Episode 161 – How to Overcome Discouragement as a Consulting Business Owner

Don’t rely on landing a new client to overcome periods of discouragement in your consulting business. Feeling discouraged is a normal part of owning a consulting business, and instead of dismissing those feelings, normalize them and build a protocol to reset your mindset.

In this episode, Melisa lays out a five-part process to combat feelings of discouragement in your consulting business. This formula isn’t just a theoretical concept; it’s a practical guide that encourages purposeful shifts in your mindset, provides actionable steps to divert from negative thoughts, and helps you develop a personalized protocol to address discouragement. 

Melisa uses real-life examples and offers practical suggestions, ensuring that you can swiftly implement each of the five steps in your business. 

Discouragement is a self-feeding machine. Allowing these feelings to go unchecked is detrimental to your growth and success. This episode is a comprehensive guide for consultants to navigate and overcome feelings of discouragement, empowering them to stay resilient and focused on their business goals.

KEY POINTS IN THIS EPISODE:

• [00:57] Revisiting assessments from Episode 160
  • Assessment #1: Consulting Health Assessment
  • Assessment #2: The Pricing Assessment
  • Assessment #3: Service Offering Assessment
  • Assessment #4: Personal Branding Assessment
  • Assessment #5: Retainer Readiness Assessment
  • Assessment #6: Independent Consultant’s Productivity Assessment
  • Assessment #7: Independent Consultant’s Business Growth Assessment
  • Assessment #8: Consultant’s Recession Readiness Assessment
• [04:25] Why overcoming discouragement is important
• [07:08] Episode agenda
• [08:02] Companion resources
  • Chapter 16 of Grow Your Consulting Business: The 14-Step Roadmap to Make Your Independent Consulting Goals a Reality
  • Consulting Health Assessment
• [10:06] What discouragement looks like & its impact on your business
  • [14:07] What do you do about it?
• [17:38] Step 1: Do the math – What is true in your business?
• [20:45] Step 2: Normalize discouragement in your consulting business
• [22:50] Step 3: Intentionally replace discouragement with another emotion
  • [24:00] It’s not about positivity
  • [25:10] How to do it
• [27:22] Step 4: Build the skill of feeling better without needing results to make you feel better
  • [28:55] Avoid worrying about scalability
• [31:00] Step 5: Create a discouragement reversal protocol

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE —

• I invite you to book a Strategy Consultation call with Melisa. On this call, we’ll dive into your business, get clear on your goals and challenges and determine an action plan for you so that you can create the business impact, income, and flexibility that you desire. To book yours, click here. 
• Buy the book – Grow Your Consulting Business: The 14-Step Roadmap to Make Your Independent Consulting Goals a Reality
• Take the Consulting Health Assessment

FOR MORE RESOURCES SPECIFIC TO THE INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT —

1. Discuss working with me as your coach – Click here to schedule your consultation
2. Buy the book – Grow Your Consulting Business: The 14-Step Roadmap to Make Your Independent Consulting Goals a Reality
3. Watch my YouTube Podcast Channel 
4. LinkedIn 
5. Website 

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