Black Girls Consult TOO!
The Black Girls Consult Too! podcast provides a business resource for women in consulting, especially women of color, to successfully navigate a hyper-masculine, highly competitive industry. It demystifies how to start and grow a thriving consulting business by simplifying the process and helping to avoid common pitfalls that can derail even the best ideas. Each episode is crafted to dive deep into consulting practice, business strategy, mindset, and more. For more information, visit www.excelatconsulting.com/podcast.
Black Girls Consult TOO!
Episode 125: Level Up Your Consulting Practice With Systems, Routines, and Mindset
Send me a text message and get your questions answered on the podcast! I'd love to hear from you!
Feeling like your routine isn’t keeping up with your ambition? You’re not alone. In this episode of Black Girls Consult Too!, we’re diving into the challenges that come with leveling up your business while juggling everything else on your plate—launching new projects, managing client work, and keeping things from falling apart.
If you’ve ever felt stretched thin trying to grow your consultancy while balancing life’s demands, this episode is for you. We’ll explore the reality of taking on new ventures with limited resources and why sometimes the messiest moments are where the most growth happens.
So, grab your coffee, tea, or even a glass of wine 🍷 and join us for a candid, empowering conversation that’ll give you the insights and energy to keep pushing forward.
Curious to learn more? Hit play and dive in!
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For more information on how to start, grow, or scale your consulting business, visit https://excelatconsulting.com/
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Instagram: @drangelinadavis
LinkedIn: @drangelinadavis
They say, the odds are stacked against us as women, especially women of color, trying to thrive in the consulting world. But rather than wait for a seat at the table that may never come, what if we build our own tables? What if we channeled our talents into guiding each other towards the success we deserve? Welcome to the Black Girls Consulting Podcast. I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, and I've walked the path from healthcare consultant to a mentor for women like you, ambitious, unstoppable and ready to make waves in the consulting world. This podcast is your go-to spot for all things entrepreneurial consulting. For us as women, especially women of color, think of it as your weekly coffee date with a friend who's here to dish out real talk on building a solid business, elevating your thought leadership and mastering that all important mindset. And let's not forget, we're doing all of this while balancing day jobs, family life and running teams. Yes, we can do it all. So if you're ready to dive into how you can grow a thriving consultancy or get strategies and insights that actually fit your busy lifestyle, then you're in the right place. Grab your coffee, tea or, hey, even a glass of wine, I won't judge and let's get started.
Speaker 1:Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the Black Girls Console 2 podcast. I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, and you know I'm excited to just be here on the mic talking to you today. I have been building out this YouTube channel and I will tell you that it has been a steep learning curve, for sure. So if you've been tuning into the video podcast on YouTube, I am so thankful for all of your downloads and your support. So please continue to spread the word, pass it along.
Speaker 1:Those episodes are going to continue, but I wanted to take this time to just pause for a moment, because I've been learning so much along this journey, so many things that I've been learning. Really, it just applies to any new venture that we may have, especially in the process of building a business and doing so as a solo consultant, or even if you have a very small team or you're working with even maybe a VA, or maybe you have a partner that you're working with. All of these things that I'm going to talk about today are going to be things that are really pertinent to building any business where there's limited capacity or limited resources. So if you find yourself in that situation right now, then I think that you're going to really enjoy what I have to share. Now, if you're wondering what it takes to balance launching a video podcast and running a consulting business, having your audio podcast plus doing all the things on social media and serving clients, then let me just tell you it's a lot. It's a lot, but, with that being said, it's been a wonderful experience so far.
