Betsy Jordyn (00:00.62)
Want to the difference between leaving your consulting or coaching success up to chance or creating it with strategic intention? You're going to find out all about this with my guest and client, Leslie Faircloth, on today's Consulting Matters podcast.
Betsy Jordyn (00:19.328)
And welcome to the Consulting Matters podcast. This is the show for transformational consultants and coaches who are ready to own the power of their partnership and position themselves for greater impact and income. I'm your host, Betsy Jordyn, and you can find out about all the things that I do to help my clients turn the best of their careers into a thriving business and a standout brand that they and their clients love at www.BetsyJordyn.com. And don't forget, Jordyn is with a Y. So today,
What I wanna get into is the difference between getting clients and then building a business in a standout brand that consistently attracts those right clients. So for a lot of us, this is how we get into consulting or coaching. We leave our jobs and then we have a great network. And as soon as they hear that we're available, they're like, yes, I wanna send people your way or I wanna hire you. And either way, that's great. But at some point we realize this is great for now.
but we come to a point where we recognize like this is not sustainable, especially if we need more than the next client, we need the ones after that. So that's exactly what happened with my client Leslie. So she left her job as a director of small business programs with the Navy and instantly, know, people are like, I wanna work with you, I wanna work with you. So she went out and she got professional photos taken, they were awesome. She put up a website and it seems like that should be enough, right? But for her, it wasn't. And you wanna know what's missing?
It was the strategic intention and the brand foundation underneath her expertise. So if you're an aspiring new or even seasoned consultant or coach and you're looking for more of a strategic path to a thriving business, to clients on repeat and your impact that you are meant for, this is the episode for you. So without further ado, welcome to the show, Leslie. Thank you, thank
Leslie Faircloth (02:07.214)
Thank Betsy. I appreciate you having me on the show.
Betsy Jordyn (02:10.894)
Well, we knew this was like gonna happen, you know, cause we've been working on your website for a while and you're a part of the impact and income accelerator. So this is, this is the moment where we get to both hear all about your journey from moving into more of a strategic and intentional approach. And we get to celebrate the launch of your awesome new website. But before we get
Leslie Faircloth (02:31.054)
Yeah.
Betsy Jordyn (02:31.542)
Before we get into all of that and all about your strategic approach to building your business and brand, I'd love to talk a little bit more about your career. Like, you got, you went to UCF and then you fell into the defense industry right away. Like, tell me about, to all of us about your experience and what drew you to the industry and tell me more about that.
Leslie Faircloth (02:51.751)
Yeah, yeah, sure. I'm happy to dive into it. it was definitely nothing. You know, I didn't grow up saying, my gosh, I
Betsy Jordyn (02:59.47)
I can't wait to work in government procurement.
Leslie Faircloth (03:01.902)
I guess nobody does that but as you mentioned I went to the University of Central Florida and I actually started off going to school thinking I wanted to get into like psychology and because that was always really interesting to me, know, just just the mind and and all of that and how it impacts everything and then to be honest, I took a look around a couple of my first classes and I thought my gosh
There are hundreds of people here. They're all trying to get into this field. Is this really what I want to do? Is it going to be flooded? And I started to kind of rethink, well, what do I really want to study? so since psychology was something that I really enjoyed, I was also drawn to marketing because I know that marketing is definitely, you have to have an understanding of the human psyche in order to master.
marketing. So, and I thought, well, you know, it can be a bad idea to have a business degree. And so I actually started taking business classes and I established my new major is marketing. And so I went through all that and enjoyed the courses and everything was great. And I knew, you know, when it was time to graduate, you know, the vast majority of marketing majors, they leave.
college and the very first job is sales, which wasn't super appealing to me, but it's not as if I didn't know that that was going to be kind of what was available to me. And I thought, okay, well, it's a stepping stone. So all of the interviews that I was getting as I was preparing to graduate, were all in sales and it was a lot of, you know, there's no salary base. It was all commission. And I was just like, my gosh, that seems like such a
you know, I want to go, you know, I want to be able to sustain myself. I don't know if I could do that on just a commission. What if I hate sales? So anyway, long story short, as I was, you know, taking all these interviews and I got a letter in the mail because that's how long ago I graduated from college. You know, we did everything snail mail, got a letter in the mail from the department of the Navy. And I thought, they're going to want, you know, are they asking me to like to.
Leslie Faircloth (05:20.76)
recruit me. I don't really want to go into the military because I don't think I could make it through boot camp. But open the letter and find out that actually what it was is the Navy activity here in Orlando that's right next door to UCF was actually looking to refill their pipeline of contract professionals because they had a huge wave of folks that were retiring and they needed to hire fresh blood.
And so they were looking for business majors that had a certain GPA and were interested in starting a federal career. And, you know, my dad used to be in the Air Force. And so I did have, you know, that military connection to my family. And, you know, when he, when he, was telling him about the opportunity and he says, you know, working for the federal government is such a really good stable thing. And, you know, they have good benefits and,
You know, my dad grew up in the Great Depression, so stability and the sure thing was very, very important. So, you know, those were the kind of the values that I was raised with. So I ended up saying, well, gosh, you know, this sounds like an exciting opportunity. I don't know what the heck it is. They're going to train me how to do this work. And they had laid out already in the letter to say,
Hey, it's a three year training program. We're going to pay you and here's going to be your salary for the next three years. And I was basically doubling my salary in three years. It was a sure thing. I'm like, cool. I'm going to take this opportunity to go in and interview. What do I have to lose? And I went in and I guess I knocked it out of the park because they called me the very next day and they were like, Hey, we want to offer you this job. Cool. Right.
