I Work Better In Flux
What I do can’t be encompassed in a 9-5. I enjoy being flexible for my clients because their rapid growth doesn’t follow a schedule. We’re having meetings at 9pm, phone calls at 7am, and texts throughout the day. We are essentially besties for the duration of the time we work together (capped at the agreed-upon hours). I might be writing up strategies and teaching them how to apply them when things are ramping up and they need fast positioning, or I might be analyzing their books to advise on a budget for achieving specific goals.
They bring me chaos — I bring them direction and organization. But in creative ways that resonate with founders who are always bubbling over with ideas. They’ve got a vision, I’ve got a plan, and next thing you know we’re huddled over laptops, a giant whiteboard, and a random array of snacks, hashing out the current sprint. I create boards for them on Trello, make them pretty and exciting, send encouragements and updates, list links to all our shared documents, and add resources for potential vendors or grants they can apply to.
They might get busy and go quiet for stretches of time, and I trust that they’ve found my contributions helpful and know how best to navigate their business with the tools they’ve gained. And then when they hit an anticipated milestone or see the desired deliverables, we celebrate together because they see me as part of the team. It’s a very “get in loser, we’re going shopping” kinda vibe, and I’m their ride or die.
People say consulting for small businesses isn’t where the money is, but I say it’s what breathes life into me. I ran a small business of my own for years, and have intimate knowledge of the ups and downs of doing it all with a small team. I’m armed to the teeth with hindsight and education, and nothing excites me more than sharing what I’ve learned with people who started with a dream and took a risk, just like I did. So maybe I look awkward in “office attire” and I don’t thrive sitting around in a cubicle, but I’m an asset, rest assured. And there’s no one I’d rather be an asset for than a budding entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship runs in my veins — it’s who I am, and that’s why we get each other. My clients know that partnering with me means deepening the reach of their company’s scale and investing in the company’s vision.