Don’t let the fear of the unknown stop you from starting your own business – Amy Rasdal shares her 5 step process to launching a successful consulting business.
Table of Contents
Launching Your Own Consulting Business
“You really can live the life you deserve. There’s nothing special about me.”
Amy Rasdal is a consultant and freelancer with decades of experience in the industry. She is the founder of Billable at the Beach, and has recently released a book, Land a Consulting Project Now helping people who are thinking about launching a business as a consultant.
In this episode, you will learn the following:
1. What does it take to be a consultant?
2. How can you launch a six-figure consulting business? (Launching a business in general)
3. What are the five steps you need to take to get started?
What You’ll Find in This Episode
In the podcast episode titled “5 Steps to Launching a Six-Figure Consulting Business,” Amy Rasdal, an experienced consultant and founder of Billable at the Beach, offers valuable insights and practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own consulting businesses.
Amy’s journey from corporate employment to successful consulting entrepreneurship serves as inspiration for those hesitant about taking the plunge into self-employment. Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she emphasizes that there’s nothing inherently special about her—anyone with the right mindset and determination can achieve similar success.
The episode delves into the essential qualities required to thrive as a consultant, highlighting traits such as adaptability, problem-solving skills, and a willingness to take risks. Amy underscores the importance of understanding what it truly takes to succeed in the consulting world, dispelling common myths and misconceptions along the way.
Central to Amy’s approach is her five-step process for launching a six-figure consulting business. She breaks down each step in detail, offering actionable strategies and practical tips for implementation. From identifying a niche market to leveraging personal networks and establishing a strong online presence, Amy provides a roadmap for aspiring consultants to follow.
One key takeaway from Amy’s discussion is the emphasis on generating revenue quickly—a crucial aspect of launching a successful consulting business. By focusing on landing projects and building relationships from the outset, entrepreneurs can accelerate their path to profitability and sustainable growth.
Drawing from her own experience, Amy highlights the numerous benefits of independent consulting, including freedom, flexibility, and financial reward. She challenges the notion that traditional corporate roles offer greater security or stability, arguing that the autonomy and control afforded by consultancy can lead to a more fulfilling and lucrative career.
Throughout the episode, Amy shares anecdotes and insights gleaned from her years in the industry, offering valuable perspectives on overcoming challenges and seizing opportunities. From networking strategies to negotiating contracts and pricing services, she provides practical guidance for navigating the complexities of the consulting landscape.
The chapter summaries provide a concise overview of the episode’s key points, ranging from overcoming fear and uncertainty to the importance of leveraging personal connections and establishing credibility in the field. Amy’s final words of wisdom—”You really can live the life you deserve”—serve as a powerful reminder of the limitless potential inherent in pursuing one’s passions and aspirations.
In conclusion, “5 Steps to Launching a Six-Figure Consulting Business” offers a wealth of insights and practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs embarking on the journey of self-employment. Amy Rasdal’s expertise and enthusiasm shine through, inspiring listeners to take control of their careers and pursue their dreams with confidence and determination.
This is Amy Rasdal’s story…
Amy Rasdal is a consultant who has been in the business for decades. She shares her experience and advice on starting a consulting business, including the importance of landing a project and generating revenue quickly. She also emphasizes the need to build good relationships, whether you’re an employee or not.
She traded her corporate job for consulting and made more money than most executives. Amy says that the advantages of being an independent consultant are freedom, flexibility, control, interesting work, and excellent pay. She gets to work when she wants, where she wants, and how she wants running her own multiple 6-figure consulting business for more than 15 years.
Amy’s program, Billable at the Beach, has helped hundreds of people start their own successful consulting businesses through speaking, workshops, and various programs over the past 10 years. She is on this show to encourage you to take control of your career and live the life of your dreams.
Chapter Summaries
[0:00] Don’t be afraid to take a plunge.
[1:34] When was the last time you were on episode 257?
[5:27] What’s going to happen with the gig economy?
[9:44] How to start your own consulting business.
[15:41] Start knocking on the doors in your network.
[19:16] If you’re going to cut down trees, you really do want to reach out to your physical neighbors.
[25:29] Why you’re worth the super-pay.