So I was feeling really great because I didn't have to worry about being in a commission-only sales job. They were going to train me. I knew how much I was going to make. It was stable. Everything's good. And I had a job already ready to go before I had my degree in hand. So it was like all peace of mind.
Leslie Faircloth (07:32.542)
I didn't know anything about it, right? But I kind of went inside on seeing this as kind of an adventure, let's see if I like it. And, you know, after, you know, going through all the training, I learned about the world of, you know, federal acquisition and specifically acquisition for what it means to buy things for the Navy and for the army. And specifically, I was working on, you know, purchasing training systems and things that would help.
our sailors and Marines come home and be safe and learn how to do their jobs well. So, you know, there was a lot to, you know, feel good about the job. And I ended up staying in that career field for a long time, moving from the contracting piece to supporting the small business program at the command. And so, you know, that's...
I mean, there's a lot behind that story even. But I always, from that time, meeting the small businesses and just hearing their inspirational stories, you know, of, you know, hey, I started a business two years ago and it's, you know, just me and my little family and we've grown this business. We've got employees. We're doing great things for the war fighter. Just really made me feel good about what I was doing, especially in a job that can sometimes feel a little
bureaucratic, know, overly process oriented. So that was a kind of a fun part of the career journey.
Betsy Jordyn (09:07.426)
Yeah, you're one of those unique people who found inspiration in the middle of the contracting process. Like, wow, look at what these people are doing. Right. So what seemed like was a safe opportunity really moved into more of a calling for you. Like, that was something that you really enjoyed doing and that you're really passionate about helping these small businesses succeed and the ones who really do want to thrive in this industry. Like, that became a passion for you. So that's interesting. Yeah.
Leslie Faircloth (09:34.9)
Yeah, it really did. After spending so many years negotiating with the really large contractors, because I had multi-million dollar programs, you start to learn like, gosh, they've got such high overheads they're so slow to respond and they take forever to get the proposal to me. And then they really want to dig in during the negotiations and they don't really want to give. But then the experience working with a small business is
is night and day. They're responsive, they care, they're willing to go above and beyond and you can tell the difference. They have that commitment. I love the underdog.
Betsy Jordyn (10:21.976)
That's what definitely seems like that was a theme too. But also like they had a personal stake in it. Like the bigger companies, was like somebody maybe assigned within the company who wasn't, it wasn't that personal. Like either they won the business or they didn't win the business. It wasn't gonna make or break their lives as a personal level. But with your clients or the, well now they're your clients, but the people you were supporting on the other side, they did make a difference. Huge difference. Yeah.
Leslie Faircloth (10:47.618)
Yeah, big difference. One of the first small contractors that I helped when I was just, was an interim small business director for the army for a few months while they stood up their own office. And that's where I really started to get my feet wet and understand a little bit more about like...
I don't know, the person behind the small business, because I was encouraged to meet with the businesses and hear what kind of problems they were having, what they were struggling with, with government contracts. you know, so I got to know one company president and CEO in particular, you we just met for lunch. I learned a little bit about his company.
You know, he stayed in touch with me just to check in and say, hey, here's what's happening. This is what's new. You know, he was never salesy, but he would always just check in. So I never forgot, right? He stayed top of mind. And then towards the end of the fiscal year, which you don't know anything about government contracting, that's when all the contracting officers are trying to put money on contract before it goes poof, right?
So it gets really busy towards the end of the fiscal year. And sometimes you're just looking for that like easy button solution. And this company came to mind because I had a colleague who said, gosh, you know, I really need some, you know, the small courseware piece updated. And do you know any XYZ companies that can do this? And I go, yeah, actually I do. And it sounds like as right up as Ali. So.
He got a contract award out of it and then he grew his business to a multimillion dollar firm and got wildly successful. And I mean, we still know each other, still talk to each other to this day. And that was probably 20 years ago.
Betsy Jordyn (12:41.422)
Wow. So when you have those successes, did you think like, really want to continue doing that within the context of like the Navy or did you think I want to start my own business? Like when did it start moving from I like doing it in this context to I want to be on the other side?
Leslie Faircloth (13:01.152)
my gosh, it took me forever to come to the realization that I wanted to start my own company. I would say I started my federal career kind of with the mindset of if this works out, I'm going to retire doing it. And that was still my mindset up until January of last year. So that was, you know, 28, almost 28 years into my federal career when I finally made the decision.
