What Is Consulting?

While consultants and advisors both offer expert advice, their approach and engagement differ significantly. Advising is about long-term, strategic guidance to help your business grow sustainably.

Consulting is how strategy turns into something real. 

It’s what happens after you have clarity on your near-term plan and your long-term plan. A consultant in a working session with two people from the client team. When the ideas and insights are shaped into deliverables, frameworks, models, messaging, systems, workflows, or plans… consulting is scoped specifically to what’s needed. It is not ongoing, and it should never create a dependency. 

Good consulting doesn’t just hand you templated outputs or fill your inbox with advice you don’t have time to implement. It works with you to apply what’s been clarified, actively build what’s missing together, and solve for what’s stuck. This is where you’ll learn while you work with the consultant. You don’t have to take the time to become an SME but you learn enough to lead, and you walk away with tools you’ll know how to use.

Depending on the consultant and the project, consulting might include:

• Audits & diagnostic evaluations

• Development of ICP & implementation support

• A roadmap and workback schedule to help you plan and manage

• Messaging frameworks, brand articulation, and brand guides/content examples

• Hiring models, role clarity, and operational workflows

• Website architecture & copy

• Product design or service model development

• Strategic visual guides or content systems

There’s so much more than this because consulting is defined by the work, not just the category. But these are areas I’m experienced in and can speak to. 

In my practice, consulting happens after advising (never instead of it). It’s only worth doing if we already know what’s needed, and how to make it make sense. By advising first, even if only for a few sessions, this helps me get to know you and your business and it helps you get to know me and how I work. Together with deeper information and context, we can properly scope any consulting you need. In my experience, this is what ensures that any consulting deliverables are actually usable for you and your team. 

From my perspective, consulting should not be independent execution. When consulting is collaborative, dynamic, and always aligned with what you’re really building… you learn while we build the solution you need. Saving time and future frustrations. 

How to Get Started with Business Advising

If you’re curious about my consulting support, please know we have to begin with advising. This is after trying many different approaches that skipped advising and seeing repeatedly that beginning with advising leads to consistent success. 

My advising begins with one session per week. Scheduling will depend on what fits you. It’s important to consider whether you need some structured momentum to start the week, mid-week support, or an end of week session to recap how things went as you think of where you’re headed.

See my pricing here or schedule a quick hello to ask questions and see if my support is right for you. 

I hope this info is helpful as you look at resources to support as you grow your business. I care deeply about finding alignment, so if I’m not the right fit I will happily share recommendations after we chat! 

And remember, pressure is not something you should feel when you are making this decision. It’s wonderful to look into getting support as you balance all that’s on your plate. Only you know what is right for you! Take your time in exploring your options.