[28:51] How to reach out to people who already know you.
[34:11] Amy’s final words of wisdom: “You really can live the life you deserve”.
Resources:
Subscribe on your favorite podcast player.
[Insert links to any other lead magnets or Calls to Action from Guest here]
Other episodes you’ll enjoy:
How to Start a Consulting Business from Sunny San Diego – BtR 257
Do a New Thing and Turn Your Dreams into Reality – BtR 277
Build Confidence in Yourself with Annica Fischer – BtR 271
Connect with me:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/beyondtherut
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/beyondtherut
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beyondtherut
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerrydugan/
Website: https://beyondtherut.com
Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here on Apple Podcasts.
Transcript
Amy Rasdal 00:00
You really can live the life you deserve. There’s nothing special about me. Don’t be afraid to think of other things. Don’t be afraid to make changes. Investigate, take a plunge, stick a toe in the water. If you feeling a little bit stuck, there’s something else available.
Jerry Dugan 00:20
Hey, runner nation. Welcome to another episode of beyond the rut, the podcast that shares encouraging stories and practical tools to help pull you out of your rut into a life worth living. I’m your host, Jerry Dugan, and we’re going to have a conversation with consultant and freelancer, Amy Razzle. Now Amy is the founder of billable at the beach. She’s been on the show before. And the reason why I wanted her on here is that she is now releasing a book or has released a book by the time you hear this land a consulting project. Now, she gave me a copy to preview. It was very timely. And I said you gotta get on the show. Because when I got questions to you, the listener may have questions. So there you have it. She’s been doing consulting work for decades, she was on the rise to be a CEO in Silicon Valley and hung it up. And she’s just enjoyed the quality of life she’s had ever since. So we’re going to be talking about what does it take to be a consultant? What are the five steps you need to take so that you can launch a six figure consulting business right away. So sit back and relax and take some notes, because we’re going to have a conversation starting now. Here we go. All right. Hey, Amy. Thanks for calling in from sunny San Diego. How are you doing?
Amy Rasdal 01:33
I’m doing great. Jerry. It’s so great to talk to you again.
Jerry Dugan 01:37
Yeah, same here. I mean, we had you on episode 257. Give or take a number. Let me double check that real quick. Yep. 257. There we go. That’s why having notes Jerry.
Amy Rasdal 01:51
It’s okay. Because COVID I don’t know if other people have this. Somehow COVID wiped out my ability to have a time context.
Jerry Dugan 02:00
Oh, yeah. Even when I was going to the office Monday through Friday, until recently, I still had no idea what day it was. Because I mean, I had my team on a flexible schedule. And, you know, it just changed. It was like, Hey, is today Tuesday? No, I ended up.
Amy Rasdal 02:16
I call it I call it COVID years. Because one week in the in the heat of it one week could be a total change. So I’ve lost all track of when was it? The only thing I can remember is before COVID. And after COVID. Yes, it was such a huge thing.
Jerry Dugan 02:35
I think the totally off topic, because we have we haven’t gotten on top of yet. Anyway. So yeah, we’ll get there, we’ve got to get there. There’s a book I read called World War Z, I think it was made into a movie with Brad Pitt. The movie does not compare at all pales in comparison to the book. But the book is an anthology of life after the zombie apocalypse and talks through like people coming to terms with their experiences of the zombie horde going around the world. And the pandemic is kind of like that, you know that I see a lot of parallels. We didn’t go to the zombie apocalypse, of course. But seeing people come to terms with how the world changed because of a shared experience, like the pandemic. And I know one of the things that we’ve run into is this thing called the Great resignation. And for a lot of folks, it’s because hey, you know, I got the flexibility I’ve always wanted, I have the life I’ve wanted and the the I’ve got the career in the skill sets I’ve always wanted. I don’t necessarily have to go to a brick and mortar company anymore. And so now they’ve got these choices where they’ve either left the workforce for a gig economy, or they’re just like doing other careers. So the great reshuffle as well people taking on new careers, and it’s created this very interesting time in the workplace, the workforce industry. And do you see a lot of folks? I guess a little bit of background, I mean, cuz folks probably forgot already. But Amy has been doing consulting work for decades. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but no, it’s it’s been?
