Betsy Jordyn (00:00.514)
Hey, it's Betsy. Before we begin, I wanna share something personal, you know, and I wanna talk about why I'm so passionate about building your business and brand around your ideal clients, not just because they make us happier, not because they're more profitable, but most importantly, because they lead to lasting and meaningful relationships. So when I was a consulting business owner, I worked with lots of different types of organizations, and my favorite was Wyndham Vacation Ownership. Some of it is because the industry, it was like Disney and it felt so much like home.
but it was the people who worked at Wyndham that meant so much to me. A lot of them became private clients when they started their own consulting or coaching business, but some of them became treasured friends like my friend Julie McPherson. So after Julie left Wyndham to do her own thing, she and I would spend hours and hours having deep talks about purpose and calling and the world of spirit and soul, which she made the transition to last Thursday after a long battle with cancer.
And I am so grateful to have known Julie and I only knew her because of my business. And I am so grateful for everyone like Sarah King who brought me into Wyndham and gave me a chance to meet this amazing person. So before I begin my show, I wanna encourage you to pursue clients who are your people, who you love and who love you too, because loving your business starts with loving your clients.
And so everything I do with this podcast is a labor of love for the clients that I love. You the people who are aspiring new and seasoned purpose-driven consultants and coaches who want to change the world, you know, including their own. So I am so grateful to all of you who tuned into my show and continue to tune into my show and especially to those clients who entrusted me with their business dreams. So I just wanted to take today's episode and dedicate it to my good friend, Julie McPherson, who is
amazing human being and the world is definitely going to miss her. So enough on the deep emotional stuff. Let's get into today's show.
Betsy Jordyn (01:58.894)
For you drowning in analysis paralysis and all the directions your next level consulting or coaching business could take, we'll find out how to find clarity and all that confusion on today's Consulting Matters podcast.
And welcome to the Consulting Matters podcast. This is the show for purpose-driven transformational consultants and coaches who are ready to own the power of what they do and position themselves for the clients, the impact, the income that they're ready for. I'm your host, Betsy Jordyn, and I am both a business mentor and a brand messaging and positioning strategist. You can find out about all the things I do to help my clients turn the best of their careers into thriving consulting or coaching businesses that they and their clients love on my website at www.betsyJordyn.com.
And don't forget, Jordyn is with a Y. So let's get into what we're talking about today. So I wanna continue with the topic I started last week on the messy middle. So last week I talked about why it's such a big part of consulting and coaching in general and our business ownership. But today I wanna talk about specifically how do we find clarity around our business direction in the midst of it. So I wanna really dial into the part around how do I find clarity on what I want.
my business to look like? Where am I growing my business? So for the last several months, I've been in my own messy middle on my writing project. So I've been writing this workbook and hopefully a private podcast to help my clients get up to speed and to speed up the brand messaging and positioning process that I use with my clients. the goal was is like, okay, so if I put this workbook together, I put this podcast together, I will help my clients accelerate their ability to get through the process.
And then maybe somewhere along the way I can create something that I could help those other consultants and coaches who prefer more of a supported DIY thing. So that was the vision. But then I started really reflecting on what I talked about last week around messy middles and try to apply it to my own self around like, well, what is my messy middle? And why is it taking me so long to create this workbook? Normally I would be able to pump these things out relatively quickly.
Betsy Jordyn (04:02.238)
And after reflecting on all of this and what I shared last week, I realized I've been approaching this project all wrong in two very critical areas. The first area is I don't know why I set up speed as this goal, you because there's no one right speed set that is right for everyone to get through the brand messaging and positioning process. You know, the thing is, is that whenever we are revisiting brand messaging and positioning, it's because we're in a time of transition. All transitions aren't the same.
They're not the same size, they're not the same scope. And so I'm wondering like, well, why was I trying to get everybody through it as there was like one set time? So I've changed my goal as a result of me reflecting on my messy middle is I don't wanna do that. I just wanna reimagine my programs to provide the guidance and support that my clients need to match their speed to clarity that works for them. So if I have all of this available, you could choose your own speed.
