How to Know You Have What It Takes to Succeed as a Consultant, Coach & Business Owner [PEP TALK]

How do I know if I have what it takes to succeed as a consultant or coach?

If you’ve already succeeded in your career, the real question probably isn’t whether you have the talent or drive to succeed as a consultant or coach. It’s whether you can handle the vulnerability of building a business around your expertise, keep learning when you’re outside your current level of competence, and resist the urge to retreat into protection when self-doubt and imposter syndrome show up.

It’s three in the morning, and you’re wide awake, wrestling with the pressing question keeping you stuck: Do I really have what it takes to succeed as a consultant, coach, and mostly a business owner?

Or maybe you sleep just fine, and this pressing question (or variations of it) presents itself later in the day when you’re staring at the computer, randomly posting on LinkedIn while asking yourself:

Can I really make money doing this?

Will I find enough clients?

Oh dear God, what if I fail, have to get a job, and everyone knows about it?

The shame, the shame!

It’s time to put this fear to rest and know for a fact, in your heart, mind, and soul, you have what it takes to not just achieve the same level of success you enjoyed in your leadership career, but also significance, impact, and the work/life balance you’re longing for.

Tune in to this pep talk episode of the Consulting Matters podcast for the encouragement and guidance you need to say a solid, unwavering “Yes!” to any questions you have about making your business thrive. Read on for the highlights.

Why Self-Doubt and Imposter Syndrome are a Normal Part of Building Your Own Consulting or Coaching Business

Building a consulting or coaching business can mess with your confidence for four very good reasons.

1. For most of us, consulting or coaching isn’t our first career. We got here after developing expertise or wisdom somewhere else.
   
   Now we’re expected to create results without the positional authority we may have relied on before, using our expertise, relationships, and influence instead. That’s new.
2. Then even when we master the skills required to become great consultants and coaches, we also have to learn how to build a business around that expertise. Also new.
   
   And what does that also entail? Marketing, sales, and putting ourselves out there. And when you are the business and the brand, that can feel incredibly vulnerable.
3. There’s another wrinkle. Unlike professional services firms, the work we do is often optional, whereas theirs isn’t. That’s why they get away with relying on referrals, and we can’t. When a health issue comes up, the question isn’t whether you’re going to the doctor, but which one. When you’re in legal trouble, you don’t waste time trying to figure it out on your own. You have to find a lawyer and the right one asap.
   
   That’s why they get away with relying on referrals, and we can’t.
   
   A leader who keeps getting overlooked for executive roles may not realize an executive coach could help. A COO struggling with inefficiencies may not know a consultant could solve the problem. A consultant who can’t articulate the value of what they do may not realize brand positioning and messaging is what’s standing between them and better business results.
   
   We have to help people understand why they need us.
4. And then there’s the kicker – because our work involves helping other people grow their careers, businesses, and organizations, we somehow assume that we should already know ours.
   
   We believe in the “I should already know how to do this” myth, and when we don’t, we beat ourselves up.

The Real Question We’re Asking When We Wonder: “Do I Have What It Takes?”

Let’s be honest – are you really questioning if you have what it takes?

You’ve already succeeded. You have a ton of expertise and strengths. You’ve navigated career changes before.

The question is: Do I have what it takes to do what it takes to make a business a success?

Because as exciting as it sounds to take control of your career and time, and as meaningful the work of consulting and coaching is to you, the price is the vulnerability of marketing, sales, and putting yourself out there.

It’s the angst of being seen and having everyone know what you’re passionate about and what you feel you’re meant to do that is driving the question about having what it takes.

Getting to a Clear, “Yes” that You Have What It Takes to Succeed as a Consultant, Coach & Business Owner

A clear “yes” has nothing to do with talent, drive, or even figuring out the perfect business model or marketing system that consistently gets clients coming your way.

It’s your ability to handle the vulnerability of being seen and skating the edge of your current level of competence time and time again by staying in learning instead of going into protection.

Protection is what we do to avoid feeling vulnerable, such as…

…we act confused - no matter how many times something is explained

…we tell ourselves that marketing is beneath us and not in alignment with our values

… we spend hours with AI trying to get clarity in what we do and confidence in our messaging, feeding our analysis paralysis while convincing ourselves we’re moving forward.

Staying in learning sounds more like:

“This sucks. I feel super uncomfortable. And I’m going to do it anyway.”

It’s also replacing the I should already know how to do this myth

With:

Why should I already know how to do this?

Because why should you know how to do something you’ve never done before?

So, do you have what it takes to do what it takes to do what it takes to make your business a success?

If you can accept that vulnerability is part and parcel of getting there, stay in learning, and keep moving forward when the sucky, uncomfortable self-doubt and imposter syndrome show up.

You don’t have to know everything you’ll need to know today, but you do need to trust this:

I’m perfectly capable of learning what I don’t know. I’ve done it at every other career crossroad, and I can do it again.

Ready to Stop Spinning and Start Succeeding as a Consultant, Coach, and Business Owner?

If you want to go deeper into cultivating your success heart/mindset, check out these related episodes of the Consulting Matters podcast:

• The C.U.R.E. for Fear & Self-Doubt (Ep157)
• Turn Fear into Confident Action with J. Kyle Howard (Ep5)
• Ditch Imposter Syndrome & Launch Your Dream Business with Dali Hammouch (Ep89)
• How to Overcome Your Fears & Build a Consulting or Coaching Business You Love (Ep111)

And if part of what’s keeping you stuck is not having the clarity and confidence in the unique value of what you do and how to craft messages that resonate with the clients meant for you - that’s exactly what my VIP brand positioning and messaging programs are designed to address.

Learn more about my highly personalized programs, or better yet, book a free strategic clarity call with me so we can co-create your custom solution.