But when I realized how much I love working with small businesses was when I was that interim director for the army program. And I was really just, I had just gotten my contracting officer like certification. had a team, you know, I was like, Ooh, I had just gotten that. So I didn't feel like I had really finished the experience that I needed to. So I didn't go after that job as a.
as a permanent thing, but it always stayed in the back of my mind, like, I would like to revisit that small business director job should one come available in the future because, gosh, that really felt good. But I still had more to learn on the contracting side, which definitely served me well later in the career and even today. So even though I learned that specifically serving the underdogs, the small businesses in the defense market,
felt really good to me. I leaned into it as a civil servant because I never even considered that I would leave. Gosh, why would I, right? But it took so several, several years after I had become the director for the Navy small business program. I loved it. I grew the program. I just made so many amazing connections and, you know, eventually it was time for me to do something different, right?
we had the administration change, which put a lot of pressure on small businesses. especially those that are working with DOD. there was, a lot of cuts to the federal workforce, a lot of uncertainty in the federal career for the first time ever, really. So I was not feeling that. And I really thought, you know, maybe this is a sign that I.
Leslie Faircloth (15:18.914)
you know, maybe I've toyed with this idea in the back of my head of starting my own consulting business, but I always kind of shoved it away. But I thought, no, this is a time where I'm, I'm giving, I've got a window of opportunity and it's time for me to open it. And at that point, I just decided to take the leap because they were offering me basically an early retirement to head out of the government. So I said, great.
That's what I'm going to do. And I went all in on my solopreneur consulting business last March.
Betsy Jordyn (15:55.532)
So it's interesting for a lot of us, like we might've had a dream of like, it would be fun to have my own business, but it's usually until like the universe like plops it in your hand and say, would you like an early retirement? And it's like, if I'm going to do it, this is the best way. so it sounds like at the beginning though, like, so it's like you were in your business, but you just like, you kind of got started. So you got clients, you put up a website, you know, so talk to me about those early.
early months and what was it that made you decide to sign up for the Impacted Income Accelerator that you did last fall? So you started in March and think the accelerator started in October or September?
Leslie Faircloth (16:36.204)
October, yeah, So yeah, October or September. Okay, yeah, yeah. So when I decided to take the early retirement, I knew that, okay, I'm gonna have to do something other than just take the early retirement because clearly it wasn't a full retirement. So it's not enough for me to live the way I wanna live. So I knew I needed to go all in on my consulting business. So I had a couple of months to kind of lay some,
groundwork and figure out how do I, where do I even begin? Like what do I do? You know? So I started looking at resources available on the internet and you know reading books about consulting success and one of the things that I you know love to do is listen to podcasts. You know for whatever it is that I'm planning in my life. You know I planned a trip to Greece.
And I used a lot of podcasts to help inform my decisions on where to go and what to do. So naturally I thought, well, gosh, there's gotta be so much expertise and information out there. What kind of podcasts are on this consulting topic? And I came across your podcast and I started listening to, I don't know, a few of the early episodes. And I thought, man, that's...
Betsy Jordyn (17:56.184)
See, sounds like she's really.
Leslie Faircloth (17:57.102)
speaking to me, like the things that you were saying, the way you were framing it up really made sense. And it was inspiring. So I was just consuming so much information, like I said, books, podcasts. And so I put together a business plan and I started making some initial contact saying, I'm not ready to start working yet, but I'm just, I'm just doing some discovery calls. We're just going to talk about what it is that I think I might do, what might, because I had so many
Betsy Jordyn (18:22.69)
you need.
Leslie Faircloth (18:25.87)
points of contact from leaving my job where I had such a public facing presence. So I already had a lot of individuals who had reached out to me saying, hey, we heard you're retiring. What are you doing? We want to work with you, which is awesome, right? So I needed to figure out, okay, well, what does this look like consulting? Am I going to like it? What is my day to day going to look like? What are my clients going to be like? How am I going to help them?
And then of course you start to have that kind of panic of, my gosh, what did I just do? You know, now can go out and find clients and figure out how to work with them. And it just seems a bit overwhelming. So I thought, okay, I'm just going to start. We'll see what happens. And I tried to approach it from, I've talked about this before, from a beginner's mind, because it was new.
I've never been an entrepreneur, I've always been an employee. So I knew that was going to be a huge mental shift and having to go out and find clients versus them always coming to you, like was what was happening internally. That's a huge mindset shift, right? Making your own schedule, figuring out what it is you want to do. I just left room for trial and error and to be able to try some things out, see how they feel, and then take some time to reflect back.
So a few months in, you know, I'd listened to enough podcasts and I'd had enough client engagements at that point where I thought, okay, I seem to be attracting some of the right clients. And then some of the clients that I'm getting are really just wanting me to like execute these tasks. And I feel like I'm working for a boss and I'm doing things that I don't really love to do. So maybe I need to get clearer on like,
how I'm attracting the clients that I'm attracting. And that's basically around the time when you offered your income and impact accelerator. And I thought, oh, this is perfect. I've been listening to Betsy for like seven months. I need to just join this. And I think I'm gonna get a lot out of it. I don't know. I just loved your advice. So I thought it was a great opportunity. So I hopped in and just thought, let's see what I learn.
Betsy Jordyn (20:46.798)
It's so interesting, it's like when I launched the Impact Income Accelerator, I was thinking like, okay, this is gonna fill a specific gap in my overall suite of services. Like I have my brand positioning and messaging that I do, and then we have the offers and the website. And it's like, but the way that you land clients is make or break. But it's interesting that people signed up for the group coaching around that part was still about the initial, like, who's my ideal client? How do I speak to them?
