Most independent consultants think their business bottlenecks come from systems, tools, or strategy. But the real bottleneck is often you, and specifically, how you respond to resistance. In this episode, you’ll learn why resistance shows up, how it slows your growth, and a simple plan to move through it so you can scale faster and with less friction. Whether it’s overthinking a new offer, delaying a move into advisory work, or hesitating to raise your pricing, that internal friction isn’t a ...
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Most independent consultants think their business bottlenecks come from systems, tools, or strategy. But the real bottleneck is often you, and specifically, how you respond to resistance. In this episode, you’ll learn why resistance shows up, how it slows your growth, and a simple plan to move through it so you can scale faster and with less friction. Whether it’s overthinking a new offer, delaying a move into advisory work, or hesitating to raise your pricing, that internal friction isn’t a ...
Most independent consultants think their business bottlenecks come from systems, tools, or strategy. But the real bottleneck is often you, and specifically, how you respond to resistance. In this episode, you’ll learn why resistance shows up, how it slows your growth, and a simple plan to move through it so you can scale faster and with less friction. Whether it’s overthinking a new offer, delaying a move into advisory work, or hesitating to raise your pricing, that internal friction isn’t a ...
Forming a partnership as an independent consultant can feel difficult and even risky. You’re used to autonomy. You’ve created your own unique way of running your business. And, you also feel lonely at times. Bringing someone else into your process? That can feel like a threat to your freedom, your income, or your control. But what if the right partnership expanded your possibilities instead of limiting them? In this episode, I sit down with two of my past coaching clients, Abbie DuBois and Sc...
"Let me think about it." It sounds harmless. Strategic, even. But for independent consultants, that phrase can quietly erode revenue, momentum, and confidence. In this episode, Melisa breaks down the hidden toll of decision debt, which is the backlog of unmade choices cluttering your mental inbox. From pricing delays to lingering red-flag clients, these non-decisions drain your bandwidth and reinforce the status quo. Melisa walks you through the mindset traps keeping you in limbo, and shares ...
What does it really take to hit a $100K quarter as an independent consultant in your first quarter out of corporate? In this episode, Melisa talks with her client Elizabeth Freedman, founder of E•Suite Leader, who went from zero to $100K in the first three months of her business. Elizabeth shares the inside story of not just what she did, but how she thought. From taming the temptation to do too much, to building a pipeline with targeted outreach (not a LinkedIn posting spree), to navigating ...
If you've ever said, “One day I’ll write a book,” this episode is your call to stop waiting and start writing. LeAnne Lagasse joins Melisa to walk through the real process of writing and launching a book as a consultant, including the parts no one talks about. LeAnne doesn’t sugarcoat the process. From decision fatigue to imposter syndrome to learning how to repurpose your workshop content into a compelling written format, she shares what it takes to go from idea to finished product. Mo...
Even though the year is wrapping up and vacations take over, landing consulting clients in Q4 doesn’t have to be hard. Q4 isn’t a write-off. When Q4 rolls around, many consultants either start to panic that they won’t hit their revenue goals or they ease off the gas because they’ve already met them. These approaches can cost you momentum and opportunity. In this episode, Melisa Liberman walks you through a simple three-part framework to help you finish the year strong: Choosing what to ...
Thinking Like a Business Owner Isn’t Just a Mindset. It’s a Skill. Most independent consultants know they should think like a business owner, but what does that actually look like day to day? In this episode, Melisa introduces a simple yet powerful strategy: Business Owner Thinking Time. You’ll learn how to move beyond reacting to tasks or relying on AI to think for you, and instead carve out time to think strategically and guide your business like a CEO. Melisa shares five practical wa...
You might think your lead generation isn't working because you're not consistent. Or because you're not good at marketing. Or because you’re fully booked and don’t “need” leads right now. Those assumptions are common, and they’re also wrong. In this episode, Melisa breaks down the real reasons your consulting pipeline isn’t where you want it to be. Most consultants misdiagnose the problem and end up solving for the wrong thing, wasting time, energy, and momentum in the process. In the e...
Your pipeline is not where you want it to be. You’re struggling to maintain consistent business development routines. You’re not sure where the next client is coming from. In this episode, Melisa walks you through how to implement a lead generation sprint: a short, focused burst of activity that fills your pipeline with the right kind of opportunities. She shares specific examples from three clients, all at different stages of their consulting business to show how this approach works (even if...
