her point of view — two sentences that summarise her philosophy on marketing to millennial moms. Second, her credentials — bullet points on her pre-gap career, plus a line about being a millennial mom herself. Third, three case studies from her past, each with a problem, solution, and measurable result. Fourth, her service menu — three packages: a one-time audit, a monthly retainer, and a project-based campaign. No prices on the prospectus, but she had a separate rate card. Luna: That's a great template. I'd add one more thing: social proof. Even if it's just a quote from a former boss or a LinkedIn recommendation. It helps establish trust quickly. Lucas: Absolutely. And another tool she used was a simple website — one page, really clean, with her prospectus content plus a contact form. She built it on Squarespace in an afternoon. It cost her forty dollars a month. That gave her a professional home base. Luna: So for someone listening who's currently at home with kids and thinking about this path — what's the first step to take this week? Lucas: Define your niche. Not 'I can help any business with marketing.' Narrow it to one industry and one demographic. Write it in one sentence. For Mia, it was 'I help mid-size CPG brands reach millennial moms.' For you, it might be 'I help small law firms improve their client intake process.' Or 'I help family-owned restaurants build a delivery operation.' The narrower you start, the easier it is to get traction. Luna: And after the niche? Lucas: Build that one-page prospectus. Then identify twenty potential clients. Then reach out with a specific observation. That sequence — niche, prospectus, targeted outreach — can get you a first client within sixty days if you're disciplined. Luna: It's also worth mentioning that consulting isn't the only option. Some people prefer fractional work — part-time executive roles. Or they join a consulting agency as a contractor. But the core idea is the same: your gap is a credential, not a liability. Lucas: One more thing I want to flag: the legal side. If you consult, you need a simple contract. Don't rely on handshake deals. Have a basic retainer agreement that covers scope, payment terms, confidentiality, and termination. You can find templates online for fifty bucks. It's worth it. Luna: And make sure you understand your tax obligations. Self-employment tax, estimated quarterly payments, deducting home office expenses. It's not as scary as it sounds, but you need to set it up right from the start. Lucas: If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, that's exactly why we make this show. We deliberately don't run ads on these episodes. If you want to support that choice, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure — just a way to keep the content free and independent for everyone. Luna: Yeah, and every little bit helps us keep doing deep dives like this one. Thanks for being part of it. Lucas: Alright, back to Mia's story. She told me that the most surprising part of consulting was how much she enjoyed the variety. Every client had a different problem. She wasn't doing the same thing day after day. And she could schedule her work around her kids' school hours. Luna: That flexibility is the big draw. But it comes with the trade-off of having to constantly sell. Even when you're busy with client work, you need to be nurturing the next opportunity. Lucas: Exactly. She learned to spend ten percent of her time on business development, even when she was fully booked. That way, when a contract ended, she already had a warm lead. Luna: One last thing: what about the emotional side? There's a certain identity shift that happens when you go from 'parent who used to work' to 'consultant who is also a parent.' Did Mia talk about that? Lucas: She did. She said the hardest part was getting comfortable calling herself a consultant. Impostor syndrome hit hard at first. But after she landed her first client and delivered good work, that faded. The external validation helped internalize the new identity. Luna: So for anyone hesitating because they don't feel 'expert enough' — you probably know more than you think. The gap gave you perspective and skills that traditional employees don't have. Patience, multitasking, resilience — those are consulting assets. Lucas: Absolutely. And you can always start small. One client, one project. See how it feels. The consulting path isn't for everyone, but for a lot of career-gap returners, it's the fastest way to get back to meaningful work on your own terms. Luna: Great episode. Next time we'll talk about how to use a career gap to transition into tech sales — another path that's more accessible than people think. Lucas: Looking forward to it. Until then, take that first step.