Latest / Black Girls Consult TOO! / Episode 88: Redefining Consulting Beyond The Business Degree

Transcript

Episode 88: Redefining Consulting Beyond The Business Degree · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: You know what I was reminded of this week?
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: That you actually may believe that in order to be successful in consulting, you need to be in business or management.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness, I cannot believe we have not had this conversation up until now.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: So guess what?
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: We're going to have it today and I'm going to tell you that you may be undercutting your revenue simply by not positioning yourself as the consultant that everybody needs.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: You're going to want to hear this one.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Let's get started.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: There's a misconception that we don't exist, that somehow our ability to excel at the highest level of our industry is limited, that overcoming barriers as a woman of color would be insurmountable.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: But what would happen if we decided to venture out on our own, despite everything we're up against?
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you Welcome to the Black Girls Consult 2 Podcast.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, a healthcare consultant, consulting coach, high performance fanatic wife and proud girl mom.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: I help transform female professionals into thriving solo consultants and, just like you, I'm wearing all the hats and doing all the things.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: So this podcast is to empower the busy female professionals to move past fear, to start and grow a successful consulting business, despite the obstacles you may encounter.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: We'll dive deep into consulting practice, business strategy, mindset and more.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: So grab your cup of coffee or tea, if that's your thing, and let's get started.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Hello there, welcome to the Black Girls Consult 2 Podcast.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, and I am sitting in my office on an early morning.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: It's just me.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: It's really, really quiet and peaceful in here, which is why I love it.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: I used to have my office in a shared space and now I'm actually in a office that's downstairs, so it's away from everyone else's bedroom, and it is super quiet this time of day and I love it.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: I really do love it because I get to have these conversations with you in peace and quiet, without having to guard the door and put up all kinds of signs about not don't come in and let me record in peace.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: I don't have to do any of that anymore.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: It is pretty cool.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: So it's just me and the little bird outside my window that is making a lot of noise early in the morning, but I still love it the same, because it sounds like music to me, so I really do enjoy it.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: I wanted to chat a little bit today about what we think we need to do, be have as degrees or certifications or knowledge in order to be a consultant, and you're probably wondering where in the world this conversation is coming from.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: It is stemming from a conversation I had recently.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: I was so honored to share some information and training in a group that I'm in, and that was one of the things that I think a lot of people had the impression of.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: They had the misconception that in order to go into consulting and be successful, you needed to be in a business or management space maybe information technology but they really didn't see as many opportunities for creatives or those who may have practices that are totally removed from the business world.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: And I was amazed because I really thought that it was common knowledge that you could succeed in consulting in any industry.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: But I think that there is still this misconception that's largely driven by the fact that when you look at consulting in a more traditional, larger firm such as the McKinsey's or the Baines or PWC, etc.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: They do gravitate toward a certain element in terms of background and knowledge that they're seeking out when they're bringing on talent.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: But that is also beginning to change and expand, as these organizations are really evolving to match the new society that we're living in.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: But, with all that being said, when you're going into entrepreneurial consulting, it's a totally different ball game when you get back to the heart of the matter.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Consulting solely is helping someone get from their point A to their point B.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: You're providing guidance and insight that allows someone to experience a transformation.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: So it's that individual or their business actually receiving your expertise as that missing piece or link that gets them to the next level or the next step, and that can occur in any industry.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: So I wanted us to talk about this, because this right here is actually what may be holding you back from increasing your overall price point, generating more revenue and even adding consulting services to your existing offers, so that you can create a level of, I would say, foundational revenue or cash flow in your business that is a little bit more stable, because it may be kind of managed by longer contracts and longer terms than you would for other clients that you may serve.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: You may want to serve a particular audience that cannot play a very high price point, so you can make up the difference during more corporate work so that you're able to balance that out.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Those opportunities are available to you.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: So I want to talk a little bit about what you have to have in order to create a consulting business in any industry, and it's going to get down to just the basic nuts and bolts, and I hope that this conversation is helpful, because if this misconception is the only thing holding you back from starting your consulting business, then we got to fix that right away.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: I want to take a little break from our conversation just to say that if you have been tuning in to the Black Girls Consult 2 podcast, then I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: It really is my way of spreading the message about women of color in consulting and women in general just succeeding and thriving in this field.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: But in order for this message to reach more people, I really do need your help.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: If you have enjoyed any of the episodes on this podcast, including this one you're listening to, then I want you to leave a five star rating on Spotify or a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: By doing that, it helps the podcast grow and reach more and more people so that we can change the landscape of this industry, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: All right, let's get back to the episode.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: You may be wondering if you are working in one of these different areas, how can you practice beyond where you're practicing now, especially if you're in the business and consumer space?
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: You may be thinking about how do you move into corporate, how do you land larger contracts?
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: How are your services useful to those who may be in the C-suite at a large company or organization?
