Art of Consulting Podcast

In this episode, we have Andy talk about a crucial part of consulting, and that is making sure you understand the factors that will help you set and achieve your target revenue. Here, he explains what utilization is and to compute it. He also talks about a few more factors to look into to make sure you are on the right track to hitting your consulting revenue target.    So, go ahead and hit play to check out this episode. Quotes: “Consulting, Overall, Is Not A Great Business To Be In, Or A Great Career For Someone Who Does Not Want To Work. If You Want To Work, Consulting Is A Fantastic Career… It Can Be Lucrative. There's Great Work, It's Rewarding.” “Have In Your Mind, Your Utilization, When You Work Because The Utilization Is Really The Target.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) It Is Crucial For Consultants To Know The Math Of Consulting (03:38) A Simple Part Of Your Revenue - Your Rate (05:32) Computing Your Utilization (08:44) Consulting Is For Those Who Want To Work (10:52) Make Sure To Consider The Different Factors  (12:17) Capped Hours  (14:04) Working On Multiple Projects (15:30) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers  

In this episode, Andy explained how customers want us when they need us, and not when we show them that we need them. Investing your time or resources in your clients/customers will build that trust that will open opportunities for both you and them.   Listen in and know some tips on how you can invest in your clients and build that relationship on shared interests.  Quotes: “When We Invest Time, And We Invest Our Attention Into Each Other, That's When That Community Is Built.” “Customers Don't Want Us When We Need Them. Customers Want Us When They Need Us.” “When We Invest With Each Other, In The End, There Isn't A Need For A Call To Action.” “Shared Interests Are Reinforced When Investment Occurs. When Nothing Is Expected From The Other Party, That Investment Builds The Community.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) Community Is Built When We Invest In Each Other (04:22) The Hotel Booked Had Closed  (07:53) Customers Want Us When They Need Us (09:49) Invest In Your Clients/Customers (11:07) How To Invest In Your Clients (12:02) Investing Even When You Don’t Feel Like It  (13:22) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers

In this episode, Andy discusses the benefits of being familiar with some aspects of the client’s business and the challenges they’re facing, especially the new ones. This will help reduce the stress brought by the unknowns and strongly presents your credibility.   Check out this episode now and know the things that you can do to gain familiarity that will surely help reduce stress in meeting your new clients. Quotes: “When You Go To See A Client, Do Everything You Can To Get Familiar With The Surroundings To Reduce That Stress.” “When You Find Those Challenges, You're Able To Come In With Some More Information To Better Serve That Client.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) Familiarity Reduces The Stress (03:01) Things You Can Do To Reduce The Stress Through Familiarity With A Client’s Physical Location (06:14) Things You Can Do To Reduce The Stress Through Familiarity With A Remote Work Setup (09:15) Taking The Time And Effort To Have Some Level Of Familiarity, Especially With A New Client (10:08) Researching The Challenges The Client Is Facing (11:11) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers  

In this episode, Cat and Andy converse about the value of having a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset. They looked into different situations where people may be able to have opportunities to step into growth, and shared things you can do to help foster a growth mindset and set yourself up for continuous development and success.   Make sure to listen in as they delve into principles you can reflect on and apply to yourself, and step into your next level of growth. Quotes: “I've Started To Try To Challenge Myself, Which Is Difficult In A World Where I Want To Have The Answers, It Makes Me Feel Good, It Makes Me Feel Smart, Is To Stop And Start Asking Questions.” “A Way Into A Fixed Mindset Is That When We Get Little Bits Of Information, We Think We Know A Lot When Really We Don't Know That Much.” “Remove Those Constraints And Start Looking At How We Solve The Problem. Whatever That Solution Ends Up Being, Then We’ll Work Through It.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) The Old Dog Learned Some New Tricks (07:05) It’s Not One Or The Other (08:42) Bringing In Resources To Help You Compensate For Your Weaknesses (15:31) Different Times, Different Needs  (19:32) Keeping A Growth Mindset Even After Reaching Success (20:24) Quick Growth Or Fixed Mindset Self-Quiz (21:57) Stop And Ask More Questions (29:07) How To Dig Deeper Into Things (30:52) Finding Your Purpose Again (31:52) ‘Fixed Mindset’ As Opposed To ‘Growth Mindset’ (33:58) Removing The Constraints  (34:48) How To Foster A Growth Mindset (38:09) Passion Can Come In Different Ways  (39:17) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers  

In this episode, Andy shares the insights he learned from a bird that comes and taps on his window every day. He talks about the value of being committed but at the same time making sure that our efforts are not wasted on something that is not aligned with our purpose and goals.    Tune in now and know how to avoid the frustration brought by wasted time, skills, and effort.   Quotes: “We [Would] Have To Ask The Question, ‘is What We're Doing Aligned With Our Goals?’” “Are We Getting The Right Advice From The Right People? Because We Can Get Advice From Anybody.” “We Have To Be Very Intentional About What We're Being Rewarded With, And Making Sure That The Rewards That We're Getting, The Compensation We're Getting, Whatever Those Are, Serves Us. It's Not Hindering Us And Holding Us Back.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) The Bird That Comes And Taps On The Window Every Day  (02:49) Being Committed  (04:42) Putting A Lot Of Effort Into Something That We Don't Know If We're Getting The Results (05:29) Is What We're Doing Aligned With Our Purpose And Goals? (05:58) Is It A Good Use Of Our Time? (07:33) Is It A Good Use Of Your Skills? (08:41) Are You Getting The Right Advice? (10:00) What Is The Reward? (13:36) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers  