So I'm like, okay, I'll probably go back to, need to get clarity on that strategic foundation. And so like, it wasn't very quick into it where you realize like, I really want to build that. And I think as we got into the work, like, well, this makes sense, because you're wired as a strategist, even as you just talked about, like, I listened to these podcasts, like, I work on a business plan, like having a strategy was very important to you. Like, what is it about?
Leslie Faircloth (21:38.187)
Yeah
Betsy Jordyn (21:41.908)
the need. So there were some of it is I need a strategy to attract my clients. But then it's like, even though you had a website, like why was it important for you to level up the entire thing like the get clarity on the plan plus your way the way that you were using your messaging and your website? Like why did you need to have the whole kit and kaboodles, you know, figured out?
Leslie Faircloth (22:03.374)
Yeah, yeah, because, you know, it's kind of like when I, when I joined the accelerator group, you know, we were working through some things that kept having me to go back and go, oh, we need to talk to our ideal client. Well, who is my ideal client? And then I would read it and I would go, is it? Gosh, I don't know. And then what do I do for the ideal client? Well, and I would list things. I'm like, but is that what I do? Gosh, is that what, you know, so I wasn't finding the right
words to put around the work that I was doing. And apparently I had done a very bad job of putting words around it for most of my career because no one in my family or in my friend group could explain what the heck it was that I did for a living. They were like, I don't know, government contracts for the Navy. They, she helps small businesses. I don't know. Right. So I definitely had a messaging problem and you know,
I just realized that I wanted to move away from that as much as possible, that like hourly rate exchange of, okay, you know, I'm going to work on this thing for two hours and then I'm going to charge you this hourly rate. Because that just didn't seem to really fit right. I mean, I'm trying to do something more than that. And I was really having a hard time putting a value around what I really wanted to help my clients do. And before I could put value around it,
I needed to have the right words around it. So that was all of it. mean, the words were wrong for so long.
Betsy Jordyn (23:41.294)
It was really getting clarity on who you wanted to help, making sure you're having the right people, and then the right messaging. know, like just getting those right words. Like then, like those were the sticking points and you needed to get that kind of figured out. And then the rest of it kind of hugged.
Leslie Faircloth (23:56.078)
100 % yes.
Betsy Jordyn (23:58.446)
So let's talk about the process of getting that clarity in what you do, confidence in your message. Like, what would you say was the easiest part of the process? Like, what part of it was the most fun for you and the most validating? Unless you say, like, Betsy, your process is overwhelming and I hated all of it.
Leslie Faircloth (24:11.406)
What?
Leslie Faircloth (24:17.462)
No, I love that there was a process and it was a messy process, but I think it's messy on purpose, you know, because you kind of just have.
Betsy Jordyn (24:26.126)
No, I tried to take all the mess out of it. tried to take- No, no, I mean-
Leslie Faircloth (24:30.35)
I mean, as far as like just getting all of the words out and then going, what's here? Right? Like what's in the message? Like I've got a lot of thoughts. I just needed to put it all down. It's kind of like when you've explained how you used to have your daughters clean up their room. It's what all the things that don't belong in the middle of the room, and then we're going to start to organize it. So I needed to get everything out so that I could start to organize it. And so the...
Getting everything out was easy, right? I had so much flowing, but the organization and figuring out where everything belonged could definitely be, I think, the most challenging part of the process, especially when it comes to, okay, well, you know, what value I brought, you know, what are my goals, what are the goals of my client? Like I really had some trouble, like really articulating the tangible goal or the tangible.
value. That was the hardest part for me.
Betsy Jordyn (25:28.674)
Which is interesting because the kind of work that you do is very clear. There is a clear outcome is I want to be able to grow my business and have these contracts fuel this. For me, in the work that kind of unlocked my clarity was when we got onto your why. And we looked at the theme and saw the underdog theme. There was a couple things that were really clear. One is labeling your strategist strength, which you just mentioned, but that why you're on the underdog.
Like once you said that, I'm like, okay, the rest of this thing is kind of like, it's like all the pieces now are falling into place. Like, yeah, so about the under, like talk to me a little bit about like when you got that clarity on the underdog and what does the underdog mean to you?
Leslie Faircloth (26:12.694)
gosh. yeah, honestly, it goes back to the fact that, you know, I started to form those more personal relationships with the small businesses that I would start to work closely with during my career. You you start to get to know about like the history of how they, you know, even started their business and some many times the individuals came from some sort of a disadvantaged background.
you know, maybe they were, you know, disabled in a military conflict or perhaps they were, you know, an underserved community, you know, somebody who didn't grow up with a lot of means. So to hear their stories and see how they would build their businesses was very inspiring. Like it's just impossible not to be inspired by them, especially when, you know,
There's so much of that career where you're spending time with the larger corporations who just seem to be motivated by shareholder capitalism. being able to actually serve a company or a business owner that owns his own company or her own company where they're supporting their family and they're supporting their employees and their community, it just...
It just has so much more value to me than feeding the beast, the big bigs, you know? So that's really where the desire and the excitement to supporting the underdog comes from.