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: All right, so first, in order for us to understand this, we have to dive a little bit deeper into what consultants are expected to do in most instances, and this is important because I think it will open your eyes to how you can easily shift into that space, because I know you already have this expertise.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: It's just a matter of you thinking about how you can package it differently.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: There are really three common reasons why most people hire consultants.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: So one is that they often lack knowledge and expertise.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: There is some type of gap that exists.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: I always like to remind people that most often, everyone has Googled already, they've already sought out advice from people that they know, they've already acts around, they've already gone to maybe conferences or attended webinars and other training and they still don't have the answer, because what they need is the application of that solution specifically to their business or to their circumstance and that takes someone who is not only knowledgeable in terms of the textbook answer but can also speak from a point of view that is very knowledgeable from their lived experience.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: It is the combination of all those things that makes expertise so valuable.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: It really is someone who has walked the walk in, is able to talk the talk, so to speak.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: So that is one of the gaps that may exist and instead of bringing someone on full time, where you have to also pay for things such as onboarding and training and benefits, it's much easier to hire someone who can provide that expert advice and guidance without the additional overhead and drag.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: So that's one of the reasons.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: The second is they may be looking for speed as well as efficiency.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: How can they get this project accomplished faster?
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Because in the business world, especially then, time equals money.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: The slower things take, the longer things take, the more drawn out they are, the more obstacles they face, the more mistakes that are made.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: That all translates into dollar bills.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Just picture all of the ching, ching, ching I'm kind of going off in the background in their mind.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: So they want to avoid that.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: They don't want to have those extra expenses, so they want to increase their efficiency, effectiveness as well as their speed to accomplish the end goal.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: And if you're able to do that because you know the process so well like the back of your hand you can do with your eyes closed then you're the person that they are going to be looking for.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: And one of the other common scenarios is the desire to conserve resources.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: So maybe they have been doing things in their organization or in their business or in their personal life one particular way and they've been getting by, but they're tired of using all of these roundabout, long drawn out strategies.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: They want a way to conserve their resources, if it's energetic or financial.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: They're trying to figure out how can I accomplish the same goal but do that without expending so much energy in so many of my resources?
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: I need to conserve that.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: I need a better way, a more effective and a more efficient way of accomplishing this goal.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: That is another scenario.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: So when you understand a level of practice to a certain death, where no one else has that understanding or very few people have that understanding, it's going to be much easier for you to pinpoint all of the gaps, the holes, the things that they're doing that are less effective, that are not positioned well, you can easily identify that, and that's where they need your eyes, that's where they need your help, and this occurs, I want to remind you, in every industry.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: I actually have a colleague of mine who is a consultant in the Feng Shui space.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: So when you think about something as creative and unique as Feng Shui, she has built a massive business and is super successful working with clients and doing consultations with businesses and corporations to help them create a space that is more balanced and that actually is more Feng Shui.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: So that is something that most people don't think about.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: You're probably wondering who would hire that person.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Why would they have that need?
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: Well, they value this aspect of design and because they value it so much, they want to incorporate it and include it in their businesses, because it is going to generate a certain level of productivity and energy that will allow the company to perform better.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: That's one example.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Another example I like to share is one of a local theater group that's here in my area and they offer speaking lessons, and these are speaking lessons that they offer to corporate executives.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: They do also corporate trainings surrounding improv.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: So being able to improv is a wonderful way of improving your public speaking skills.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: That is a skill that most people in business don't have.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Right, you have to go outside of the traditional realm in order to gain these other skill sets, and it's the skills that are missing that equate to you standing out in in your industry and being able to be that company or that business that is creating its own blue ocean.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: That is where the value lies.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: So, even if you're in one of these unique areas, you have the potential to still help in a very tremendous capacity at one of these organizations.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: You can do that, and you can also keep in mind consult on the business consumer level.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: So you don't have to block out consulting because you don't have an MBA from Harvard.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Right, I don't have that, and very few people do.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: And even if they do, that doesn't mean that they're the best person for the job.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Depending upon what industry you're in and what organization is looking for help and what type of help that they're looking for.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: Maybe they have that person as an employee that's hired and part of their C suite, and they still have these gaps that exist.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: That's what I want you to see.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: So I want you to understand first what the expectation is when someone is looking for a consultant and the type of help that they need, but then to realize that those gaps also exist for every industry.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: You will find that these gaps are present.
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: So now we talked about the options that are available to you and some of the ideas that hopefully you're able to generate around a possible service that you can offer.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Now I want to just focus in on a couple of tips when you're thinking about possibly creating a consulting offer in a unique space or area.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: One is that it's important to focus heavily on specialization rather than being a generalist and I say this because it is much easier number one, just in terms of starting a business and getting it off the ground to be more specialized, kind of being the big fish in a little pond thinking about how you're niching down.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: But then also the specialization piece is going to be key, especially when you are moving away from just the general practice of business or whatever your industry is.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: If you're moving away from that general practice and you're focusing in on one key improvement or transformation that you can offer, that's going to be highly beneficial in a separate arena.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: One of the reasons why I like to use the theater example is because I think that's a very clear one, where someone can say, oh, this is an actress or actor and they are performing on a stage.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: How does this equate to a corporate consulting service?