You know, because if it's too slow for you, you know, you'll lose momentum. But if it's too fast, it's like drinking from a fire hose. And I don't wanna do that to my clients. I don't wanna have this artificial goal. My goal now is to provide the support to allow my clients to get their own speed to clarity that supports their processing style while at the same time honoring my own time and energy. So that part I got wrong. The other thing is that I started...
she realized that I've been treating clarity and business direction and brand positioning as part of one singular process. When I'm coming to realize like they really are two separate processes that tap into different parts of our brain. So instead of creating like one big workbook that addresses all of it, I'm separating them into two distinct programs. So one will definitely be all about brand positioning and messaging, which will allow me to provide more guidance around what brand positioning and messaging even is.
so that you can develop more of those strategies and skills that you need to position yourself with the clients and opportunities that you want and continue to refine your brand messaging and positioning. But then there's this other one that I'm gonna be focusing on, which I'm gonna be sharing a lot more about in today's episode, which is all around how do you get clarity on direction for your next level vision. So once I got these separated, I realized like that's a really, really important part. It's not just a step that you kind of have to get through in order to get the good stuff.
Betsy Jordyn (06:20.556)
you know, on the brand positioning and messaging, it's a really important part of the work. You know, and by separating these two, I've gotten a lot more insight into what really needs to happen when your consulting or coaching business is in that messy middle and you're trying to find that clarity of direction. So I'm gonna give you a sneak preview on what I'm gonna be working on in that separate program today on the podcast. So in today's episode, you're gonna discover.
Why in times of transition, both your brand positioning and messaging and your business vision and intentions need to be revisited. I'm gonna share with you the good news about your analysis paralysis and all the good things that it says about you. I'm also gonna share what you're doing to resolve your spin and analysis paralysis might actually be making it worse and what to do instead. And then I'm gonna give you the five steps or the five questions that you need to find your focus and craft a vision for your next level of success and impact as a consultant, coach or business owner.
So that's what we're gonna be doing in the episode. And as we go through it, if you realize like, hey, you know what, I'm in the middle of an inflection point, you I need more clarity and I don't wanna do this on my own. I would love your help, Betsy, to help me discern this. I would love to help you. And since I'm working on this other program, of course I'd love to give you extra discounts in exchange for feedback on the materials I'm creating. So that would be a win-win. So head on over to my website at betsyJordyn.com and hit that big pink button at the top and book a call with me and let's work on this together.
So now let's get into the content. Why business vision and messaging is revisited in times of transition. So I shared a little bit about this in my last episode, but I think it's worth repeating again. So if you wanna have a consulting or coaching business that expresses who you are and what you want at this stage of growth, so whether you're just getting started, building something of your own after getting by with referrals or leveling up.
you must revisit and redefine your understanding of those things. You need to redefine and revisit your understanding of who you are and what you want because those very things are changing. That's why you're at an inflection point is you're not the same. Something has changed and you need to have your business model and your business vision and your branding and messaging keep up with that. So this is definitely a piece of wisdom that I for sure have developed as a result of being in business for 20 years.
Betsy Jordyn (08:37.646)
I'm absolutely not the same person or professional I was when I first started out. If you are wondering if that's true, you could head on over to YouTube and go deep into the videos and you'll see how different I look back in that time period. And this is why I always push people to use their own names for their business name, as it's literally the most flexible container that you can use that will accommodate growth over time. Because you will change as you grow, because you're a growth-oriented person, so you're gonna grow.
and who you perceive yourself now and what you will want will change, you have to plan for that. So the phrase I like to use to describe what happens at each inflection point is that we transcend but also include what came before. So even though I'm no longer a consulting business owner, my business does support consultants and coaches, so I've transcended what I did before in terms of me actually doing consulting work or coaching work.
and I've transcended it to now I empower other consultants or coaches. I don't work with executives. I don't work with leaders anymore. I work with the people who support them. So I've transcended included what came before. You your professional identity that got you to success that you enjoyed in your previous iteration of your business, you know, whether it's still in your career and your leadership, or maybe it's an earlier version of your business, it doesn't just disappear. It transcends into something new or more elevated.
And that's why, or one of the reasons why, just going out there and getting clients isn't a sustainable strategy, is it'll keep you doing work that you've long outgrown, and it doesn't allow you or give the space to consider, like, what could a promotion look like for myself that I wanna create for my business? That I really believe that whatever business model you create at that inflection point should represent a promotion for you, should create whatever that next level is for you in your career. So.
The other thing too is what you want does evolve over time. know, who you can help can pivot and shift the types of problems you're drawn to solving can pivot and shift. And then what you want in your life for sure is you go through different life stages, pivots and shifts. And that's because you're a growth oriented person, you're a growth oriented professional. So that means you're going to be changing and that is a very good thing. So the reason why we always need to revisit your business vision, your messaging in times of transition
Betsy Jordyn (10:58.228)
is because you are somebody who wants to build a business that reflects who you are and what you want, and those things change. So I want you to ask yourself those two really hard questions, who are you and what do you want? And think about how your answers have changed from the last time you took a serious look at it. But I also wanna ask you these two questions in another way to help you start thinking about what is next for you. And I want you to answer these questions this way. Who are you becoming?