Betsy Jordyn (27:51.104)
And it's a bigger theme in your life. Like, it's not just, you know, like there's a thematic element that it's like, yeah, I'm motivated here, but like, you've always been that person who liked the underdogs and cheered for the underdogs. And then just like bringing that thread all the way through. Like, I did see a difference. Like, I think that when we got to the underdog, like the work that we were doing was like not quite as just intellectual. Like, it was more like, like, I want to really dig in. Like, what do they really want?
You and you tacked on it really well. It's like, they want to live the American dream by building this small business that allows them to serve America's military and, you know, but also provide for their employees in their home and their families. And, you know, there was like a depth to the work that you were doing because of that moment, I feel like. Maybe I'm just putting words in your mouth.
Leslie Faircloth (28:40.242)
No, I totally agree. And I think that is what really helped me to see more clearly their goals and understand what my role in helping them achieve those goals really is, which helped me get clearer on how I provide value. Because I know you remember early in the, when we started working together, I kept saying, well, you know, I can get them connected to the right people or I can advise them on things. And you're like, no, no, no, that's not the goal. You know?
So I think going through that process and uncovering that underdog theme and really leaning into that is what helped me get clear on the whole thing. And it's almost like as soon as we got there, the rest of it just kind of rolled and ta-da, the website's up. It felt like it went really fast there after we got clear.
Betsy Jordyn (29:33.206)
And I think it's like, it's a little bit of a pivot of like looking at the solution as instead of the end, it's just the means to a bigger end. Like, yeah, you're going to provide them the advice, you're going to provide them the guidance, you're going to do all of that. But the real goal is that they get to land these big contracts that fuel their immediate goals and their long-term, like propel their company to whole new level because of what they were able to achieve. And I think it was just like, we popped up to that level.
but the heart behind it, like you could still, like we could have made it generic of saying, we help small businesses grow their business. But I think because the passion got really brought into it is like, no, we're gonna help these underdogs compete against the big dogs, like the ones that really just are in it, like as you said, for the money, and they're not responsive, like they are taking it for granted, but these small business owners, it seems like in your experience, they weren't taking it for granted. So it was like, yeah.
Like now I really wanna get out there. I wanna help these people. Like let's do this, let's do this. And then it's like, done, done,
Leslie Faircloth (30:38.134)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. It was like that light bulb moment.
Betsy Jordyn (30:44.248)
What would you say is the most challenging or surprising part of really digging in and working through your brand strategy and your messaging or your website?
Leslie Faircloth (30:54.444)
You know, gosh. I, I mean, the messaging to me just did not immediately come naturally. So that was a little hard and I'm still, still, that's still a work in progress, which is okay. Right. We're all work in progress. So I think still just finding the right words is, still the most, elusive part of the process, but I'm getting better at it with your help, of course.
Betsy Jordyn (31:22.904)
Yeah, but I wasn't good at it when I started. Like I remember, especially when I made the move from the B2B consulting business to the B2C work, like working with consultants individually. remember I was working with somebody who was helping me on like these pipelines that I was doing for like different webinars. And she was like really direct, like she's like, you're messaging Betsy, like I don't get it. I'm like, what's wrong with my messaging? You know, and I got really curious, like what's up with.
Because I'm really good with putting thoughts into words. But it's not just putting thoughts into words. It's putting thoughts in a certain way of conveying words. Like writing copy and doing brand messaging is not the same as me being able to put an agenda together for a group of executives or putting even a blog post together. It's just a whole different thing. So if you're saying it's a work in progress and I'm helping you, I'm like, well, I didn't know how to do that right off the bat either.
Like it's a different thing. It's something you have to learn and master.
Leslie Faircloth (32:23.212)
Yeah, I mean, back to that beginner's mind. It's always a good thing to keep in mind is, okay, you know, this is something I'm learning. I haven't done it before, so I'm going to make mistakes and I need to probably seek some more counsel. And that's how you improve.
Betsy Jordyn (32:41.378)
Yeah, that is how you improve. And it's like you just have to keep trying. But what's interesting too, let's talk a little bit about your website because there was a lot of foundational elements that we kept with your website. So you had photos that you had before, so we kept that. There was a logo concept that you had and we kept that. And we kept iterations of the color palette that you were working with. But we changed things in a very substantial way. So what would you say is the from to?
of what your website was like before and what would you say your website is like now?
Leslie Faircloth (33:15.598)
my gosh, you know, it was so funny when I did my original DIY website, I was very proud of it. But when you compare them, it's like night and day. my gosh. mean, honestly, I think the folks who have seen it and their reactions really say it all because they also saw my before and of course they were very supportive. Like, it's great. It's great. But they would still sometimes go, so what is it that you do?
but now with the new website, mean, the words that folks have used to describe it as, well, my gosh, it looks so elevated and compelling. There's actual, you know, quotes from real people with real faces. Like I know who they are. It has so much credibility. And, I think it was, I think it was, Sarah from our group who said, my gosh, I don't even need your services, but I want to book a call with you.
that's great. So, yeah, so it was, I mean, night and day, it just looks so much more polished and professional and really way more representative of like how I really want to put my best foot forward with my clients and really see them succeed. It just, it looks like success on my website and that's what I want to convey, you know? So I love it. I just love it. It's great.