What if the biggest obstacle in your consulting business… is your own management approach? Most independent consultants left corporate to get away from bad managers, but end up recreating that dynamic for themselves. In this episode, Melisa uncovers the #1 management mistake she sees independent consultants make again and again: becoming a “ghost manager” in their own business. She walks you through the five components of being a good self-manager so you can stop unintentionally sabotaging yo...
If you're like most independent consultants, one of the reasons you left corporate was to get out of managing. You wanted to avoid the team drama, the politics, the performance reviews. So it makes sense if you’ve put “leadership” in the rearview. But here’s the trap: when you assume leadership no longer applies, you create a blind spot that quietly undermines your consulting business. In this episode, Melisa explores what happens when consultants opt out of leadership, not intentionally but ...
If you want to run a consulting business that feels lighter and more in your control, you need to start thinking like a million-dollar business owner, before your business is anywhere near that level. This is part two of my series on the Million Dollar Mindset. In part one (Episode 231), we covered the first two pillars of the million dollar consultant’s mindset. Today, we finish the two-part series with the remaining four ways of thinking that separate a $200K consultant from one who c...
If you’ve been stuck at the same revenue level in your consulting business, whether that’s $200K or $500K, it’s probably not your sales skills or your pipeline holding you back. It’s your mindset. Too many independent consultants unknowingly run their business from the same thinking that created their current or even past results. That mindset is misaligned with their goals and quietly caps their revenue. In this first of a two-part series, Melisa breaks down the real difference between a $20...
Are You Hitting a Revenue Plateau in Your Independent Consulting Business? You might be stuck in a revenue plateau right now. Maybe it’s obvious. Your consulting revenue has been flat year over year. Or maybe it’s hidden. Your numbers might be technically going up, but you could still be hitting a plateau you didn’t even realize existed. Either way, this episode is for you. I’m breaking down the five hidden causes of revenue plateaus for independent consultants and the exact mindset and...
That lead generation issue you’re trying to fix with a new strategy? That pricing problem you’re solving with more market research? They’re probably not business problems. They’re likely mindset problems disguised as business problems. In this episode, Melisa gets into the real root cause behind most consulting business problems. It’s not your offer. It’s not your process. It’s not the market. It’s how you think. She shares a candid story about her own stubborn resistance to mindset wor...
Twelve years into her consulting career, Rachel Hughes has built a business that attracts inbound leads, top-tier engagements, and industry recognition, without sacrificing her sanity or freedom. In this episode, Melisa talks with Rachel about the mindset and strategy shifts that transformed her from overthinking and reactive to intentional and in-demand. Rachel opens the doors to her consulting practice, sharing how she thinks about niche, lead generation, pricing, mindset, and evolving as a...
If you’re avoiding thought leadership because you “don’t know what to say”, this episode is your turning point. In Episode 227, Melisa dismantles the most common blocker independent consultants face when it comes to publishing thought leadership: not knowing what to share, or fearing they’ll just add noise. She introduces a powerful mindset shift and practical system to consistently generate valuable, original content straight from your day-to-day consulting work. This isn’t about carvi...
You’ve made it halfway through the year — now what? Too many independent consultants either stay the course out of habit or abandon their goals altogether. In this episode, Melisa walks you through a five-step framework to recalibrate and intentionally design a second half that actually aligns with what you want, not just what you committed to back in January. This isn’t just another planning session. It’s a reset opportunity: to reassess what’s working, reimagine what’s possible, and realign...
What are enterprise buyers really looking for in 2025 when they bring in external talent? This week, Melisa is joined by industry veteran Brian Hoffmeyer (known as “Hoff”), who returns to the podcast to share invaluable, behind-the-scenes insights from his vantage point at Beeline, the world’s largest independent vendor management system. Whether you're working directly with enterprise clients or supporting mid-size firms, this conversation gives you the macro trends you need to know in...
Think building a seven-figure consulting pipeline in just 16 weeks is impossible? Think again. In this episode, Melisa Liberman sits down with Ellie Holbert, a first-year independent consultant, who shares the real story of how she went from zero pipeline and a canceled contract to 56 opportunities and a multi-seven-figure funnel without prior sales experience. Ellie lays out the practical steps and mindset shifts that fueled her meteoric start, including how she reframed rejectio...
Most independent consultants think their business bottlenecks come from systems, tools, or strategy. But the real bottleneck is often you, and specifically, how you respond to resistance. In this episode, you’ll learn why resistance shows up, how it slows your growth, and a simple plan to move through it so you can scale faster and with less friction. Whether it’s overthinking a new offer, delaying a move into advisory work, or hesitating to raise your pricing, that internal friction isn’t a ...