What new values and priorities are emerging? So you got that? Awesome. So let's move on to the next point, which is the good news about analysis paralysis. So if you're like the majority of my clients, you know, when we hit these inflection points in our careers and our businesses, we fall into analysis paralysis. You know, like that spin in your head, like, my God, which way do I want to go? What do I want to do? I could do this, I could do this. Well, you and I both know the experience is not a lot of fun. Let me share with you why it's actually really good news.
know, reason one is you have a lot of ideas and a lot of directions your next level can take because you have a lot to offer. You have a lot that you bring to the table. So you're not somebody who's maybe in a first career trying to figure out their first business to start because, you know, they haven't really built up this track record. You've built up multiple iterations of your track record. So you've got a lot to choose from. So that's why analysis of paralysis is actually very good news. The second reason is you're a very intentional person.
You know, wanna make the right choices for the right reasons. And reason number three is you're a head person. You're wise, you're smart. This is what makes you a great consultant or coach. Like you know how to provide that word of wisdom to people in those moments. You you don't know how to ask the right question. But if you're a head person, it means you also get stuck in your head. So that's why analysis paralysis can be challenging, but actually good news. So I'd love for you to take a moment and reflect.
if you struggle with analysis paralysis. And I know if you're listening to this, you do struggle with analysis paralysis, because that's who we are. So just nod your head along with me. But think about what is the form and shape your analysis paralysis takes. And I would love for you to just try out this idea as well, acknowledging the not fun experience of it. Can you acknowledge all the amazing things that it tells you about yourself? Can you acknowledge that when you are feeling that analysis paralysis, can you remind yourself
Betsy Jordyn (13:21.408)
of how it reflects your amazing wisdom gifts, how it reflects your ability to think things through, help people solve problems, how that reflects your intentionality and what type of person you are who has those types of values where you wanna make the right decisions for the right reasons. And could you just acknowledge that what's so difficult for you is really what's amazing is you do have a lot to offer. So that makes sense that you would have analysis paralysis.
So now let's talk about what you're doing to resolve analysis paralysis that might be making this worse. So the thing is, is that you're a great problem solver, but the problem that you're trying to figure out with your business isn't a problem that logic can solve. And so trying to put a problem solving kind of mindset onto it keeps you more in your head when the source of your answers is in your heart and it's encoded in your life. So specifically you might go out and.
do tons of research, try to figure out like, well, I could go like this, I could do that. You could ask a ton of people. You could see what other people do and imitate it or what a lot of people are doing right now because of AI is you might be thinking, my gosh, AI could solve this for me. And I get it. It feels wonderful because you can like dump a bunch of ideas in AI and all of sudden it can make sense of all of your chaos. But the thing is,
AI does not have access to where your source of truth is about what your next level business vision should be. That is your life. It can't mimic that for you. It can find a logical through line through a lot of stuff that you put together. can organize ideas, but it can't tell you what you're supposed to do. So those like 20 page binders of different ideas is actually keeping you more stuck. And so what you need to do instead is let your life speak and listen to what it has to tell you.
So nod to the ideas. You're not listening to all the ideas you have in your head, but the yearnings of your heart. It's listening to your life for the patterns you have for helping people and the patterns of people who are reaching out to you and why. It's taking a deeper look at your life story, the hard things that you've overcome, the things that you discovered through the skulls of hard knock, how they influence and drive you. And the thing is about the business that's meant for you, you don't create it, you discover it. It's within you.
Betsy Jordyn (15:40.47)
So analysis paralysis is when you're trying to think your way through rather than connect and give space for who you are and let it show up. So this phrase around let your life speak is from a book by Parker Palmer who says one of my favorite quotes that I use all the time when I work with my clients in this part of the process. And he says, before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to what my life is telling me about who I am. So that is what you want to understand
is who you are. If you wanna create a business that aligns with who you are and what you want, there's no way AI has that information. Your life has that information. Your heart has that information. So it's about listening. There is a time and place for AI in the process of brand positioning and messaging that I use with my clients, but not here. Not in this sacred work where you are giving space for who you're becoming and the new values and priorities that are emerging to show up and present themselves to you.
so that you can have them in your vision and use that moving forward as a decision-making filter. So just take a moment and reflect on this. Actually, I'm not asking you to reflect on this section. I'm gonna ask you to try something as I go over the next section that we're gonna be doing in this episode. In the next section, I'll be sharing with you five questions to ask yourself to find your focus. But when I go over them, would you be willing to go old school in your approach to answering them?