Betsy Jordyn (34:47.625)
And it's interesting is that a lot of times, even if you are DIYing something, like there could be good elements in there. It's just like repackaging it in a different way. know, so it's not like everything that you did beforehand was totally off, but it's like, again, this is like new to you. So it's like understanding how to write copy, you know, for the content blocks and how the blocks fit and how to make the most of your pictures. Because we didn't change your pictures. Your pictures were your picture, right?
Leslie Faircloth (35:12.814)
Yeah, that was a stroke of luck getting those.
Betsy Jordyn (35:16.532)
no, no, we it was not. It was a stroke of luck that we've that you got that photographer. But if you were that photographer, it is not a stroke of luck because she's a genius. So yeah, for those listening and you're a woman over 40 tomorrow night is a an oveto is is the one you must get her.
Leslie Faircloth (35:35.574)
Yes, you must. She's amazing. Amazing. I'm so glad that I found her and I didn't even know. So I didn't even know we were going to redo my website. You know, I was anyway blown away.
Betsy Jordyn (35:50.296)
So let's talk about, like now that you've gone down the DIY path, like so I kind of call that like the accidental success path, you know, like, or it's kind of like relying on chance path. Like you've gone down that path, but now you're here, you know, so you're still getting clients in a similar kind of way. What's the difference between the two? Like if somebody is, you know, just starting out or they're in a similar place that you were, or even where you are right now, what would you say is the difference between
This is how I felt and this is how it was and this is where I'm at now and this is what it's like for me.
Leslie Faircloth (36:25.806)
So when I first started to get clients, which I mean, it came rather easily. again, that was, think, just because I had so much visibility. So lucky me. But also in the back of my mind, I went, well, you know, that's not going to last forever. Like at some point I'm going to start to trail off and I'm going to have to start to power my pipeline in some other way. And so.
I was thinking about, how do I do that? I need to be more intentional. So moving into this new chapter, that's part of it. So now it's much more intentional about how am I attracting the ideal client? Instead of just saying, well, I'm gonna rely on my network and the word of mouth, which I had a great start with that, but it's just not sustainable over the long term.
So now today, you know, having a plan for, you know, becoming leaning more into thought leadership and writing blogs and, you know, creating content that's actually valuable for the clients is much more, it's much more important. It's much more meaningful. It's more sustainable. And my engagements with the clients are now becoming much more strategic.
Just I put myself in that mindset and now this is kind of what I'm giving off, you know? Whereas before it was like, well, you know, what do need me to do? Right? What can I help you with? Instead now it's, okay, let's sit down and get clear on your goals and let's outline a strategy to get there. So it's a complete shift in, in, you know, the focus of how I'm working with the clients too.
Betsy Jordyn (38:19.704)
So the impact and income accelerator did play a good role, at least on the landing clients, but still you had to have those foundations in place in order to show up this way. And I think that's part of the project is you could still have all kinds of sales skills. Like you had a sales marketing background, sales background. You could have amazing sales skills, but unless you have like some of that behind you, you may not show up in that, let me take charge of this process. Let me...
Let me guide you because I want to be your advisor. I want to be your strategist. I want to be your guide through this process, which is what you said earlier is like, understood my role in the process. Before you didn't really, you weren't clear on your role. It sounds like you were more like, oh, I'll be a service provider. Like now, no, like I'm a partner to you. I'm going to come along, guide you.
Leslie Faircloth (39:05.646)
100 % absolutely yes, you're spot on. you know, just again, getting clear on the foundation was really what it needed because I, know, the income and impact accelerator, yes, that was helpful, but I was like, okay, I'm still struggling. I'm not clear somewhere. There's a crack in the foundation. We need to fill it so that I can continue to build.
Betsy Jordyn (39:28.78)
And it's interesting, it's like working through some of your testimonials, is that your value proposition is super powerful and super clear. Like I landed this multimillion dollar contract as a result of working with you. And it was interesting looking at your testimonials, like you sort of buried the headline, you know, where it's like, even like if you think about like when people look at recommendations, we think like, people should be like raving about how great I am or like how helpful my guidance is rather than like, but the real story is like,
I landed a multimillion dollar contract that might've been out of reach because I work with you. Right. Now we're talking about like, my gosh, like if you're talking about charging for your value, like, well, what would that be worth? If you really got, if you really built into like your sense of power around this, there's a lot of ways that you can go. Once we get you on.
do the ROI, do the ROI certification on your programs, you know, that you'll be able to see like, they're gonna get like this level ROI as a result of working with you.
Leslie Faircloth (40:34.766)
Yeah, exactly. And I think before I didn't really have the, I wouldn't say the confidence. I feel like I have confidence, but I didn't love the idea of trying to sell people. didn't want to sell things or, you know, market myself. think, so I kind of shied away from, I think, recognizing the real value of what my
guidance can actually do for a client. So getting really clear on that and having you go through that motion of, okay, you got to go ask for some testimonials. I know you've got some. And where normally I would not have gone and asked for any feedback, it was really very amazing to see the feedback I got. And I went, all right, I really am making a difference. Dang, I need to give myself credit.
