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The tears streamed down my face.

I was tired. Worn out. Depleted. Completely spent.

But here… right before my eyes… was someone who understood.

Who “got it.”

The 80-hours weeks.

The ceaseless battles.

The measurement of the value of my life in 6-minute increments.

The unrelenting pressure to bill a bazillion hours a year.

The unreasonable demands of the courts.

The emails, text messages, notifications, and alerts.

The never ending flood of paper.

The deadlines.

Waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat… panicked that a statute of limitations had passed.

This woman who would become my coach and guide… she “got it.”

She had walked the path.

Like me, she’d come out of an Ivy law school, filled with hope and optimism. 

Like me, she went to “The Big Firm.”

Like me, she became a trial lawyer.

In this small book I held in my hands, she shared her feelings of hopelessness.

Her fatigue.

Her despair.

Oh… the despair. (For her, thoughts of ending her life.)

I’d purchased the little book because I was despairing.

Just the day before, I’d walked into my beautiful hermetically sealed office on the 18th floor of a brand new building overlooking the river.

A Saturday.

Yet another Saturday.

(The days, the Saturdays, the Sundays, the weekdays, the holidays, they all ran together.)

Yet another brief.

Yet another deadline.

(But thank god, at least I’d make my target billables that month, I’d thought).

I’d looked out across the piles of papers and books piled on my desk… out at the sun rising over the river… and I felt my legs buckle beneath me… beneath the weight of my heavy heart.

I asked – out loud – into my empty office… “Is this how it will be for the next 30 years?”

And I knew in that instant… that it couldn’t be…. It couldn’t be… it couldn’t possibly be this.

There needed to be a better way. 

A better way to use my gifts; my talents… my love of helping others.

There had to be something different… a way out.

But all I could see were the prison bars.

The sunk costs.

Because… now… I had a mortgage, and kids… and a mountain of student debt.

Now, I had “responsibilities.”

I just couldn’t see an escape.

I couldn’t imagine it.

And I had no guide.

Before I found that little book.

And there she was.

Like me, she’d invested so much in her career path.

In her education.

In her internships.

In the interviews and the bar prep.

And now… she’d made it!

She’d made her parents happy.

She had the nice things.

The nice car.

And… now… she was “important.”

Respected by others.

Looked up to.

Significant.

“Successful.”

Except… not in the place where it mattered most… in her heart.

That bone cold Sunday afternoon in February, tucked under a blanket near the fire, with the little book, changed everything for me.

Nearly 30 years have passed.

I can remember back across the decades.. Sunday nights… feeling anxious and depressed about the week ahead. 

Now I find myself a bit sad on Fridays… knowing that the week is over.

Because now… now…  I so love the work I get to do. 

I help mid-career professionals (and more than a few of them are lawyers) create the work and the lives they really love.

Now, I am blessed to be the guide.

It would be a privilege to be yours.

Can we schedule a call?

But…

You’re not really sure what a consultant actually is… or does.

Or whether you qualify.

Or whether it’s even a good idea to be one.

And… if it is a good idea, how to become one.

Well you’re in the right place.

So let’s dig in.

What Is A Consultant?

Consultants provide expert opinions, analysis, and recommendations to organizations or individuals, based on their own expertise.

Like a coach, a consultant stands outside the game and is able to bring a fresh – and objective – perspective to whatever problems or challenges the organization or individual is having.

A consultant identifies and assesses these problems or challenges; then maps out the solutions.

Sometimes a consultant will then provide follow-up training and/or help implement the solutions.

What Does It Take To Become A Consultant?

Consultants solve problems.

If you’re able to solve a problem or specific set of problems for an organization or another individual, then you’ve got the fundamental ingredient.

Consultants usually – but not always – have advanced degrees.

And… a track record… some experience that demonstrates their expertise and value.

To be a successful consultant, you need to have:

• A high level of emotional intelligence.
• Good communication skills. You need to be able to listen well, and articulate your recommendations in a way that is focused and clear.
• Good people skills. You need to be able to work with a range of client personalities, and navigate potential political pitfalls within organizations. 
• An understanding of how to leverage and effect change.

Certification is not required.

The ability to grow a business is.

What Backgrounds Do Successful Consultants Have?

Consultants come from many different backgrounds such as:

• Law
• Accounting
• Wealth Management
• Allied Health
• Education
• Hospitality
• Entertainment
• IT
• HR
• Banking
• Construction

Their experiences are wide-ranging. For example:

• Business
• Home schooling
• Restaurant Opening and Re-Opening 
• Crafts
• Bread Making
• Wine Making
• Interviewing For A Job
• Working Remotely
• Event Management (Live and Virtual)
• Wellness
• Fitness (Live and Virtual)

One’s “day job” may or may not be the springboard for a new consultancy… It’s possible to take an interest or passion that has been pure avocation and build it into a successful business.