Amy Rasdal 04:12
Yeah, it has Yes, seconds. Yes. Yes.
Jerry Dugan 04:16
So you know, your stuff. You were on the track to be a CEO in the tech industry. And then one day you just hung it up, and you’ve been living this billable at the beach lifestyle. And you literally are I mean, you’re in sunny San Diego. You could do your work from Disneyland if you wanted to do from the beach, you could do it from your home. You got that remote capability, and you help other people do the same thing. And so that’s the background of me guys. So I guess the land my plane in the first question, though, is like with the pandemic, have you seen this upsurge of folks leaving the workforce and taking up consulting work?
Amy Rasdal 04:51
I have seen people expressing more interest in it. Although the another dynamic in it is that as people Pool have been allowed to work with one of the big drivers of becoming an independent consultant was the ability to work with more flexibility. So I’ve been working remotely and and flex with flexibility for decades as Jerry was so kind to point out, sorry. So no, no, I’m teasing you. But so, on the one hand, people have more flexibility in terms of their life and their style. So I’m starting in the early days, I really thought that I would see a lot more, but I’m starting to really see an upsurge. Now, because for the most part, we’re out of the pandemic, and we’re learning to live with it. And, and now, many companies are asking their people to come back. And I think that we’re gonna see a big in the new year, because we’re getting closer to that we’re gonna see a lot of people kind of coming, everyone’s kind of finalizing their strategic planning, and what are they going to do and all their, you know, human capital planning, and I believe that we’re going to see a big push of people being required to come back to the office and going a little bit more back towards the way things were, and not having that flexibility. So as I’m starting to see that, then I think we’re gonna see people making a jump more. And as people feel settled, and they’re more willing to make a change, it’s, I would have thought I’d seen it earlier, I’m really starting the grout to see the groundswell now really started to take off a little bit later than I expected. And I
Jerry Dugan 06:31
remember from a few years back, there was a prediction. And I think the pandemic helps speed this up, was that in the United States, for sure, we’re getting closer and closer to what’s called the gig economy, where we’re getting away from the full time nine to five type of roles and really taken on projects with a contracted amount, whether it’s billable hours, or a set contract amount. And I think we’re seeing a lot more of that as well. In fact, I’m taking a dip in the water to see how that goes as well.
Amy Rasdal 07:02
I think I think it’d be really interesting to see how quickly it shifts and where the shifts are. And then also what levels do we see the shifts? You know, when does it start to permeate? That the the management, you know, the director VP, what types of work what, what functional areas, what types of skills, so I think it will be very interesting to see how all that moves. And then I am sadly, not a millennial. But I think the millennials, and then the younger folks also are coming to, to work with a little bit different attitudes than some of us who are, who are Gen X ers. paying your dues, putting it in companies have changed. So all of the dynamics with the pandemic thrown in there, I think it’s gonna be really interesting. Regardless, though, I’ve always been a huge believer, whether you’re doing a gig economy for yourself, whether you’re a full time job, I’ve been a strong believer that all of us really have to own our own career, whether we’re an employee or not, and Jerry and I were chatting for a few minutes before the show, for 12 years, I spoke every month at an outplacement services firm, Lee Hecht, Harrison for anyone who may have worked with them. So I had a group of 30 to 60 people. And I did a talk about how to start your own consulting business. So I saw a lot of people in transition all the time. And the things that I said, you know, if you take nothing else from this, from this session, if you don’t start consulting, being responsible for your own career and, and keeping your network alive, at the bottom of it, it’s all about relationships. It’s who you know, whether you like it or not, and it’s not such the mercenary, nepotism, it’s really, we all want to work with people that we know like and trust, right? And even if you just need a plumber, what do you do? You call your friends and your neighbors, it’s the same in the business world. So the more really good relationships and the best way to build a good relationship is to serve those people. However, it might be right and all your relationships, Jerry that you’ve built through this podcast, those are all people that you’ve been serving. So that that’s really the focus of it. And if you could take that mentality and really own your career, whether you’re working as an employee, whether you’re not whether you jump in an out of that, take control of your own path, set your boundaries. Some people talk about, you know, define your brand, whatever terminology resonates with you. I think it’s really important.