So instead of working them through with chat or Claude, or developing another multi-page volume that it could produce for you that you'll have no idea what to do with it, would you be willing to write out your responses in a journal and then maybe take those responses and talk it over with a person, a human being, who could help you make sense of it as it relates to what you're trying to create in your business now. Claude, chat, they're not experts in consulting or coaching business ownership. They are not experts on what your soul is asking for.
what would it look like for you to find space for you to answer those questions with that reflective, contemplative type of mindset and then talk it over with somebody who has that discerning point of view who could help you make sense over what it is that you're trying to create now. All right, so now let's get into the five questions that I'd love for you to ask yourself to find your focus. So question number one is what are your intentions and goals for your next level of success and impact as they do change over time?
Betsy Jordyn (18:06.422)
So what was important to you before may not be just as important to you later on. So let me also clarify the difference between intentions and goals. So to me, intentions are what you want your business to create for your life, such as location independence or time freedom to be available for your kids or financial freedom or control over your career. Those types of things that you want your life experience to have.
And then goals are how you translate them into time and money type of objectives. So how much you wanna earn, how hard you work. So these are important to set and revisit at each inflection point. So what you want in your life definitely changes. So what your intentions are, are very important and they need to be used as a decision-making filter all the time. Because you could always achieve your intentions. You can't always achieve your goals, but you could always achieve your intention. But it's important to recognize that your life changes, so have to update them.
You know, my kids were two and four when I left Disney and then started my own business. They are now 22 and 24. You know, I'm in a very different life stage right now. My lifestyle has dramatically changed and my priorities have changed because I'm no longer apparent to these, you know, two small humans. And my goals have changed in terms of my finances. You know, I used to have a large five-bedroom house, like I now have a two-bedroom townhouse. So my financial picture isn't the same.
So you wanna revisit these and reset these at every inflection point because you wanna be making sure that your business is delivering on what you want in your lifestyle. And you need to make sure that you've set that first. And again, you could always achieve your intentions, not always your goals. So my encouragement is, is attach to your intentions, but hold your goals loosely. All right, question number two. What is the expertise that you have built that is relevant for the clients and opportunities that you want now?
versus what you've done in the past. So expertise is one of the most powerful, powerful parts of the process I work through with my clients. I have talked about this story many times about Denise, who when we got through the process of her identifying her expertise, her entire business vision got clear. So Denise's story is that she builds an expertise in technology. So she was a CIO and she was a CIO for schools, I think it was.
Betsy Jordyn (20:22.434)
And so that was an expertise. She knew that expertise and it was very clear to her. So when she was trying to build her business, it's like, like I, I think that there's something else that's going on here that I really want to use as the expertise for my business, but I don't really have words for it because she didn't necessarily want to start a consulting business on, technology. So we had a backup and look at her life and what Denise uncovered through this conversation on her expertise is that she actually built this other expertise around
her being a Latina woman and winding up in the C-suite, you know, in a profession that there was not a lot of people who look like her. And she had spent a lot of time on the side mentoring other diverse professionals. And so it became clear that executive development for diverse professionals in tech was the expertise that she wanted to build her business on. But I could tell you a whole bunch of other stories. You can head on over to episode 141 in my podcast and hear from Pamela.
who started off as a real estate agent that became a real estate coach and then discovered an expertise around how to help other women start and grow their own coaching businesses. So expertise is really more this broader professional field of mastery that's relevant and useful to others. So it's not like a list of skills that people can endorse you for on LinkedIn. It's not your strengths. It's this broader professional label. But what gets tricky about expertise, especially in
the context of figuring out your direction for your next business is that the expertise that got you to the place where you are today isn't likely to be the expertise that you wanna use moving forward. So this is the source of much of your analysis paralysis. It's likely that you've built an expertise that you cannot see nor have clear words for that is far more interesting, engaging, and relevant for the clients and opportunities you want now. So creating this awareness on this emerging expertise is really the game changer.
So if you don't know what your expertise is in general, like what even your background is, or if you don't really have a label for the expertise that got you to this point, it's gonna be hard to see how it's changing, but really doing that detailed work around, like here's the different type of expertise and making a strategic choice will transform so much around your clarity and much faster than you imagine it to be. Question number three, what are your best set strengths and are you finally ready to take them seriously?
