SO YOU WANT TO BE A CONSULTANT

 At least once a month, I get a call from someone, asking me if they can pick my brain about consulting.  Usually, it’s someone who has recently lost his or her job and wants to consult until they find their next full time gig.  Sometimes it is someone who feels done with the whole office thing and wants to do something else.  Occasionally, it is either a recent college grad or someone looking to move from the for-profit sector and thinks—with no actual basis to support those thoughts—that they would be a great consultant to nonprofits.

I love what I do, and I am always happy to share what I’ve learned over the past 13 years, so I say yes to a call or a video chat. Pre-COVID, I was willing to meet for coffee or lunch, if they were willing to come to my neighborhood.  I have to say I was always surprised at how often someone thought I should drive to where they are located so they can ask me all about how they can compete with me!

Seriously, those who have good skills and know what they are talking about, I encourage to consider consulting.  Those who don’t, I don’t.

If we were having coffee or a chat, what would I tell you?

First off, figure out if you want a practice, a business, or be on staff of someone else’s business.  I knew, after 40 years of being management, I never, ever wanted to manage staff again.  I work alone, with great colleagues who I refer and who refer me, and who we bounce off walls together.  But I’ve twice tried bringing someone else into my practice, and that is never happening again.  You, however, may love the idea of a large team or building a big firm.  Just be clear what you are doing.

Clarity about what kind of a consultant you are is also important.  When someone tells me that they are a “nonprofit consultant,” and can “do it all,” I figure they can do nothing.  Or do nothing well.  The last half of my staff years—10 of them—were spent either as an Executive Director or running advancement departments .  I was responsible for fundraising, government relations, communications, marketing and public relations. I also managed the nonprofit board and, in several of my positions, the elected trustees of my college. What I did best was individual fund and board development, and that’s what I put forward as the things I do.

I do get hired to do other things:  help with hiring; manage a communications project; work with an organization develop a community relations strategy; write copy; develop a blueprint for getting grants, strategic and succession planning.  But my area of expertise is individual fundraising and helping board members better understand their roles and responsibilities. That is the core of my practice and everything comes from that vantage point. 

Whatever you do best or like the most, that must be the core of your practice.

Once you know what you are offering, you must figure out how you are going to get clients.  For me, I knew I needed to position myself so that I could be in front of those who might hire me (or have the ear of those who could) and show myself to be an expert in my field.  For the first five years, I did pro bono trainings or presentations every single place I could.  Typically, I did two or more a month.  I went anywhere and everywhere and spoke to anyone who might work at or with a nonprofit. 

I still do trainings, but maybe one every other month, and I’m pretty picky about who I say yes to.  But without the opportunity to be out there, I wouldn’t have built the practice I did.