Jerry Dugan 09:44
Yeah, huge. And I mean, I’m glad that you brought in the, the network I’ve built through podcasting, because in this transition that I’ve gone through from my corporate job into what is next like we’re recording this while I’m in my sabbatical for three months to really map out what does the next few years look like or the rest of my life look like? Because I love planning my life. And then I love even more going out and achieving the things I plan. But, you know, coming across you like you reposted our interview from before we started chatting, and then you just out of nowhere said, Hey, let me send you a copy of my book Lana consulting project now. And I was like, she has no idea that I needed like, we hadn’t talked about my situation. And I’m like, she has no idea. This is what I’m going through, or this is specifically what I’ve needed. And I was like, yes, yes. And let’s get you on here to talk about the book as well. And I did that in part to make sure I read the book, because, you know, Okay, I gotta get ready. Amy’s gonna talk to me in three weeks, I got three weeks to read this book. And as I’m reading, I’m just taking notes left and right. And you talk about this five step process to create a six figure consulting business. And, um, it’s got gold nuggets galore from start to finish. And so folks, the five steps that she talks about is, oh, shoot, where’s the analogy right there. So yeah, you just start. And then you start generating revenue, and then you build your, your business and your grow, and flow. So it’s just it was like, five words, start revenue, build, grow and flow, and probably made more sense. If I just wrote the whole phrase is that, you know, those are the words you used? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So the main words, so to get started, how does somebody get started?
Amy Rasdal 11:31
So the thing that I really like to tell people is, it’s much easier than you think, to get started. And I think it’s really important starting a business. So I had a lot of business experience. I’m an engineer by background, I went to a fancy business school, I worked a lot of corporate jobs. At the point that I left, Jerry said, I grew up I was silicon kid, I grew up in Silicon Valley, I worked at a lot of startups, my goal was to be a technology startup CEO. So I was at the executive level, I had been involved in startup teams, starting companies raising millions of dollars. But I’d never started a consulting business. So I think there’s this little bit of, you’re not quite sure. All the stuff around starting a business. So I pretty quickly realized that all that starting the business stuff, I had no idea is it like this big mountain of all this kind of stuff you need to do? Are there just a few things. And I pretty quickly realized that the only thing you really need to do to start your consulting business is land a project and get a check in the bank, naming your business, your website, incorporating all those tons of decisions that are both overwhelming, but also fun, you don’t need to worry about all that stuff. So I really tell people land a project, get a check in the bank. And all those little steps can be handled along the way as you’re building the business. Another thing that’s really important about that kind of two things. One is you can generate revenue pretty quickly, I have kind of a quick and easy what I call three action steps to generate revenue now. And just as a side note, on my website, you can find it at billable at the beach, I have a free email course. So if you want to think what’s that, you can jump over there and grab it, it won’t cost you anything. But so there’s it there’s a really easy kind of proven system for generating revenue. The other important thing is, when you go out on your own, and Jerry, you’re just getting started. So you can tell us how you feel. It’s a little scary. I mean, I’ve been getting a corporate paycheck for a long time, and I have a family to support. You know, not all of us do, but a lot of us do. And even if you don’t have a family, you have yourself and that’s not insignificant, because I think most of us aren’t 18 anymore, where you know, we can kind of figure it out as we go along. Because we don’t have a lot of bills or responsibilities. So what I find with the people who I work with is, it’s really easy to hide from those revenue generation activities. It’s really easy to say okay, well, I’ll start reaching out after I have my website and okay, I’ll start going to those networking meetings. Once I’ve decided my name, and I have the logo and all that kind of stuff. So a lot of what I do when I work with my people, is that kind of politely or kindly, like kick them in the backside and say, Okay, that’s all good. But you know what, this is what we need to do. We need to reach out to X number of people, all the people that know and love us all the people that we met through our podcast, or from our jobs that because here’s the thing, we all do really good work. And we have a lot of people that would jump at the chance to work with us again, if they only knew we were available for consulting. So those is a kind of a thing. So you really don’t, here’s what you need to get started. You need experience, you need your brain. And I know that during the peak of the pandemic, sometimes we wonder, you know what, that what we really had that or not because things are so crazy, and a computer, right, all of us have that. That’s all you need to get started. So really, the focus is land a project, put a check in the bank, and do all that stuff as you as you move along through it. So there’s nothing special about me, I’ve been doing this for 20 years at this point, you can do it too. And Jerry, you can do it too. Whatever you decide.