Betsy Jordyn (22:47.436)
So if expertise is what you know, your strengths are how you deliver what you know. But Marcus Buckingham says, strengths are the activities that you do that you're not just good at, but you're the best at. And when you do these activities, it makes you feel strong. So this isn't about the things that you do that makes you a pleasant professional or great work habits. And it's not just about that. And it is not enough just to mind and know your strengths, but it's important to take them seriously, especially in terms of deciding what types of consulting or coaching.
products and services, you actually wanna offer your clients that leverage your best at strengths. So Katie, I mentioned on the last episode, her best at strengths is creating these engaging learning experiences. So when we started working through proposals that she had with her clients, and she could be offering like these detailed transformations with all the project management and the process leadership, she's like, I don't wanna do that. Like I'm really good on the upfront. And that is a great way to build your business, is you do what you're great at.
Like I was really good as a consultant on the front end of a consulting engagement. So was really good at helping stakeholders get aligned. I was really good at doing the upfront analysis and getting them clarity on what's going on in the organization. I was really, really good at that. But then when I moved into the second contract and the third contract where we moved into implementation, I just wasn't as effective. I didn't enjoy those contracts either. You know, I would kind of get on a roll and I liked the challenge of landing the contracts.
But then I didn't really think about like what it would cost me to work out of my zone of weakness. Like it would have been a whole lot better if I would have just maybe landed the contract and found somebody else to deliver in something that was in my weakness. So bottom line, if you want your results to be in flow, you need to stay in your zone of genius and monetize what comes naturally to you and stay away from your zone of weakness, even if it makes money, because it is gonna cost you a whole lot more later on. Question number four.
What's the passion that drives you and influences the consulting or coaching stance and in your client work, as well as the change you wish to see in the world? So if strengths are what you love, passion is actually what you hate. So there is something about the clients that you wanna work with, with the problems that they have that you're sparked to compassion and action in some way. There's something about the person that you're meant to help is that you are driven and motivated. is like, you just see their problem and you're like, okay, that can't be. I wanna help them in some way.
Betsy Jordyn (25:09.344)
And then it's also your passion is related to those things that tick you off about what other consultants and coaches do that you just know is wrong. Like your passion is those things that bring you energy. Like the word passion comes from the Latin, it related to the passion of the Christ, the suffering of the Christ. So passion is your why, and it's not just like, I love this more, I love consulting or coaching, I love helping people. Like that's your strengths. Your passion is what needs to change in the world.
you know, that I wanna be a part of, you know, what changes for my clients, what changes in the world at large. And the thing is about your why is it might change over time, but it definitely gets more refined the longer you're in business because you learn more and you see more. So the heart of your business and the heart of your brand is the person that you're meant to serve and the problems you help them solve and the change that you ignite in them that they could not get on their own. So that's question number four, question number five.
What's your commitment level to this vision and direction? So in other words, how committed you are to your vision and how well you manage fear and self-doubt defines the business that you'll actually create. So as you go through the questions that I just provided for you, how committed are you to this vision? When you're done answering those questions, ask yourself on a scale of one to 10, where 10 is I am all in. I will do whatever it takes to move forward, even when fear is present.
and I will learn what I need to learn. I will do the tasks that's needed to bring this vision to life. And one is, I got a backup plan. I got plan B, I got plan C. You know, if you're any lower than a 10, I want you to figure out what's holding you back. Maybe it's logical. Like maybe you do need to do some market validation first. Or maybe it's resistance to this really rebellious idea that I put forth on my website is you actually can make money, make a difference doing the consulting or coaching you love. You know, maybe there's just like this.
hesitation, this fear like, I don't think I could do it. I need to have my plan B and C, because it's not logical. It's almost like too amazing to a picture that I could actually do that. So those are the five questions. So let's do a quick recap of what we talked about today. Number one, we talked about why we need to revisit and reinterpret who we are and what we want at inflection points, because bottom line, we've changed. Over time, we changed. So who we are and what we want,
Betsy Jordyn (27:28.66)
is not the same, it's not static, it evolves over time. And therefore, when it comes to your business vision, it's going to evolve over time. Analysis paralysis about what direction you want your next level business to take is actually a sign of your true consulting or coaching gift and all that you bring to the table. So don't make it worse by doing things that keep you in your head versus in your heart and listening to the wisdom that is in your heart about what your life is telling you about what your next level of success and impact should look like.
So use my five questions to help you find clarity through the messy middle. And of course, if you need help, I'm only a Discover meeting away. Use my calendar on my website, book a call, and let's chat. And that is it for today. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe now so you don't miss an episode. And definitely rate and review it. It would mean a lot to me, and it will help me get more listeners. And until next time, thanks so much for listening.