So we sometimes play small because we're trying to be, think, what's the word? I don't know, but it just didn't feel right. And I needed to reframe, that's all. Reframing my thinking.
Betsy Jordyn (41:49.528)
Well, it's like we want to be humble. We want to be of service. I think that the thing is that when you get really clear on the ideal client, you are of service by being clear to them and making it clear what the value is. think that I talked about it on JB's podcast. So JB Adams and I did a podcast on trust. And I gave my whole big spiel about how happy I was with my skin cancer surgeon and how much I got trust because their brand messages were clear.
And it's like, I think on the other end, I don't think we realize like what kind of service that actually is to be clear. Like this is the value that I'm creating. know, not to use weird, vague jargony phrases that, know, like how I used to do it. I think when I was a consultant, wonder, let's see, let me think if I think of all of the different iterations of my value proposition is the one that comes to mind is like, I help ignite leadership and organizational potential. Like what the heck does that mean?
Leslie Faircloth (42:49.591)
my gosh, yes.
Betsy Jordyn (42:50.542)
And I was really proud of that one. But it meant something to me, because it's Ignite. My business name was Accelera. So I'm at Catalyst, and I'm going to Ignite it. It doesn't mean anything. It would have been a lot easier to say, I empower leaders of growing hospitality organizations by getting the senior executives on the same page on the common, something along those lines. That's a whole lot more clear than I Ignite leadership and organizational potential.
Leslie Faircloth (43:20.552)
Right, right, exactly. But you know, you hear it so often though, it's like somebody just has a tagline instead of really communicating really what it is that they do.
Betsy Jordyn (43:34.722)
Yeah, and then, so it's like that clarity leads to the other clarity of like, well, this is how we partner together. This is the value that's on the table. You can choose to work with me or not, but I'm gonna be really clear of like, these are your choices and this is what you can do.
Leslie Faircloth (43:50.062)
Yeah, exactly. Once you have the right words.
Betsy Jordyn (43:54.508)
You know, but some people might say like, you know, that's cool for you that you needed to work on your website and stuff like that. I don't need to do that. I'll just get on LinkedIn and I'm just gonna create content. Like, so you wanna be a thought leader. What would you say to someone to say, I don't need a website. I'll just get up on LinkedIn and just start creating content.
Leslie Faircloth (44:10.616)
mean, they can do that. Is that really how they want to position themselves? Because, you know, when I think about, you know, okay, let's just say folks in my industry, and I had gone to so many websites in my career, and I would occasionally come across a company and they're like, we don't have our website up, or they had a website and it was like, it looked terrible.
But there's several consultants in the business who, I mean, they're successful, but they don't even have a website or they have a website that's like really, really outdated. And it just, it leaves an impression. That's not the kind of first impression that I want because nowadays, you know, where's the first place you go to look up information about a person or a company. You're going to go to their website probably first.
Yeah, I'm going to go check out on LinkedIn, but that's going to be probably second, third. We're going look for your website first. And if I come across a website that is out of date or poorly done, I'm like, next, you know, when I'm talking about like shopping for things for myself or, you know, researching things for myself, that's not well done. I'm moving on to the next one because it shows that, you know, at least it leaves the impression that you don't.
hear about the quality or what your presence looks like to potential clients. So I think that's important to portray really what it is you're the message you're trying to get across. Everything needs to be in that package.
Betsy Jordyn (45:45.686)
It's almost like if I wanted to go to a restaurant that wants to charge me like top tier prices, but then it's like the bathrooms are a mess. The dining room is outdated, unattractive. Like you wouldn't pay that kind of money. Everything conveys something. Do you feel...
Do you feel more confident to go out and market yourself now? Like you only had your website launched for a week. Like how has that impacted your, like even your confidence to put yourself out there?
Leslie Faircloth (46:20.536)
I mean, I am so excited to put an announcement out on LinkedIn, which I haven't done yet, just because I've been, hey, busy with clients, which is a great problem to have. But I am like so ready to put that message out there and just like generate more excitement. I can't wait. So, I mean, it really just, motivates me to want to do it because I'm enjoying it. Like I'm excited to finally reveal like,
Hey, this is really what I do. know some people have been unclear about it for years. So now let's get clear. I'm excited. Here I am.
Betsy Jordyn (46:58.414)
I love that. I'm excited. Here I am. Welcome world. Yeah, I'm ready for you. Oh, people are listening and saying, okay, you've talked on our website so much, Betsy, can you please just ask her for the URL? What is the URL so I can check it out? Could you?
Leslie Faircloth (47:13.062)
share your experience. Yeah yeah super easy. Leslie Faircloth Consulting dot com.
Betsy Jordyn (47:20.962)
So for those who might, might, might be listening that know people and that are small businesses and diverse small business owners who want to work with the defense industry and land contracts, why get just in a nutshell, why are you the best person for them? Why are you the best person to help them win against those established big dogs?