Jerry Dugan 15:41
I love that because I’ve heard other folks say like, you know, like the example of somebody who wants to start a tree trimming business, you know, somebody thinks that you gotta go out, get a business loan, buy a brand new truck that’s got the decals of your business logo on it. And you’ve got to go on hire a staff and you need to go get the best, newest chainsaws and different kinds of chainsaws the pole saw the big has Barca Yes, scary look in horror movie like chainsaws. And before you know it, you’re 1000s 10s of 1000s of dollars in debt, but you don’t have a single customer. And now you’re now stressed because you got all these payments to make, because you built a business structure without any actual customers for it. And really, what you’re saying is no, just go out and get somebody who wants you to cut some trees, then go get the tools you need, get the job, get that money in, use that to grow the business get in. And in a sense, start knocking on the doors in your neighborhood. It’s like, yeah, start knocking on the doors in your network. If you’re on LinkedIn, start connecting with folks don’t go sales, pitch them right away, but just let them know what you’re up to ask them what they’re up to. And somebody’s going to come forward. And that’s already happened for me. You know, as I was making my transition, I think I’ve been asked to speak on a couple of webinars. And I’m thinking, no one’s ever asked me to speak on a webinar. But now, people are asking, and I think the highlights still is when Johns Hopkins somebody from Johns Hopkins saw my profile. I still don’t know how they found me. But they found me. And they’ve got this career and professional development webinar coming up. And they asked me to be one of the speakers for it. Now, yeah, not the keynote, Trevor Noah some guy, some comedian guy named Trevor Noah. He’s the he’s gonna be the killer. Yeah, just some guy. Yeah. Jerry. Yeah. And that was a pain. Yes. It’s a paid gig. Yeah, you’re getting paid. And the funny thing is, they didn’t advertise. It was a paid gig. They just asked me for wanting to do it. And I just had this little voice in my head, I think he came from your book don’t work for free. Just floated the question. I was like, Hey, by the way, is this a paid gig? And I just left it at that and, you know, still marked down some notes that I was interested. And they replied, Oh, yes, there’s an honorarium this the amount Will that be okay. And I’m thinking it’s my first paid gig. Yeah.
Amy Rasdal 18:05
I speak all the time for free could.
Jerry Dugan 18:08
So that just felt really good. And so I am encouraging those listening right now. Like, you’ve got a, you’re, as Amy says, You’re a superhero with a superpower. And you can earn some super pay by helping other people solve their, their problems with the expertise, your superpower, and, and just focus on that. And, and you’re talking about networking with people, you know, just check in on them, see how they’re doing. Let them know how you’re doing. And when people realize there’s an opportunity, though, the last ask, and
Amy Rasdal 18:39
well, and we hear a lot about mindset these days. And I by no means consider myself a mindset coach. But I’ve realized as I talk to people that I’m always slightly reluctant to talk to call it selling. But selling is not a dirty word, right? It’s okay to sell. And what when we start to reach out and grow our business we are selling. And again, I don’t use that word a lot, because I think it scares people a little bit. But when you’re doing that, that outreach and reaching out, you’re not selling and you’re not imposing when you’re telling all of your friends. And in the business sense, Jerry was saying, you know, if you’re going to cut cut down trees, you really do want to reach out to your physical neighbors in this world is going to be your professional network and all the people that you’ve worked with before. Imagine you’re sitting there, especially this time of year when it’s close to year end. You’re sitting there you have this big project, you have this problem, you don’t have the resources, it’s hard to hire people. Imagine if the perfect person came along right now. You would be so happy if you could just have someone come in and take on that project, just like the people who found you to speak at their webinar at Johns Hopkins. So you’re not imposing you You really are helping those people, you’re making their day you’re making their their year, you’re helping their projects, you’re serving them. It’s not an imposition. And really, Jerry, you owe it to the world to get your gifts out there. And so do all of you out there listening. And so do I, I have learned how to do this. And I owe it to the world to help people who are maybe feeling a little stuck in their career, that want some different changes in their career, or some changes in their life that really want to take control. I owe it to the world to get my book out there to get my process out there to help people have better lives. And it’s the same for you. It’s the same for all of us.
