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Hello there,

This is the last email of “Rethinking Growth Advice”. Whenever I’m doing or learning something interesting, time flies. I hope that’s how you felt about this series, despite each email being quite long.

If you're reading this, there's something telling you your consulting practice could be doing better. You could bring in more money and opportunities. You could pay yourself more and build a more structured and sustainable practice.

The problem is not “what”, but “how”. Most consultants initially try to force growth by working more hours. The to-do list gets longer and longer. Sometimes you work until 21:00. Or maybe you sit at the computer for a few hours every Sunday, since you can get quite a bit done. Still, you feel stuck.

Deep down, you know the truth. Thousands of consultancy founders have gone through the same or very similar challenges, and they all had limited resources and 24 hours in their days. Still, they did it. They've built profitable practices, on their own terms.

To make progress, we need to accept the harsh truth our brains try so hard to avoid:

Increasing workload is never the solution to a dry sales pipeline, management problems, or lack of direction. What you need is simple: Increase effectiveness by working on the right things while avoiding the wrong ones.

Here are three true stories to illustrate the problem:

• A boutique consulting firm had lost its biggest client and wanted to boost its sales pipeline. They hired a marketing agency to support them with lead generation. After thousands of dollars invested and several workshops with the agency to align initiatives, it failed to generate consistent growth. I asked the partner: "What made you believe generating more leads was the best solution to your pipeline problems?"
• A small consultancy with four employees was growing fast and decided to hire two more full-time employees. They hired a recruitment specialist to help. After time and money invested in interviewing, vetting, and training the new people, partners are now worried they are "overextended". I asked them: "What made you believe hiring full-time employees was the best solution to your capability gaps?"
• A solo advisor was expecting his first child and wanted to reduce his working hours. He hired a digital guru to help him automate administrative tasks and create an online course he could sell while sleeping. The course not only failed to sell, but also damaged his brand and reputation among bigger clients. I asked him: "What made you believe creating an online course was the best solution to earn more while working less?"

Can you guess what their answers were?

Some of them really thought they could solve these problems themselves. But the vast majority hired people or organizations who (1) were not specialized in helping micro consultancies and (2) pitched them their existing services, instead of helping them uncover the real problems. Of course, the quality of this external advice turned out to be dubious.

My friend Kevin C. Whelan has a great analogy that illustrates the core problem: Imagine you want to improve your diet. Why would you ask a butcher what's the best thing to eat? They’re likely going to suggest meat.

Although the vast majority of butchers are honest and ethical individuals, no one can ignore the conflict of interest. They want to give you unbiased advice but - besides the fact most of them are not experts in nutrition as a whole and other types of food - selling meat is literally their job.

The same applies to all of the three stories I shared. Consultancy founders asked a specialist for help, but there were financial implications around whether you invest in certain initiatives or not. After all, they only get paid when they provide you their services.

Unfortunately, these stories are not exceptions. Founders and consulting partners waste hard-won money and a lot of time working on the wrong things. And this happens, ironically, due to following poor advice from others.

The solution is simple, but not always easy: Find a trusted source of advice who:

1. Offers objective advice without profiting from the implementation, dodging any conflict of interests; and
2. Is a specialist who has solved similar problems for similar consultancies, and who’s capable of getting their hands dirty to put ideas into practice.

Let me quickly expand on these two points.

Fiduciary advice with a challenging and collaborative approach
​Ask a butcher, and he will always recommend you add meat to your diet. But while this might be true, wouldn't you feel safer hearing this from a nutritionist?

Many consultants recommend solutions that benefit their business rather than yours. A fiduciary advisor doesn’t profit from the implementation of solutions, dodging any conflict of interest and making sure you understand the different ways to get where you want.

Great advisors will often work like strategy consultants. They change the way you think by using two big tools: Insights and a challenging approach.

They share with clients how their industry is changing, and provide ideas on how to take advantage of the trends or reduce their risks. They will invest time in understanding your context and assessing what needs to change. They will take the time to educate you on the pros and cons of different solutions.

Another thing they often do is to question your status quo. They push back. Great advisors are not afraid to disagree with how the client thinks. This is what creates several "aha" moments that impact how you see your situation.

Specialized expertise coupled with a generalist context
​Do you remember the first email of this series, when we talked about credence goods? When clients hire you, they often don't know how much of the service was needed and how much was actually performed.

Well, the same happens when you hire someone to help you with growth. You might suspect your outdated consultancy’s website needs to be redesigned, for example, so you look for website development agencies or freelancers. But how do you evaluate the proposals? How do you know which sections or features are more important for consultancies like yours? How do you know what’s an acceptable price range for the work?

But most importantly, how do you know updating your website is the right thing you should be focusing on right now?

An advisor will help you understand how much of a priority updating your website is, based on your context. And if you really decide to invest in it, you will have someone to help you reduce the asymmetry of information. They may help you vet and select a web developer, and overview the work to ensure you’re actually getting value for your money. While the biggest value you get from hiring an advisor is effectiveness, the best ones for micro consultancies are not afraid to get their hands dirty and help you put ideas into practice.

Getting access to a specialized and fiduciary advisor means having a process to ensure you are working on the right things, at the right time, in the right way.

If you ever want to learn more about what it is like to work with a growth advisor, feel free to drop me a line. Our Boutique Consulting Club's programs were designed with these principles in mind, striving to solve conflicts of incentives and provide specialized, bespoke support for micro consultancies like yours.

That’s it! I want to thank you for your time and engagement throughout this email series. From now on, you will start receiving our “Adding Value” newsletter every Tuesday. If at any point you think you’d like to unsubscribe, just click the link at the bottom of this email (or drop me a line, and I’ll remove you immediately).

Wishing you continued success,

P.S. Now’s the time I ask you for some feedback. We want to make this email series better, but we can only do that by learning what you enjoyed and what you believe could be better. If you could take a moment to complete this short survey, we would greatly appreciate it.

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