Leslie Faircloth (47:44.694)
because I've been inside those offices, you know, and I know the processes. I understand the policy, the politics and just how difficult it can be to break down those walls and really understand like how do I move forward? It's, I mean, that it takes folks so long to even map out a path. And even then they...
often will go down the wrong path. So, you I can help save a lot of headaches and just misunderstandings and wrong turns. in turn, you know, you're gonna not miss opportunities, you're going to move faster, you're gonna see growth in a better way. You may get there on your own in time, but
You know, it's hard. It's a difficult road to navigate. And I've been on the inside and I can help you navigate, strategize and plan to win.
Betsy Jordyn (48:56.546)
You made your mama proud. That show about the messaging and articulating the value. Like, that was so good. You, like, hit all the value words. And I think that you hit the nail on the head about what the value and the value proposition is. Like, you just did such a beautiful job. Because it is true that they're on the journey on their own, but you just perfectly described what the value is that you're bringing to the table.
They're gonna get to that goal faster. They're gonna save time and money. They're gonna have, they're gonna not have all of those missteps along the way and all the frustrations. That is so good. And I love, I love that you're really claiming. Like that did flow out of you in the beginning and I love that you're claiming that I have all the insider knowledge. Like I know all the people, I've been on the other side. And that's a huge value add.
Leslie Faircloth (49:46.454)
Yeah, yeah, I was the person that was, you know, crafting the, hey, here's how we can do it guys. If we can just, you know, get everybody to coalesce around this idea, we can make things happen. And I love doing that for my clients.
Betsy Jordyn (50:04.174)
Awesome. Well, I'm going to make sure that we have, if you are listening on the podcast, this will not be an easy thing for you, but if you head on over to listen to this episode on my blog, I will make sure that we have a side by side of the before and the after. So you can see Leslie's, her business makeover.
Is there anything else that you want to share about your journey into consulting business ownership, about the strategic path and why that is important? And I'm just not asking you the right questions.
Leslie Faircloth (50:41.782)
I think the one thing that I would share is, you know, listen to that voice that's inside you because I had that little voice speaking to me for several years before I decided to take the step to start my own business. And I would, I would just squash that voice and, I don't think I should have, I should have listened. I should have tuned in. that's.
That's my advice to the listeners. know, if you've got that voice in the back of your head saying, I wish I, what if I, you know, why not? Honestly, just you, I look back and I say, I have no regrets. And so hopefully others can take some inspiration from that.
Betsy Jordyn (51:31.264)
And I think your dog in the background is agreeing with you very wholeheartedly. He's like, huzzah, that's right, huzzah. Yes, yes. But I think your experience played itself out. It's like, from my experience in working with consultants and all these consultants and coaches all these years and myself included in that is that there's always like in the heroic journey, there's a call to adventure and the heroes always say no at first.
But then the universe doesn't really just ignore it. Like the call is gonna come back, you know, and it's gonna be like something like what happened with you is like, here you go, early retirement. And I think it was all the perfect timing. Like I think you got, you had the perfect timing. And I think in terms of your beginner's mind perspective that you shared, I think it would be that kind of thing. It's like when you hear that little voice, just get curious about it. It may not be the right time, you know, but you don't have to be like,
No, like I'm not entertaining this at all or I'm just gonna squelch it. It's like, let me give that room. Let me explore this, you know, you know, then invalidate it. And you're absolutely perfect fit for what you do. Like you're a perfect fit. You're so easy in some ways to get through this work because it's like, this just feels so natural, feels so right.
Leslie Faircloth (52:49.238)
Yeah, and I hope that that's how my clients feel. I'm pretty sure they do because they detail me. So, you know, I do really put my heart into it.
Betsy Jordyn (53:00.398)
And you could put your heart into anything that even if it seems like it's like contracting and, you know, navigating that process, like it seems dry, but it's not because it really has like real people on the other side. So yeah, like be excited about it.
Leslie Faircloth (53:16.302)
Yeah, I know it's such a weird thing to get excited about, but when I can, you know, kind of sit down and nerd out and pull all the pieces of the puzzle together and then take that and create this picture for my client to go, here's how I'm gonna help you get from here to here and just lay it all out. And then they go, oh my gosh, it's so much clearer now I know what to do. You know, it's...
I don't know. I get a lot of satisfaction in doing that. So it's fun.
Betsy Jordyn (53:48.632)
Full circle, so as we wrap this up, it feels like it's a full circle around like you being strategic allows you to be more strategic with your clients and that's a lot of what they need. If they're in the similar place where they're like you were, like I've never done this consulting business stuff, so I have this unknown, your ability to be strategic yourself allows you to pay it forward to your clients where you could offer them the strategic roadmap to where they need to go.
Leslie Faircloth (54:16.738)
Yeah, I love that. You summed it up perfectly.
Betsy Jordyn (54:20.962)
Well, thank you so much for being on the show. Loved every minute working with you. If you are resonating with Leslie, definitely check out her stuff. If you need help getting on your strategic path where you're consulting or coaching business build, love to help you. It is a really powerful process to go from here to there. But at the same time, what I love about this conversation, just the oozing confidence, the grounded confidence that you have because we have this foundation underneath you.
So that is wonderful. Thank you all so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed the show, please go ahead and rate and review it so more people can find the show forwarded to other people who are aspiring or seasoned or anywhere in the journey in consulting, coaching, business, ownership. until next time, thank you all so much for listening.