Jerry Dugan 20:46
Yeah. And that ties right into your your message about, you know, because of your superpower, you deserve some super pay your section about how do you ask for what your rate is, and not discount yourself. And that is a huge mindset shift right there. Because we’re thinking, Oh, I’m imposing on my friend or I’m imposing on this contact, or, if I price it too high, they’ll never asked me to come back again. But I remember from my days, when I was a real estate agent, that whenever there was a customer who wanted me to discount my commission, they were still going to expect high level if not more out of me for less pay. And so now these folks are asking me to cut into my family time, cut into my milestones in my own personal life to put more of my focus on them than my other clients, even for less of a commission. And I remember I would always say back to them, you know, if would you really want to work some with somebody who’s willing to throw away his own money the way I just did? Because if I’m willing to do that to my own money, what will that say about me wanting to handle yours? And in the negotiation, you’re gonna, if I can’t even negotiate for my own rate, how am I going to negotiate for yours? And I have people walk away from that,
Amy Rasdal 22:05
that is, you know, in the selling world, and I’m not a sales animal, but dealing with objections, that’s, that’s the best way I’ve ever heard. Right? What does that say about our relationship? And what you’re asking me to, to take on the biggest financial transaction of your life?
Jerry Dugan 22:24
Yeah, and if I’m making a cut here, up front, at the table between you and I, customer, or client, and myself, what kind of cut do I need to make on the back end, you don’t know about to make a cut I just made here face to face. And, you know, I’ve heard of folks that will like double the number of hours or, you know, and fudge things. And that starts to catch up, though. And I know, there’s guardrails. And I know that’s not what you do. And because you’re really big on this is my rate. And you really use some tools that help track your billable time too
Amy Rasdal 22:57
well, and it’s first of all, for, it’s almost everybody, almost everybody is inclined to charge less than they’re really worth when they’re starting something. And a really important thing to remember, if you start consulting, I’m going to advise you to do consulting in an area where you already have deep experience and expertise. So you’re going to use and that’s how I go back to superhero, super power, super pay. So just because you’ve never done it on a consulting basis, it’s what you’ve been doing for a long time. You’re an expert. And in fact, the only way people hire you as a consultant, they need someone to come in who is an expert to hit the ground running to contribute right away. So I make some really hard and fast rules. Never ever work for free. And I’m really strict about that. I’m really strict about it myself. I’m gonna make one little comment here, though. I’ve been doing this for a long time, Jerry, and how do I how did I come up with these really strict rules, because I made all the mistakes I’ve made. All the mistakes that I talked about all my hard and fast rules is because I made the mistake. And a lot of times I made it more than once. So that’s how I had to come up with the hard and fast rule. So never worked for free and also never discount your rate. So sometimes you’ll have somebody who says, Oh, we have this rash. We have to do this big, big thing. Well, if you go to ship something, and it’s really important, and you need it to get there the next day, do you ask FedEx for a discount rate? No, you pay overnight, super expensive, expensive rate. So if somebody really needs you have that big problem, they need it now. They pay a premium, not a discount. So it’s this mindset. And if you’re feeling like oh, this is just me, it’s not you know, all I went through it. Jerry, you’ll go through it. You know, you’ll have to give yourself the pep talk like I’m so excited. I did that when Johns Hopkins and I happen to also be in in healthcare. So for those of you who aren’t Johns, that’s like a big, big deal, Trevor Noah is the keynote. So instead of just saying, Oh, my gosh, I’m so honored. Jerry also said, Oh, and by the way, what’s the pay? He said it in a much nicer way. Good for you. You’re like my poster child for all the things that I say to do?