Speaker 1:I've just learned so much about myself, about what it means to grow and expand and to move in different directions, what it means to get back to this messy middle, that you felt like you left a long time ago. As you begin to build your business and things begin to smooth out, you feel as if you're trying to refine the way things are running and you want to elevate your image. And now you're feeling a little bit back at the starting point because, let's be honest, when you're starting something new, it's not going to be as polished as you would like at the start. You're going to go through a lot of ups and downs and the building process is not going to always look pretty, but it worked, and so I think that we have to keep in mind what we want to accomplish in the midst of going through these difficult periods, in this transition, and I do think that what helps navigate this process is having workflow efficiency, because when you take on anything new, you're expanding your capacity. Oh, you have to be able to expand your capacity at least, and if you're unable to do so, then you're going to become overwhelmed or you may burn out. Things definitely can fall apart very quickly. So we have to be careful about what we're taking on, how we're taking it on, and then the systems and the structure that we're creating to be able to maintain it. So today I want to share some of those lessons.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the first things that I learned in this process is that I had to create a new routine and system when I was starting the podcast on YouTube, so when I was moving to doing these video episodes, it brought on an entirely new set of tasks. Whatever reason in my mind, I was telling myself it would not be vastly different from what I do to prepare for the podcast. So when I'm preparing for the podcast, I develop my outline, I do my research, I'm pulling together all the information I want to share with you and I'm thinking about the message that I want to convey. And usually when I'm having these conversations, I feel like it's just me and you talking. We're having a sister to sister, girlfriend to girlfriend type of conversation about what's been going on in the consulting world and how we need to navigate it to build and strengthen our businesses.
Speaker 1:Well listen, doing the video scripting was not like that. It was not like that at all. The shooting, the editing, the promoting, all of that on top of running the business. It was a challenge and my old routine was not working for me anymore. I realized that I needed to come up with new routines. I needed to create a new system to really be able to accommodate the new responsibilities that I was taking on. So one of the best things that I did was just completely restructuring my schedule. I had to just change the way that I was creating content for the podcast. I no longer could rely on just having an outline available and talking off the cuff.
Speaker 1:The video podcast required a little bit more preparation. So, number one, getting through that was a challenge. Two is that an unusual finding for me was and something I didn't expect actually was that I had difficulty talking on camera, just like I'm having this conversation now and flowing and just it's really relaxed. I wasn't able to do that with the camera on, for whatever reason, my mind shifts in subconsciously, my voice changes, my energy changes, and that was difficult to overcome. And that was difficult to overcome. I did have to create new routines for myself around that that involve, for instance, using video affirmation cards or restructuring the way that I'm recording, using different tools that I felt like I could use and navigate more naturally. All of that had to change and shift. I had to really think about how I conserved my energy so I could be more excited on camera, because that doesn't translate the same way as it does via audio when you're looking at somebody on the screen.
Speaker 1:So there was so much that I had to build into number one the process and the system for just recording the episodes but then also preparing it, not just in terms of the outline but also in terms of mindset, as well as being able to show up with the level of energy necessary to convey the message. And I realized that I was not going to be able to fit that into the same routine that I had. If you notice, if you are a listener of the podcast, then there were a couple of episodes where they were stretching out to maybe every other week instead of weekly, and a lot of that was because I was having difficulty during that time just being very transparent, having difficulty staying on schedule with all of these new responsibilities that I had when it came to creating the episodes. So I had to think long and hard how can you begin to simplify this process? How can I change my routine and my structure so that things got a lot easier?
Speaker 1:Now, one of the things that I've always done is I've used project management tools. My favorite is Notion. If you have not heard me talk about Notion, I love it, absolutely love it. I have so many dashboards built out for managing my business within Notion. I love it, absolutely love it. And I have so many dashboards built out for managing my business within Notion, but then also I do use it for podcast creation and just keeping up with the workflow regards to the podcast, and so I had to lean even heavier into that dashboard, into those tools, so that I could manage and keep up with the information as I was creating it.
Speaker 1:I had to be able to manage being able to work on a particular episode over a number of days, being able to think through what it took for me to create the episodes, the mindset work that I needed to do, the scripting work that I needed to do, even the physical appearance, keeping up with what outfits I was going to wear, how my hair was going to be styled, that type of thing. All those things had to be worked in. Right now, when I'm behind a mic, you don't see my hair, you don't have to see my curls all over the place, right. But when we get on camera, we have to factor those types of things in. But that's going to be true when we take on any new project. There are going to be requirements of that project that we have not considered before and we have not made time for it. When I was thinking about taking on the YouTube podcast, I was not thinking about hair. I wasn't thinking about clothes. I wasn't thinking about how I'm going to read affirmations. None of that was part of my plan. I really had not considered that that would even be something I would give any thought or care about, but I did have to back to that end.
