On "Making It" in Consulting and Life

A pretty incredible thing has happened this week.  I've been sitting here in my office just turning it over in my mind.  It's about consulting, being a business owner, and the way that realizations can just sneak up on you.  It's about this whole notion of "making it" in life.

I'm not entirely sure how much of my own experience of being a consultant I've shared on the blog.  Yes, I've shared some of the interesting case studies and experiences I've had, but I've talked less about the inner roller coaster that goes along with being unconnected with a larger organization.  I'm going to talk about it today, in part because I think you'll find it interesting, but even more so because it's just something I need to get off my chest.

Consulting is hard work, but even that idea is misleading.  It's not the actual work of consulting that is so difficult, the client engagements and team sessions and training and coaching.  That part for me at least has been pretty easy and enjoyable, although not simple.  The hard thing is that once you become a consultant what you are really "selling" is yourself; your perspectives, ideas, skills, capacities and your time.  Really it's all about value, about improving the client's condition, but there is no longer a "thing" that you do, there is the person you are, and how you want to bring who you are to what the client needs.  This takes a tremendous amount of courage, even for a natural extrovert like myself.  Even when you have years of experience and a lot to offer, the whole thing takes a lot of guts.

And the hardest thing about it all is that no matter how hard you work and how smart you are, there is this whole matter of time and patience. It takes YEARS to get established, and this is no exaggeration.  One of the consultants I look up to, a talented veteran of 30 years in the business, told me point blank one day "Cheri, it took me fourteen months to get my first client."  He wasn't kidding.

So in a year and a half of consulting, I've been working my tail off.  I've been writing.  I've been speaking in front of ever larger crowds of people.  I've been building relationships with wonderful business and HR leaders every week.  I've been developing curriculum, building teams, coaching leaders, and working to the tune of twelve hour days much of the time.  And not once in this time have I felt secure that this was going to work.  Not once have I relaxed inwardly, knowing for certain I could make this business the work of my lifetime.

Until this week, when things changed.

It's been a hard road, but I've been blessed.  I've been fortunate to have found some incredible organizations to work with.  Blessed to have a spouse who has supported me (emotionally and financially) through this career transition.   Grateful to have a network of friends and colleagues who are unstinting with their support and respect.  Thankful to have a growing group of blog readers who hear me out, offer their own wise ideas, and give me a reason to write about my experiences.

I wish I could tell you what made me wake up and suddenly realize that things were going to be O.K.  Certainly my friends have been telling me that since the beginning, but isn't that what friends are supposed to say?

It's tempting to boil it down to the fact that I have an excellent set of projects underway and another batch on the horizon.  I could point at my active invoices, and say that they are the reason I feel confident.  I don't think it is that though.  It's probably the fact that I can look at my current success and see how it can be replicated and multiplied.  It's probably the fact that after almost two years of toil I'm still left standing, and often smiling.  Perhaps it's none of those things.  But in any case, I feel like I'm actually going to "make it" in this biz.  And that is a pretty wonderful thing.

So Enlightened Managers, if you've followed me through this excessively long post, let me summarize some points here so that you have something to walk away with. 

Cheri's Rules for Success in Consulting and Life

1.  Surround yourself with good people, and try to be one of the "good people" in their lives too.
2.  It's OK to be afraid or intimidated, so long as you keep going. 
3.  Remember that the most successful people are often the ones who have persevered through hard times, there is no "magic" to this - you just need to keep at it.
4.  If you can find where YOUR talents and YOUR interests and the needs of OTHERS intersect, you have a career worth striving for.
5.  The best way to learn how to do something is to do it.  If you wait until conditions are perfect, you'll wait forever.
6.  Take time each week to reflect on your experiences.  Writing is great for this, because you'll create a record you can refer back to.
7.  Learn something new every day.  If you can take one good idea from a book, speech, or podcast and really apply it, it is time well spent. 
8.  Experiment regularly.  If you can try out a new idea cheaply and with a minimum of time investment, why wouldn't you?  You only need a couple of them to pay off.
9.  Stress, fear, and worry are bad in quantity, but a little bit of these things is a sign that you're pushing yourself.  That is a good thing.
10.  Cherish your mistakes, they are your best teachers.
11.  If the movie stinks, walk out of the theater.  You only get so many hours in life.  Why waste them on bad movies, poorly written books, or insincere relationships?
12.  Don't let anyone else define "success" for you.  What your neighbor defines as success (big money, fancy car, fame) may not be what you value (family time, flexible schedule, can pay the bills).
13.  Remember that life is fleeting.  Squeeze every bit of happiness, meaning, and laughter you can out of each day.  If you're going to get hit by a bus tomorrow, try to make your last thought "At least I have no regrets."
 

Comments

[Samuli]

Cheri,

great post! I found your blog about a year ago and I never could have thought you had just been starting your consulting career.

Your posts are great! If you deliver the same ideas to your clients and potential clients, you will have no trouble with your business.

A share most of your rules of success. I am not in consulting but trying to initiate change as a middle manager in a medium sized organization. But the rules of succees are similar.

I wish you Good Luck!

Samurai

[gay rogers]

In our lives, we would not be honest with ourselves or anyone if we stated that the ground we have stood on is always solid and there had not been times of doubt and fear.

Enlightenment comes from having a knowingness that nothing is solid and there is no predictability with any events or any plans in our life...whether personal or professional and still moving ahead, facing our fears and our doubts.

But, in our professional world, many believe we must dawn the masks in order to hide our inner self from the those around us so we can win.

However, remember what our Mothers told us... its not whether you win or lose but how you play the game that really matters in the long run.

Thanks Cheri for being real, honest and still staying in action to reach your dreams.

[Cheri]

Thank you both for your feedback and encouragement! :)

Cheri