Description

Struggling with overcoming consulting fears and building consistent consultant income? This episode reveals how Justine Lemanowicz transformed from a fearful employee into a thriving fractional CFO with a referral-based consulting business in just two years.

What You'll Learn

In this candid conversation, Justine shares the exact strategies that helped her overcome the fear of self-employed consultant income uncertainty and build a profitable practice that relies entirely on consulting business referrals. If you're a self-employed consultant dealing with feast-or-famine cycles, this episode provides actionable insights for creating stability.

Why This Episode Matters for Self-Employed Consultants

This episode directly addresses the biggest challenges facing self-employed consultants: overcoming consulting fears, building consistent consultant income, and creating reliable consulting business referrals. Justine's practical approach to relationship building and her strategic method for conquering fear provide a roadmap for consultants struggling with inconsistent revenue.

Key Takeaways

Overcoming Fear and Starting Your Practice

• The "worst-case scenario" method for overcoming consulting fears (4:06)
• Why talking to 25+ people before starting eliminated uncertainty (3:15)
• How having 6 months of expenses saved creates confidence (4:29)

Building a Referral-Based Business

• Why consulting business referrals eliminate competition (5:20)
• The relationship-building approach that generates consistent self-employed consultant income (6:41)
• Networking strategies that create long-term referral partners (7:11)

Managing Client Relationships and Scope

• Handling scope creep while maintaining relationships (13:19)
• The "do the right thing" approach to client service (12:24)
• Building goodwill that leads to future consulting business referrals (14:48)

Expanding Your Services

• Adding AI automation advisory to traditional CFO services (16:01)
• Why adaptability is crucial for self-employed consultant success (25:42)
• Preparing for different marketing approaches with new services (26:24)

Episode Timestamps

• 00:22 - Justine's path to self-employment and overcoming consulting fears
• 03:15 - The research process: talking to 25+ people before starting
• 04:29 - Financial preparation: why 6 months of expenses matters
• 05:20 - Building a referral-based consulting business
• 07:11 - Networking strategies for self-employed consultants
• 10:48 - Learning from the first fixed-price project mistake
• 13:19 - Managing scope creep and client relationships
• 15:13 - Rebranding and adding AI automation services
• 22:24 - Two years in business: lessons learned
• 27:55 - Advice for aspiring fractional CFOs
• 30:30 - Rapid-fire questions and final insights

Resources Mentioned

• The importance of market research before starting
• Building 6 months of expense reserves
• AI automation tools for finance and accounting
• Networking as the primary marketing strategy

Guest Bio

Justine Lemanowicz is a fractional CFO who helps small to mid-market companies turn their businesses around. After 10 years of planning and two years of operation, she has built a thriving referral-based consulting business that focuses on distressed companies needing financial guidance. She's also expanding into AI automation advisory services, helping companies identify and implement technology solutions for their financial processes.

Connect with Justine Lemanowicz on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/justinelem/