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: Well, as we stated before, who's better on stage?
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: Is it that corporate executive or is it the actress that has been doing it for a decade?
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: I think you're going to put your money on the actress.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: So that is a level of talent and skill that's been developed and honed and mastered and that person can provide so much guidance to the other individual who is just trying to learn that skill.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: That's where you can figure out how can you fit your lived experience, your practice, your knowledge, your expertise into these like unique areas.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: And they were able to figure out well who in a corporation has to speak all the time.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: It's going to be a corporate executive.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: They have to talk to employees.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: They have to talk to the outside public when it comes to public relations.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: They need to constantly be building their personal brand.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: They are talking all of the time, so they have to learn how to communicate effectively.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: So being able to specialize in that is going to be more desirable to the potential client than just being a generalist and someone who kind of likes, talking sometimes maybe on social media.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: You want to be the specialist and the most knowledgeable in that area.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: The next thing is that you want to solve the right problem, and solving the right problem means that you don't have to solve all of the problems.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: That's one huge mistake that a lot of people make.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: They have difficulty figuring out what type of offer they can create because they're trying to solve too many problems.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Instead, focus in on what is going to be most important, the biggest impact in allowing the transformation to occur.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Going back to the example of the acting in public speaking, the biggest transformation is going to come from being able to more effectively communicate on a platform, on stage.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: So if that individual is able to master that one particular specialized skill set, their overall ability to communicate is going to improve.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: So being able to solve the right problem is key in order for that person to reach their next level.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: And in addition to that, you want to also make sure that you are providing a must have solution instead of something that's nice to have.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: So that same business, that same theater, could go into a corporate environment and they could promote doing acting lessons for employees to help them improve their self care or maybe have an outlet outside of the job so that they can have a creative release that is going to lead to, maybe, increased productivity and satisfaction with their jobs.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: That is actually something that's valid.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Many people need this creative outlet in order for them to work better and to be happier, but I will argue that that is more of a nice to have.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: When the economy is well, the money is flowing, you may be able to get a couple of takers on that, but in most instances, people are going to pay for things that are must haves, and so if I had to figure out a way whether or not investing in my corporate executives being able to speak more effectively and employees being able to have a creative outlet, I'm going to lean on the corporate executive piece every time, because, in my mind, the creative release can come outside of the job.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: So that is the difference between having a must-have and a nice to have.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: It's important for you to focus your efforts on creating that must-have solution, and that's just a matter of positioning.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: You saw just from that conversation and that outline right there that it all stems back to how you are positioning your expertise.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: That drives the sale in the end.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: So it's more than just having the skill set, but it's also figuring out how do you position that skill set.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: Doing those things is going to help you find an offer that can sell in these other environments and, like I said, it can be a consulting offer that you have as part of your current package.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: If you're working in some other industry or some of the capacity Right now, maybe you are a service provider listening to this podcast, or you may even be someone who's coaching right now, listening to this podcast and thinking about consulting.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: That's the way that you can get started and do that and then add it in and still do what you're doing now.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: And if you're in the consulting space or you want to be in the consulting space and you've been toying around with this idea, I'm hoping that this episode is giving you more ideas and insights into how you can do that.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: The bottom line is, consulting is not limited to just people in business and management or maybe even IT.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: You can consult in any industry.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: I have yet to find an industry where this doesn't work.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: I have yet to find it.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: So I hope this has allowed you to kind of spark a few ideas in your head and get you like up and going and excited about building your business and not being afraid and being unapologetic, stepping out into your space, because I hope you know that what you have learned and all the expertise you've gained, that's super valuable and you deserve to be paid for that appropriately.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: So that's my two cents on that.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: As always, I love our chats.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: It was so great chatting with you today.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: Don't forget, if you are listening to this podcast and you want to continue this conversation, just reach out to me on LinkedIn or Instagram.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: I absolutely love when you guys do that.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: Number one, it makes me feel good that I'm not just talking into a microphone, that we're actually having this conversation, because that's what I wanted to be, that's what I wanted to feel like and I just want to learn more about you and what's going on in your life and your business.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: So reach out, definitely, and don't forget, share the episode with a friend, if you don't mind, share it on social media, share it in email, however, you can share it.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: I just want to get the word out more and more so we can continue to grow and the podcast can continue to evolve.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: But with that being said, I guess we are going to end our conversation for today and I will see you again next week.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: All right, take care.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: Thanks, angelina Davis, on Instagram or LinkedIn, and don't forget to visit excelatconsultingcom for more information to support your consulting journey.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Until next time, take care.