Jerry Dugan 25:29
Well, I signed up for the course. So we’ll see. So, yeah, somebody. So you talked about the mindset shift, you know, you are worth it, you know, because you’re that superhero with the superpower worth the super pay. You just talked about the reason why you’re worth the super pay, because people are going to reach out to a consultant because they’re in a bind, you know, they don’t have the expertise on staff. And they don’t have the budget, to hire a staff person permanently, to do the thing that needs to be done. But they can afford for a short time period to pay for somebody to take care of that problem for them. You know, I just came off of a project at work where we implemented an ERP and I relied on gosh, I think I ultimately had seven contractors working with me. And then I had one permanent position, one permanent person staying on. Because after the implementation, I knew that’s what our organization could afford to sustain was one per se. But I needed seven or eight of us to get the thing up and running. Right, our whole team. Yeah. And you know, when you get to see the the costs of those contractors, just like, there’s the initial sticker shock, like, now, I was on the contracting side, hiring contractors. But then I was thinking, you know, let’s do the math here. If I hired seven people full time, I’d have to pay for this, I’d have to onboard them, our organization would have to pay for their health benefits. And then we’d have to let them go. And now we’re talking severance packages for everybody. And I’m doing the math there. And I was like, wow, so paying those contractors, that rate got us exactly what we needed. And it was way cheaper than if we had hired full time staff, and then let them go.
Amy Rasdal 27:16
And you they’re probably a better resource. Yeah, because that’s what they do. They come in, they do the system. And then they move on to the next place where they do that again, and again, and again and again. So they’re really experts in getting it all up and rolling. Once upon a time I was a software engineer, and I wrote ERP systems.
Jerry Dugan 27:38
I knew I could bring that up as an example. So oh, man, we’re running out of time. No, it’s
Amy Rasdal 27:45
It’s always I know, we could talk forever. I know,
Jerry Dugan 27:47
right? And so let’s see. So we talked about mindset shift we talked about, I guess, really, like, if I wanted to get started, though, there’s kind of like three things I really need to do to go out and get that first customer. What would you say those three things are, I
Amy Rasdal 28:03
guess, yeah, so I call that my three action steps to generate revenue. Now my little catchy. So the first thing is put together a fancy business term is your value proposition really is just kind of like your pitch, your introduction, your elevator pitch. And the whole reason it’s called an elevator pitch is because you’re supposed to be able to do it in the time that you’re an elevator. So it’s short and sweet and punchy. This is really what I do what I offer, how I can serve you. The next thing you want to do is make your list of people that you’re going to reach out to Intel, okay, um, you know, this is Jerry, I’m doing this thing. Now I’ve left my corporate job. Now I’m going to do consulting, here’s what I do. Here’s how I’m going to reach out to. So I tell everybody, I’m an engineer by background. So I attract a lot of kind of people who identify as introverts who may not think I have a big network, at least 100 people, if you can do more than it’s even better. These are all the people that you’ve worked with in the past it I don’t care if it’s 10 or 15 years ago, if somebody who you sat next door to in a cubicle 15 years ago, reached out and you used to holler over the wall, you’d be like, Oh, my gosh, Joe, haven’t talked to you and yours. It’s great to hear from you. You know, this is super fun while you’re doing this now, oh, by the way, guess what I’m here. And I think I might be able to use you. So you make your list of people that you’re going to do this outreach to at least 100 and also include family friends, include friends of your parents include parents at school, if you have school aged kids, all your estate attorney, your car mechanic and you’re not selling them something, you’re just reaching out letting everybody know what you’re doing now. So you’re making a list of all those people, and then you start your outreach. So I encourage people to just start Reaching out by email, for starters. Now I’m not talking about one email with 100 people in the BCC line, one email to one person and it’s a little tedious. But you sit down I think. So I’m in San Diego with the padres, right. So we’re crazy about baseball here in San Diego right now, because we’re advancing to all the all the next layers. So you can sit down in front of the baseball game, you can sit by the fire if you’re in a cold part of the country. And you just send out a few and what you put you put your little elevator pitch, you put a couple of comments about, you know, hey, Joe, I used to sit next to in the in the cubicle 15 years ago, what are you doing now. And what this is, this is a system for hot lead generation. So what you’re