PICA Member Spotlights

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

 

Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us your consulting specialty?

A: My name is Tiffany Putland and my business is Smart Start Solutions. I focus on creating structure and sustainability for food and pet food companies.

I operate as a Fractional COO for small companies.  For larger companies, I am more focused on identifying gaps in their business and implementing processes that improve their bottom line and allow for growth of their organization.

 

Q: That’s an interesting niche. How did you select that?

A: I worked in food and pet food for over fifteen years during my corporate career.  

 

Q: How long have you been independent?

A: Two and a half years.

 

Q: Why did you decide you needed to leave corporate America and become an independent consultant?

A: So, twofold. First, I wanted to help companies benefit from the same tools and resources that larger companies have. I also wanted to help small businesses scale more efficiently and to know what’s ahead so I can help them be prepared.” You don't know what you don't know”, and I want to be able to give them some of that insight before they get too far down the road and it gets too chaotic. The second reason was simply to get more joy out of life, to feel like I'm adding value again, not only professionally, but also personally.

 

Q: A lot of people want to do the things you just mentioned, but the hard part is getting started. What was one of the first things you did when you decided to make the leap to solopreneurship?

A: I talked to a lot of people that had just gone through what I was going through.  I found out how they succeeded, what tools they used, their biggest words of wisdom, and anything else they would share with me. Then I networked like crazy. I filled up my schedule with networking!

Q: I always tell people to make a post on LinkedIn about your new business, but you were smart and took it a step further. You also reached out to 20 people and asked that they comment or share the post.

A: Yes, and I continue to do that anytime I launch something big. I did that when I launched my website this year, just to try and get as much awareness as possible out of it.

 

Q: Awareness is the key, it’s the number one thing! To be successful as an independent consultant you have to let people know that you’re available and how you can help.

A: Yes! LinkedIn is a powerful tool if you use it the right way.

 

Q: How many times a week do you post on LinkedIn?

A: At least twice. Sometimes I post three times a week, but I've kind of gone down to twice now. Once a week I post a video which I think has been really powerful. It was one of those things I did not want to do. I don’t like looking at myself on screen, but I had so many people say that videos get so many more views. So I thought, ‘Ok, let’s do it’. I have had so many people say something to me about it, whether it's feedback or, “Hey, your videos look great” or “Way to go stepping out and doing it." Whatever it is, I know people are looking at them. And that's the main objective.

 

Q: How long are your videos? 

A: One minute.  Otherwise, it will be too long and people likely won’t watch them.

 

Q: What is an example of a one-minute video topic? 

A: A few weeks ago, the topic was SKU rationalization. I compared it to cleaning out your closet and things that are taking up space, just like inventory. That post got a lot of attention. I believe it was due to the analogy resonating with people. The goal is to have a catchy line in the post so people want to watch it.  It makes me so happy when people comment that the information I shared was valuable to them.

 

Q: How do you record these? 

A: I bought a video cam, but I've been just recording them from my iPhone. I want them to be authentic, I don't want it to be super staged, I want people to see me. I think that's another powerful thing on LinkedIn is for people to really see you as a person and not just an article or something that they can't relate to you.

 

Q: Part of being self-employed is that you have to push your boundaries and do things you’re not used to doing. What’s another significant challenge you’ve had to overcome since being on your own?

A: Determining where I really add value. When I left corporate, I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn't know if there was going to be a fit or if I could find the right clients. So starting out, I took any kind of project that came along. I subcontracted projects, which I highly recommend especially when you're starting out. I learned some different things through that and really discovered what I'm good at doing. It's funny how you forget about some things you did in your professional life years ago.  Then when a project comes up, the knowledge comes back to you. So there are a lot of things I learned through the journey in my first two years. I was reminded what I'm passionate about, what I enjoy doing, and what I don't like doing. It's funny because I came full circle to where I started and what I thought I wanted to do. I just landed my first ideal client doing exactly what I want to do, so I'm really hoping to now just build on that. 2024 for me is about focus. I've had a lot of people tell me from the beginning to not be too many things, that people need to remember me for exactly what I do well. Now I'm finally to that point of feeling confident that I can make a business out of exactly that instead of trying to be too many things.

 

Q: How did you win this ideal client contract?

A: My referral network.