And, somewhat counterintuitively, the narrower the area of interest/specialty, the faster the traction and growth a new consultant will see.

Examples Of Folks Who Have Made The Move

These are just a few of the amazing people we have been privileged to work with:

Mike Mackniak, J.D.

From lawyer to a consultant helping families who have kids with mental illness.

Joe Perrone

From the automotive world to a consultant helping busy professionals beat burnout.

Tom Garcia

From chiropractor to shaman and spiritual advisor.

Pam Drzweicki

From insurance admin to a consultant helping professional women manage their time. 

Carl Ficks, J.D.

From lawyer to consultant helping busy professionals get back in the wellness game.

Jon Corteen

From wealth manager to consultant helping companies with organizational culture.

Maria Gronovsky

From patent lawyer to writing consultant.

Can You Make Money As A Consultant? 

Yes.

A lot.

Consulting is an $819.79 billion dollar global industry. 

With the pent up economic demand, the need for consultants will grow exponentially.

There is extraordinary opportunity.

And what you’ve been making in your job or professional career is not, in any way, a cap on your potential earnings.

Consultants can and do enjoy six-, seven- and eight-figure incomes, often far outstripping what they had been making in their “day jobs.”

This is not hyperbole. 

Not only that, but consultants can create business models such as train-the-trainer, licensing (as well as passively delivered programs and products) that will forever free them from the time for money trade.

What Are The Risks Associated With Becoming A Consultant?

Contrary to the noise one hears on the Internet, there are no “overnight successes.” Building a consulting business takes time and a dirty four-letter word… WORK.

Pivoting from a career or job may feel uncomfortable and unsettling.

For many, building a consultancy will mean stepping into the digital marketing world for the first time, learning new skills… and learning to do business in a whole new way.

It’s not for the faint of heart.

But with the right roadmap, the risks are minimal.

Initial infrastructure costs are low.

And it’s not necessary to quit the day job to begin (unless of course one wants to).

What Are The Benefits Of Becoming A Consultant? 

As a consultant, you are in control of your work life.

You enjoy:

• Time freedom
• Location freedom
• Financial freedom

You can work where you want, when you want, if you want.

With access to the Internet, you can be anywhere in the world.

Oh… and there’s your piece of that multi-billion dollar pie.

What Do I Need To Do To Grow A Successful Consulting Business?

You need entrepreneurial and business building skills.

Business success is not a matter of birthright or happenstance.

It’s not reserved for the lucky few.

There is a recipe, a roadmap, that is proven and reliable.

The roadmap includes:

• Business Modeling and Foundations
• Messaging
• Value Proposition
• Platform Building
• Expert Positioning
• Social Media
• Premium Pricing
• Sales Conversations That Close
• Online Products & Programs
• Webinars/Workshops/Product Launches
• Tools, Templates, Contracts, Agreements, Resources
• Marketing, Promotions, and Advertising

It’s the roadmap we teach in The Consultant’s Success Formula®.

The Consultants Success Formula® 

The Consultants Success Formula® is the most comprehensive business building system on the market. 

Our students are lawyers, advisors, accountants, health care providers, hospitality professionals, bankers, educators, consultants, and coaches, just to name a few. They want to create an exciting and deeply satisfying next chapter without risking what they’ve already achieved. Some want a bigger impact; some want to grow their incomes exponentially. Most want more time and more freedom. 

We help them create consultancies that give them the work and the life they love.

If you’ve read this far, you’re ready for the next step.

Let’s have a call.

Go HERE to set it up.

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About Walt Hampton, J.D., Founder of The Consultants Success Formula®

Walt is an executive coach, business management consultant and leadership trainer. He speaks to audiences around the world on sustainable peak performance.    

He is the best-selling author of Journeys on the Edge: Living a Life That Matters, named a Top 10 Non-Fiction Book and a two-time recipient of the North American Book Awards; as well as the author of The Power Principles of Time Mastery: Do Less, Make More, Have Fun.        

A 1984 graduate of The Cornell Law School, Walt was managing partner of a law firm for nearly 25 years with a practice focused on commercial litigation and criminal defense before pivoting into consulting and coaching. He was trained as an Elite Level Results Coach by Robbins Research International. 

Walt’s passions are high-altitude mountaineering, ultra-distance running, blue-water sailing & adventure photography.