PICA Member Spotlights

Q&A with independent consultants who successfully “made the leap” and created the consulting career of their dreams

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Q: The name of your business is interesting and memorable. How did you come up with “Redhead Momentum”?

A: When my fiance and I were talking about what to name my business, I used the example of SurveyMonkey because it’s much more memorable than if it was just survey.com. I also didn't want to just call it Jolene Clark Consulting. I wanted to name it something that was the essence of the work and sometimes just getting started in the right direction is a challenge for people. I wanted to add something onto the word Momentum and my husband said, "Well, you're always saying how you and all your redhead friends are sassy. What about Redhead Momentum?" So Redhead Momentum stuck. I like to think I'm the redhead that everyone needs in their life.

Q: Why did you go independent?

A: I wanted to expand my reach and challenge myself, and it actually fit in the theme that I had discovered within my career. Anytime I took my next position or I moved to another company, it was always because I felt like I had done what I had needed to do for myself, at that company or in that position, and I wanted to try doing it somewhere else. I knew I could do what I was currently doing well and be successful in a company, but could I do it in other companies? Is it a repeatable process? And could I add additional challenges onto that? So that's one of the reasons I wanted to go independent, as well as somewhat managing my own time and money.

Q: How did you actually make the leap?

A: It was a little bit cold turkey. I spent 18 years of my career in the learning and development and leadership development space in progressive roles for major companies and really loved it. But with each new challenge I took on, it still felt like something was missing, like that next challenge or that next level of calculated risks. So at the point that I actually made the leap I had been thinking about it for two years and I didn't know when or exactly how it was going to happen. I'd been in a job that wasn't aligning with me for about six months and decided that maybe that was the sign ~ it was the right time. And I wanted to build my own offerings based on all the things I had done in my career that I loved doing and was successful doing, and that's what I thought I would start out doing as a consultant. I knew I could provide value, I just needed to figure out how to package it.

Q: So how did you figure out how to package your expertise and services?

A: Well, I am still refining my offerings, but getting in and working with clients was number one. Sometimes people come to me and say, "I want to start my own consulting practice. What would be your advice?" And before anything - before I say getting a website or a LinkedIn page or other things, you want/need to start getting clients first. Sit down and understand what are the one or two things that you can do to provide value to people and how are you going to price it. That's what I did. In a good way I would say it was a little bit of trial and error to see what landed and what didn't, and I continue to review and refine from there to continue providing value and being relevant to my clients.

Q: How did you go about setting your prices or figuring that out?

A: I had a three-pronged approach. One, I did the math and said, "Okay, if this is what I'm making right now working for a company, let's actually do the math and use the formula." Because there is a formula for how much you need to actually be charging in order to equate when you're leaving as a full time employee of a company, taking into consideration total compensation, so salary, benefits, paid time off, etc.. I looked at that and I researched what other people were charging along the spectrum based on their experience. Then I set my prices on that continuum. I checked to see whether or not they were competitive, whether or not my clients had questions or seemed to bite, and just went from there and adjusted them as needed.

Q: What do you like the most about being self-employed?

A: I really love being a thought partner with my clients. While I have held that role as an employee, there's a different essence or energy when you’re brought on as a consultant. And the variety of the work. I love things not being set in stone, only to the degree of maybe the statement of work from the project standpoint, but otherwise being able to leverage my talents, skills, and interests in different areas.

Q: What's next for Redhead Momentum?

A: I have big exciting news starting in January. I'm finalizing plans to go back to school for my second master’s degree. This time I'll be focusing on counseling with the goal to expand my coaching practice into an actual counseling private practice. I'm energized and jazzed by learning and connecting with people, so it feels natural extension of my current work. I'm going to focus on individuals and small communities that are brought together by major changes in their life, whether it be at work, at home, or in society, and to connect them in that space.

Q:  Of course you've had to do a variety of things to build your business over the last five years. Can you share one or two things you had to figure out and how you did it?

A: I would say one thing that I have not yet completely figured out is closing the gap of time between clients. When I talk to other consultants, that seems to be something they find challenging as well. I do my best work for clients when I can be fully immersed in their business and project, so typically that means I take on one full-time client at a time, sometimes upwards of 18 months. So in addition to personal life, it can leave little time for networking or business development. Because I naturally love to connect with other people, I use that passion and energy to just be really intentional of connecting with people and not in a matter of numbers, but in a matter of people that resonate with me, my business and how we can create value for each other in our connection. 

Q: If people want to learn more about you or your business or to pick your brain about what you've learned, what would be the best way to get in touch with you?

A: Connect with me directly on LinkedIn or through my website at redheadmomentum.com.

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If any of Jolene’s comments resonate with you, check out these PICA events: