It’s been a minute since I last sat down to write.

When I started a consulting practice three years ago, I spent a lot of time managing the downside. How would I find clients? What if I couldn’t find enough work? I would imagine these questions are somewhat common for solo practitioners like me. 

The result: Solo consultants often say yes to almost everything. 

I was not prepared to manage the upside. At the end of last year, having said yes to a couple surprise engagements, I found myself under water. I said yes too many times. This was particularly difficult when I was running two significant discovery processes that overlapped for two months. The work quality remained consistent - I care deeply about excellence in my work - but my life got much more challenging.

Through last fall, I had developed a solid rhythm. I got to spend two days a week with my adorable son and three days working. The three days became insufficient. Work filled nights, weekends, and nap times.

Recently my life has discovered a new equilibrium. Work has returned to reasonable levels and additional childcare has been secured. When reflecting on this challenging six months, a few important lessons emerged:

1. Workload is not just about the number of engagements, it’s also about specific stages in those engagements. In the future, I’ll work to avoid managing multiple discovery processes at the same time. Discovery processes are especially intense, involving focus groups, individual interviews, and lots of scheduling.
   

2. Partnership can add tremendously to an individual’s capacity. Inspired by a friend’s approach, I’ve started growing an “extended family,” a group of people I can pull into engagements when their expertise is needed.
   

3. I’m still far more nervous about managing the downside, but I’m definitely grateful to be back to having some dedicated time with my son, though it’s less than it was before.

4. I will have to, occasionally, say no (and have already).

Hopefully I’ll get back to posting a bit more often about my learnings. Of course, I’m also excited to share about some of the incredible clients I’ve had the opportunity to serve. And, with increased capacity and knowledge, I’m excited to hear about additional opportunities to support impactful organizations with strategic planning, financial resilience, board development, or retreat facilitation.