doing is you’re reaching out to people who already know you, and they know you do great work. And then you need two other things to line up, you need them to have a project that’s appropriate for your skills, and a budget to pay for it. So selling and generating things quickly is a numbers game. And I have taught this methodology. For the last 12 years, I’ve taught it to 1000s of people in person online when I speak. And I have accumulated a lot of data. So out of every 100 people that you work from sent send this out to you that you reach out to, you’ll have three to five people who come back and they say, Hey, Jerry, you know what, I think I might have something for you. And out of those three to five hot leaves. Because these are people who are saying, wow, it’s year end, I could really use you to help me meet my objectives to close out the year and get that urine bonus that I would really like to bring home and the budget to pay for it. So out of those three to five people who reach out the odds of closing a project, one or two of those people, the odds of closing is really high. So this system can help you land a project and get a check in the bank can help you start doing billable work within a week or two, wow. Because you’re reaching out to people that you already know. Now, that’s not going to keep you going for 15 years, then there’s a lot of other stuff that you need to do and networking and websites and all that. But once you start getting money coming in. And the other thing besides paying your bills, once you start getting once you put that first check in the bank, you’re a consultant, and your whole confidence and your demeanor, it will completely change. And there’s I’m not a huge Law of Attraction person. But money attracts money. Yeah, that’s true. And once you start earning it, more will follow. So it’s really a simple, easy, anyone can do it system to just jump in.
Jerry Dugan 32:59
Nice. Now if folks want to get a copy of your book, where’s the best place for them to go.
Amy Rasdal 33:04
So it’s on Amazon, it’s available digital, for Kindle or similar, you can get a paperback. And I also did an audiobook and I actually recorded it myself. So you’ll hear me talking. It was a very fun process. I really enjoyed the book process was a new thing to do. So it’s on Amazon. If you search AMI Rahzel lambda consulting the name of the book is lambda consulting project now build a life of freedom, flexibility and inspiring work building your own six figure business. But if you just go on to Amazon and search Amy arousal, billable at the beach, or land a consulting project now, you’ll very easily find it. And I would it’s not expensive, I would love to have you grab it. And I also want to say You also don’t have to quit everything and totally plunge in. You’ll be more successful if you do that. But if you just want to stick a toe in the water, and do those three action steps and land a project and try it out, you can absolutely do that too.
Jerry Dugan 34:11
And any final words of wisdom before we go, I just
Amy Rasdal 34:14
want to tell all of you that you really can live the life you deserve. There’s nothing special about me. Don’t be afraid to think of other things. Don’t be afraid to make changes. Investigate, take a plunge stick a toe in the water. If you feeling a little bit stuck. There’s something else available. So take some steps. And I think that fits in with your whole beyond the rat philosophy. Right? Yeah,
Jerry Dugan 34:43
because life’s too short. Yeah, life’s too short. Right. That’s right. Yeah. So Amy, thank you so much for being on again. And thank you again for a copy of the book to preview before we got on here because it is helping me in real life. So thank you.
Amy Rasdal 34:57
Thank you, Jerry.
Jerry Dugan 34:58
Well, there you have it. You have Amy and I discuss her five step framework to a six figure business, start, revenue, build, grow and flow. And that’s because you are a superhero, my friend, you’ve got a superpower, and you deserve super pay. And so hopefully you found some value in this episode. And if and if you did, don’t keep it to yourself forward this to a friend, a family member, or a co worker, that neighbor across the street, who may want to have this secret as well. You can also check out the show notes at beyond the rut.com/ 331. And there, you’ll find resources like similar interviews of people who’ve become consultants or just broken away from their corporate job to do a business for themselves. Or, you know, Amy’s materials, how do you get a copy of his book? How do you hire Amy or sign up for billable at the beach and the course that she offers? Now, there you have it, you know, the whole point is that you have a sense of freedom over your life, a sense of control of how you want to live your life, and that as you’re striving for success. It’s your definition of success. And that’s what we’re all about here at beyond the rut. Always have been, always will be because we want you to pursue your dreams without compromising your faith, your family or your health. Now I’m glad you joined me this week and I look forward to joining you again next week. But until next time, go live life beyond the rut. Take care