Speaker 1:I think that we have to show ourselves a lot of grace when we're taking on new projects and new initiatives, because there is going to be a learning curve to just figure out what it takes to carry this out day to day and then realizing that maybe the routine that we've had for a number of years, the routine that we've relied on, the routine that has worked for us, that has kept us being highly productive and high performing in the work that we do, that those routines may not be the best for our new purpose. So being able to rework those routines and to restructure them and to be open to changing the way that we're showing up day to day was huge. I know that was huge for me, and if you have been running into difficulty with something new that you have been trying to work through and facing similar challenges, then if you have been tied to a routine I want challenges. Then, if you have been tied to a routine, I want to encourage you to think about how you can revisit that routine. How can you improve it, how can you change the systems that you're using currently so that they work in your favor, so that you are able to carry out the task efficiently, but then also do so without burning yourself out or overwhelming yourself by trying to keep up with the routine that did not have this new effort, this new project, this new initiative in mind. So that's the first thing I had to change my routine, I had to change my systems.
Speaker 1:Now the second lesson that I learned is that and I mentioned this in the opening I had to get comfortable with being in the messy middle again, and I will tell you that the messy middle hit me a lot harder than I expected. I did not expect for me to feel like I was brand new at consulting again, but I'm telling you, the minute that camera came on, it was just typical. It was something very new and mentally it was just difficult. It was something very new and mentally it posed a challenge.
Speaker 1:And getting used to how you show up on camera, how succinct my message had to be, what, for instance, visually I had to look like, the mannerisms I had needed to make sure that I was mindful of or controlling, I think there's all of these little things that are difficult to learn and to put into process when you're first starting. So it begins to look a little messy, it's not going to be as polished, and that was hard for me to swallow because I had gotten to a point where I felt like I could portray myself in a quote, unquote professional manner and I felt like these imperfections, the way the videos were turning out. I felt like it wasn't as polished and perfect as I wanted it to be. Well, I had to learn to accept that. You know what Perfection is not necessary at this stage. It's not necessary ever, if I'm honest.
Speaker 1:But definitely at this stage where I'm starting out and I'm trying to get this YouTube channel off the ground and probably that will be for a number of episodes, I will tell you that my coach, when it comes to video podcasting and video in general, one thing she was sharing with me was that, listen, don't expect anything until after you've done the 50 videos. So I'm in it for the long haul. Like really thinking ahead, like, ok, I have to get all these videos done. The more videos I get done, the faster I get those videos done, the easier it's going to be for me to get to that next level where I'm able to maybe make things look a little bit better, and that gets better over time. But right now, in this stage, in this early learning stage and building stage, it's going to look messy. It's not going to be perfect and some people may look at that and judge me or judge my business by it. But what I have to do is think beyond that, and this is what we all have to do.
Speaker 1:So, if you are in the point where you're either starting your consulting business right now or you have been practicing for a while and you're trying to expand it, but maybe you're going and you're doing more speaking engagements, maybe you have a podcast of your own or you start a YouTube channel of your own, whatever it may be, when you first start it may look messier than you desire, you may feel as if it is a negative reflection on you or your business, but what I want to encourage you to think about is the growth that you're experiencing the growth that comes with starting this new journey. The growth that comes with being able to sit in that messiness and to still perform. The growth that comes with being able to sit in that messiness and to still perform. The growth that comes with being able to sell from that messiness. The growth that comes from being able to move from the messiness to the polished outcome or the result that you want to share.
Speaker 1:I think so much of this goes into really building our character for the work that we're doing with clients, because, as they navigate the process of working with us. It's going to feel this way for them, too when you're working with other businesses and other experts in the space. They're not used to being in this messy middle, they're not used to seeking out this messy middle. They're not used to seeking out this level of help and guidance. So it helps us to remember what it feels like to be in that place where you're trying to learn from others and you feel like the student again, and so, whether or not it's dealing with imperfect lighting and unscripted moments and tech glitches like I had to experience in terms of creating these videos or you walking into a situation where you're seeking out help and support to build your business and to close those gaps that you need to close, I want you to think through what's relatable about that. Think through how, either what you're experiencing is exactly what other people have experienced Even the people that you look to for help or support they're going through the same experience on some level and the clients that you're serving, how it feels to go through that experience and how you can provide that support and that comfort and that nurturing and that empathy to carry them through.