In this episode, we have Andy speak about figuring out options on how to solve our problem. Sometimes, advice coming from others would not sit well with us, regardless of whether it’s actually the right thing to do or not, because of our current emotions about the problem or some other reasons.    So, listen in and learn this trick on how we can give advice to ourselves and provide options on how to solve our problem and get through it.  Quotes: “If We Can Work Through It, And Say, ‘what Advice Would We Give To Someone Else Who Was In The Same Position,’ We Often Are, At That Point, Very Clear On What The Advice Should Be For Ourselves.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:20) Our Innate Fear When Obstacles Present Themselves Bigger Or Higher (03:14) What Advice Would You Give Others (04:43) How We Can Give Advice To Ourselves (06:35) We All Go Through Challenges (07:56) Giving Ourselves Options On How To Solve Our Problem (09:05) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers  

In this episode, Andy shares insights on giving up on being right. We all have some experiences where meetings get heated up because of different ideas that are being pushed, especially for some level of personal agenda. Here, he explains what “giving up on being right” means and what it looks like in consulting.    Listen in now and get tips on how you can be able to give up on being right and focus on delivering what is best for the client. Quotes: “If We're The One That Really Starts To Dig Our Heels In When We Want To Be The One That's Right, One Option Is To Give Up On Being Right, Give Up On Being The One That's Right.” “When I Talk About Giving Up On Being Right… It Really Means Approaching The Problem And Presenting Our Problems A Little Bit Differently Than Maybe What We Have In The Past.” “One Of The Things We Want To Do Is [We Want] To Make Sure That We Get It Right Without A Whole Bunch Of Conflict.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) The Push To Be Right That Comes With The Job (03:22) What “Giving Up On Being Right” Means (05:37) Doing Your Homework Before Presenting Your Options And Recommendations (07:47) Listening To Others, Having Patience (09:04) Being Open To New Ideas And Staying Calm (10:50) Avoid Politicking After The Meeting (13:52) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers  

In this episode, we are with Cat and Andy as they talk about one focus point that will bring more opportunities to your profession and business. They discuss that there are things that are never going to change and when you focus on continuously improving on them, it will open doors of growth and success. They also shared 3 things that you can do to be more customer-centric and be able to act on things that will never change, so click the play button now and tune in.   Quotes: “Instead Of Focusing On The Things That Will Change, Focus Your Attention On The Things That Are Never Going To Change.” “Problems Are Always Opportunities To Build That Trust With A Client Because Things Are Not Going To Go 100% Perfect.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) Focusing On The Things That Will Never Change In Your Business (10:24) What Are The Things That Will Not Change (15:57) Problems Are Always Opportunities To Build Your’s Trust (18:06) It’s A Must To Be Customer-Centric (25:53) How Do We Look At The Problems And Find The Opportunity (32:22) 3 Things You Can Do To Be More Customer-Centric And Be Able To Act On Things That Will Never Change   (36:45) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers

In this episode, we have Cat and Andy discuss how our technology greatly grew, like artificial intelligence, and how it will disrupt entrepreneurship and our community as a whole. They shared how being open-minded about it instead of fearing it can bring opportunities. It may bring huge changes but keeping an open eye on these shifting opportunities will keep you on track for professional and business growth.   Listen in and learn how to keep up with the growing AI technology and flow with the opportunities it brings. Quotes: “In the area of this exponentially fast-moving technology or technology growth, there is a tremendous opportunity for you, or [for] any entrepreneur, to be able to serve their community and make a really great business out of it.” “It's going to eliminate jobs as we know [it] but there's still going to be other things that it evolves into. And that's where the opportunity is.” “You just have to really keep an open eye and see what's out there.” “It isn't just about blasting it to everybody, it's about being very aware of who it is that you serve.” “The technology is really only good if a human being is going to use it or can use it.” “You can find different uses for AI to benefit humanity… benefit a niche, a service that can make a person's life better, I think that is never going to go away.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) AI is coming into fruition faster than expected (06:58) Technology growth brings great opportunities for entrepreneurship and service to the community  (11:46) The fear of AI replacing humans to do the jobs (15:37) Keeping an open eye to find the opportunity (20:09) Knowing who you serve (21:59) Being open-minded about the technology growth to find that opportunity (32:36) Finding different uses for AI to benefit a niche (33:33) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers

In this episode, Cat and Andy talk about setting your goals early for next year. As the saying “A great morning starts the night before” goes, a great year starts a month or two before. They share stories that show how planning and goal-setting greatly help in manifesting the things you want in your life.   Tune in now and learn the top 3 things to keep in mind when you're goal-setting for this coming year 2023! Quotes: “A Great Morning Starts The Night Before. Well, A Great Year Starts Perhaps A Month Before Or A Little Bit [Of Time] Before The Year Actually Starts.” “What Kind Of Thoughts [You Are] Putting In Your Subconscious [Is Really Going To Be Determining] Your Reality In The Future.” “We Definitely Don't Want To Taint Our Goals Because We Feel The Need To Brag, And Possibly Damage It.”   Show Notes: (00:00) Podcast Intro  (00:27) If You Need Help Creating A Set Of Values, You’re Welcome To Sign Up For A Complimentary Course At https://theconsultingplaybook.com/values  (01:19) Early Goal Setting For The Next Year (05:26) The Thoughts You Put Into Your Subconscious Mind Determine Your Reality In The Future (11:26) Manifesting Things Into Your Life (17:41) Two Ways You Can Emit And Maintain Positive Energy (22:06) Be Careful With Who You Share Your Goals Because They Need To Be Protected (30:11) Top 3 Most Salient Things To Keep In Mind When You're Goal Setting  (32:32) Andy’s New Book The Trust Paradigm Is Available On Amazon And Other Book Retailers