What Does It Take to Start a Consulting Business?

Belinda Ellsworth is our guest on the 299th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast. Belinda is a drummer turned direct sales expert who opens the conversation about mastering your craft. She is the author of a #1 international best seller, “Direct Selling for Dummies,” and successfully grew her podcast which is part of the iHeartRadio platform. Take a peek inside Belinda’s genius: Belinda’s journey from rock band to a side-hustle in direct sales. Becoming a sales and motivational speaker and transitioning into a consultant helping companies scale from $1-$20 million. Why Belinda decided to go all-in on a podcast – and her invitation to iHeartRadio. How being a drummer set her up for success in every other area of her career. The secret behind Belinda’s success in podcast growth and becoming a skilled interviewer. How mastering your craft will accelerate your growth, career, and lifestyle. The importance of vetting guests before letting them jump on the show. How to analyze data and make improvements when you want to grow anything. Sales conversations – What’s the deal with those? The 4 strategies Belinda offers to become a better salesperson (even if you're a beginner). What does it take to start consulting? How are you supposed to package your expertise? How can you become an expert at anything? Why you need to restructure your onboarding process and how it will take you to the next level. The real deal on client and customer retention. How to get more done through the 4 pillars of success. Structuring your power hour – How Belinda moves the needle in her business. Are you letting the day run you? The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: The Accelerator Waitlist The Copywriter Think Tank Kira’s website Rob’s website Belinda's website  The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground Free month of Brain.FM Episode 81 Episode 137   Full Transcript: Rob Marsh:  Today's episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast is a little different from normal for a couple of reasons. First, our guest, Belinda Ellsworth, isn't a copywriter, she's a podcaster, a business consultant, and a productivity expert. And what she shares about getting started in business, having confidence, sales, and even thinking about the right metrics is going to give you a lot to think about. The second reason this podcast is a little different is that I am here alone today. Kira's on vacation. And usually when that happens, we ask a guest to join us, to talk about what we're learning from the episode. But, well, I took some time off earlier this week as well. So we just didn't have enough time to schedule a guest. I hope you don't miss the back and forth that we normally have, as I share some of the stuff that stands out to me most from this episode. And without Kira here, I'll also tell you that this episode is sponsored by The Copywriter Accelerator. That's our program that's designed to give you the blueprint, the structure, the coaching, the direction, and the community that you need to accelerate your business growth in about four months so that you can go from overwhelmed freelancer to fully booked business owner. We're going to be opening up The Copywriter Accelerator for new members next month. And if you'd like to get on the waitlist to make sure that you're the first person to hear the details, especially about the early bird pricing rate and information about the program. When it opens up in August, you'll want to go to thecopywriteraccelerator.com and join the waitlist. And we'll also link to that in the show notes in case you're not able to write that down. Okay. So let's jump into our interview with Belinda and learn how she became an expert in sales. Belinda Ellsworth:  Well, it goes way back to gosh, nearly 40 years ago, I just started doing in a direct sales business,