Speaker 1:You know, I think that that messy middle filling is something that can be such a blessing if we allow it to work for our good, because, see, when the real progress happens, when the change happens, there's going to be so much growth with it. It won't be pretty as you go through it right, it's part of the process, but the key is to keep moving. And if you keep moving through the process, if you keep moving through the mess, instead of trying to wait until everything is perfect which I know it's tempting to do, it's tempting to say I want to start this podcast, but I'm going to wait until I can get someone to edit all my episodes and for me to have the high level guests come on my show. I'm going to wait until I can get to that point where everybody's going to be talking about my podcast episode on my YouTube or my speaking engagement, whatever it may be. You want to wait to that point where you're able to showcase your absolute best before you start. But then I will tell you that time will never come because it requires you to go through the mess. Take it from me it's not comfortable being in the messy middle, but if you move through it, it is going to get easier and easier day by day, and you're going to feel so good when you're on the other side.
Speaker 1:I must tell you that whenever I look at some of the videos on YouTube I've created so far, there are some cringe moments that I feel are cringe worthy, but at the same time, I'm proud of myself. I'm proud because I see the evolution. I'm proud because I know what it felt like with the first video that I put out. I know what it feels like now with the most recent video I've put out. I see the change, I feel the growth, and I think that empowers you to do even more, because I will tell you if it's anything like what I've been experiencing, you'll get more people downloading, more people signing up to your email list, more inquiries about your offers, more clients, more people signing up to your email list, more inquiries about your offers, more clients, more sales. All of that comes from just being willing to be in the messiness of it all and to keep moving forward. That's what growth is all about. So I will say that if you are finding yourself in this messy middle, remember you're not alone. Number one. Number two keep going. Don't wait for things to be perfect and know that, whatever you are sharing, if you are doing your best, if you're doing it in excellence, then it is going to generate the positive feedback and the positive results that you desire Now, and the third thing that I've learned and this is the biggest lesson and this is where I wanna spend some time talking about is I had to expand my capacity to do work, because up until this point, I already had quite a bit of things on my plate.
Speaker 1:I had really more than I probably should be juggling right now if I was to be completely honest and transparent. I've been trying to think about how I can continue to streamline my business model so that I can simplify things a lot more. In the future, you may see some changes coming to some of that, but up until this point thinking about everything from the podcast to social media marketing, to email marketing, to client service just all of the things it had become a lot, and I don't work with a team right now. One of the reasons why I don't work with a team right now is because I have learned how to use artificial intelligence to my advantage.
Speaker 1:Now I do believe that having a small team can be beneficial for some people, depending upon what that team is needed to do, but if you are doing a lot of administrative tasks, I always urge clients to maximize the use of a lot of tools and AI resources before you jump to bringing on other contractors. One of the reasons is because it helps you to understand the workflow a lot better. It helps you to really focus and streamline your efforts, and then when you bring on a team, when you bring on that added help, they're doing something that really is worth the money. They're doing something that is going to move the needle instead of tying up their time doing tasks that really can be done through simpler means. So I see this as like a stepping stone, so to speak, to you being able to build a team that is highly effective and productive in the future.
Speaker 1:And so I had to lean in deeply into my knowledge of artificial intelligence, which is gone from me just vaguely knowing about what chat, gbt or cloud AI is all about, to now having very robust artificial intelligence or AI bots built into those tools that I can use to help me to do some of the basic work that I normally would have to do in the business. And so AI can make a huge difference in your ability to expand your capacity and take on new projects. For me, it's helped me to automate a lot of tasks, even things such as writing the episode outlines that I have. If I'm able to create one article and then turn that article into a podcast and social media content, et cetera, with the use of AI, instead of me trying to sit there and brainstorm every aspect of how I can break these things down, it makes it a lot easier to show up and be consistent. Using things such as Notion to walk through my workflow to make sure that I'm moving through the creation of the episodes in a very streamlined and logical way. So if I do send it off for any editing, that it can be sent off in a package that allows the editor to be able to perform that task, simply because a lot of pre-work has already been done.
