The Ugly Side of Consulting at Companies Worldwide

For most of this year, I’ve talked to you and taken you on my journey as I’ve traveled the world as a paid consultant. I started this year consulting in the U.S. and then spent two months on a six-country European consulting tour. As we speak, I’m in Asia on a five-country consulting tour. I have 32 paid consulting gigs booked in 32 countries this year. 

I’ve shown you a lot of the benefits of paid consulting at companies. My goal was to open your eyes and show you what’s possible. Most of what we see is Internet market, online business, and all the fads that pop up in that space. I want to show you that you can take the skills and knowledge you have around your core message and train companies all over the world. 

When I started my lifestyle business journey, I promised myself I would always be honest and show you the full picture–the good and the bad. Since I’ve shown you the good this year, I wanted to talk about the hard parts of being a paid consultant. Let’s get into it. 

Deals Fall Apart (A lot)

Life would be great if everything always worked out as planned but that’s not reality. There are times when it looks like you’re going to sign a killer consulting deal and one hiccup ruins the deal and the company walks away. If you follow me on Facebook, I shared how I walked away from a consulting deal in Russia because we couldn’t agree on all the terms–it burns. 

As you start your consulting journey, know that you’ll sign some game-changing deals, and others will have you walking away scratching your head. It’s not the end of the world. Acknowledge your feelings and tell yourself a different internal story. Realize there will be more opportunities if you get back up and keep going. 

It Can Be Incredibly Lonely 

This is one of the hardest parts about traveling the world as a consultant. You can work out deals where your love interest and/or family comes with you, but most consulting gigs you’ll be traveling alone. You’ll spend a lot of time on planes, in Airbnb’s, and eating at restaurants ALONE! 

All that time alone can be great for productivity but it gets to you after awhile. You miss people you know. You miss kissing on your special someone. There are ways to get around this like going out and meeting people but the struggle will be real. That loneliness can have your mind in a difficult place. That mindset might steer you into making bad decisions. 

It’s best to meet new friends and be social. You can even connect with some people from the company that hired you. Don’t spend most of your time alone in a room letting your mind run wild. 

Rejection Happens Often 

Whether it’s the contracts, terms, travel-related issues, or 100 other things, there is often rejection in paid consulting. You can pitch companies and be outright ignored or they might respond and reject you. You can try to upsell your high-end coaching and/or products and services at a company and they could say NO. Your presentation can fall apart because of technical issues or a misunderstanding of the employees. There are several stages where rejection can and does happen. Don’t let it derail you. It happens but you can overcome it and thrive despite it.

It Takes A lot of Your Energy 

It’s not easy to stand up and teach a company full of employees your topic in an in-depth way. Consulting presentations are detail/data driven–it’s not motivational like speaking at a conference. The presentation itself can take a lot of energy and then there’s the time after when managers and employees want to shake your hand and talk to you. You are the “consultant” and everyone will want a piece of you.

You also find yourself in a situation at times when the company or a manager at the company wants to pump you for more information and training. You’ve made a deal but once they have you there in person, they will try to get as much information and content from you as possible. You have to be firm, set clear boundaries, and only give what you’re comfortable giving.

These are a few of the harder parts of traveling the world as a paid consultant. I don’t want you to think it’s nothing but a glamorous life because just like anything else, some parts/days suck. You take the good with the bad and you do your best to create freedom. Paid consulting is a great way to earn an income and experience the world. Take a look at some of my other posts to see what’s possible and get a complete picture.

Are you working on booking consulting at companies? 

If you’ve followed my journey over the last five years, you’ve seen me go from doing small, local $500-$2K consulting gigs to traveling to 30+ countries a year training some of the largest companies in the world.

If we’ve just connected, you’ve seen how consulting at companies has transformed my lifestyle business this year as I’ve crisscrossed the globe for some amazing opportunities and experiences. I’m currently in Asia on a five-country consulting tour.

Companies all over the world would hire you to consult their employees and/or department heads on a wide variety of topics. You can charge fees in the $10K to $50K range per two to four-hour training. You can get all of your travel expenses covered, book high-end coaching, and license all of your online courses at a premium. Companies pay based off of value–not time. And, I would guess there are consultants who charge even more than what I have been charging companies.