 

Q: Is there anything special you do to foster your referral network? 

A: One of the things I did was segment my network. I have people that I reach out to personally on a more regular basis just to ask how things are going. I've created a couple of my own small networking groups. There are six of us in one of the small groups and we meet every six weeks. I started organizing monthly happy hours for another core networking group I am in. I try to touch base with the people in my network once a month. It's twofold; I want to give back, not just take, it’s important to me that it’s reciprocal. 

 

Q: What has surprised you the most about your journey so far?

A: How difficult business development is and how much time it takes. When I left the corporate world I thought I would consult for 20 hours a week and make the money I wanted to make. But I didn’t allow for the administrative work that has to be done when you own your own business. I also didn’t think about the time that is needed for the networking and referral piece, the business development piece, the looking for projects and leads piece. That’s been the biggest and hardest challenge.

Also, since I left corporate and went out on my own, I have been blown away by the generosity of people with their time, resources, and just helping each other in general. It's really given me a renewed faith in humanity.  I would say there have been 2 out of 300 people that didn't fit that description and that's amazing. I think generally people want to help other people be successful.

 

Q: I think the general rule of thumb in the consulting industry is you should be spending 20% of your time working on your business, not serving clients. In other words, working on the things you just mentioned, which ends up being about a day each week.

A: Yes, or about two hours every day, which is a lot. 

 

Q: How have you gone about making business development less of a challenge?  

A: When I started out, it was about quantity. How many people could I meet because you never know who they will introduce you to. But then you get to a point where you need to be doing more client work and not as much networking. Now I am focused on people that I really think I need to be spending time with. Who do I share the most in common with? What groups are the most productive? For example, one of the new groups I’m in is focused on women in manufacturing. I'm certain that is going to be a good group for me. Another group that I'm in is "Females in Food" which is my number one referral group. I am spending more time with specific groups and not trying to be in so many different places with so many different people. I think focus is really the key. At first it was quantity, now it’s the quality of the relationships.

It’s also really important to have a clear message about what you can do for clients. I think my first two years I was really working to define that. I don’t think I really had a clear message until the last few months.

 

Q: It sounds like you’re crushing it and have things under control. Do you still get FUD? (fear, uncertainty, doubt)

A: Yes, every day!

 

Q: In what way?

A: Because there's always that fear of what happens if I lose my client right now. I have room for two more clients. I don't have that filled, although right now I feel the most momentum since I've started. There's always that fear of what's going to happen in two months. Someone was asking me what I thought about them going into independent consulting and I said, “Yes, absolutely, but it is not for the faint of heart because it is hard.” It's harder than I thought it would be. But it's also more rewarding than I thought it would be.

 

Q: What do you do to get rid of the FUD monster when it comes around?

A: I have a long talk with myself. I think about the positive things and I think about what I haven’t tried. There has to be something else, right? Really, when it comes down to it, it's about what people in my network can I reach out to? What can I enlighten them with that's going to get their attention? Usually, that will end up with at least one or two people that say, “Hey, let’s have a discussion.” It may or may not lead to anything right away.  Often what I hear is, “Oh, I didn't know that about you”, or “I didn't know you could do that”, or something else that's positive. What I’ve found is it really just takes a couple of positive conversations and you get past that FUD.

 

Q: What advice would you have for someone who’s on the fence about jumping into self-employment?

A: What I normally tell people is there will be hills and valleys, and if you can't deal with that and you can't deal with ambiguity, this is not for you. It's not just roses and sunshine every day. That would be my number one piece of advice. I talk to a lot of people getting into consulting and there are organizations I refer them to (including PICA of course!). I can usually connect them to someone else in my network as well. But I always make it clear that they should be ready because it's not going to just be smooth all the time.

 

Q: What’s next for you and your consulting business?

A: This year is about trying to outsource some of those administrative things that I am not good at or don't like doing.  This will allow me to have more clients and add more value for clients. The other thing on my list is getting certified as a woman-owned business, as I know that that is a big value for some companies that I work with.

 

Q: How would people find out more about you and your business?

A: My website.  I'm very active on LinkedIn so you can always find me there. You can email me at Tiffany@SmartStartSolutionsinc.com.


~ ~ ~ Additional PICA Resources ~ ~ ~