Speaker 1:Doing this and building out these tools and using these other resources will help you to create the workflows and the processes needed to create a team in the future, because now you're beginning to automate things, you're beginning to create a repeatable process, a structure that's in place for you to carry out the work, if you're using tools and AI and resources for managing administrative tasks, managing emails being sent, managing the responses that you're getting from prospects, that wanna book calls, or all of these things. If they're being managed by automations, if they're being managed by these tools, that can help you navigate the process a lot easier, then you have an opportunity to do more with your time because you have the capacity. You're not bogged down with the administrative tasks that typically would take up a lot of your time. As you're thinking about how you're able to use these lessons to expand your business, I want you to start leaning a little bit more into some of these tools, whether they're tools for video editing or podcasting, or writing, posting, emailing you name it. There is a tool for everything.
Speaker 1:There's so many out there and I don't believe in having, let's say, 10, 20 different tools that you're using Now. That can cause a lot of stress, headache and confusion. But if you can have a core three to five tools that you use for specific projects within your business that you can reliably build into your workflow to simplify your process, it's going to make it a lot easier for you to get things done. It's going to make it easier for you to stay prepared. It's going to make it easier for you to be able to generate the results that you need to generate for clients, as well as all the work that you need to do to market and sell your services.
Speaker 1:There's so many out there that you can use so many different versions, but the key is just choosing those that will work best for you, getting to know and understand how to work them at a high level and then allowing those tools to serve you. Not using those tools to do the work, because if you do that, you're going to sound and look like everybody else. I'm not saying do that at all, but I'm saying taking what you've already created, what you've already been doing, and getting those tools to help you break that out and to renew and refresh that content, to renew and refresh that message, to renew and refresh that speech that you have to give. This is how you begin to take a lot of work off your plate, and the more you can do that, the more it's going to free you up to take on the work and the projects that you need in order to grow your business further and to move in a different direction. So, all in all, it has been a learning experience. It definitely has been a journey. It's been fun, but it has also been a challenge to get all these things accomplished and I'm hoping as I move forward, you'll see the episodes becoming more and more consistent on YouTube. You'll see them improving in terms of style. Thank you so much for just hanging in there with me and being a member of this community and the podcast, because I know things have been changing a little bit lately, but I really do hope that this will continue to build into something much larger, to really a movement around us as women, especially women of color, building successful consulting businesses in this space.
Speaker 1:Like I said before, build a new routine and system that works for your current season of business. Don't get stuck on the old stuff. If you need a new routine, if things have been stressing you out, trying to fit everything in like you used to, then that's a signal that things need to change. Don't be afraid of that change. Let that old routine go. Put in a new routine that works for you today, right now, in a system that works today, right now, and I promise you that's going to take a lot of stress off your plate. The second is to just embrace the messy middle. It's going to be messy. It's going to be messy when you're growing and when you're making progress. So, instead of running from it, instead of trying to avoid it, instead of thinking that it is going to somehow leave a negative impression that you can't recover from, let all that go, because the quicker you embrace the messy middle and move through it, the more growth and the more success you're going to have.
Speaker 1:And then, last but not least, use AI. That is your friend. It helps you to expand your capacity. It's going to help you automate your systems. It's going to help you get so much more done than you've been able to get done in the past. So if you focus on taking those tasks the repetitive, simple, tedious tasks off your plate and focus on what matters most, then you're going to see a explosion in your capacity. You're going to be able to do so much more because you are utilizing these tools, and these tools are going to cost you a fraction of what it would cost to hire a team or a contractor, and it's going to make your investment in the team or the contractors that you work with or you build beyond this. It's going to make that investment a much stronger one, because then you're going to be relying on them to be doing much higher level work, and it's going to be definitely worth your money and you're going to be more profitable in the long run.
Speaker 1:So you don't have to do it all yourself. You don't have to do it by stressing yourself out and burning the candle. That both ends. You just have to get smart about how you are utilizing these resources and tools that are available to you. Listen, being able to grow and streamline a consulting business isn't easy. It is hard for all of us. We have to constantly make adjustments, but we want those adjustments to be smart. We want to make sure that we're moving forward but, at the same time, we are able to keep things on track, where things are not falling apart and we are not stressing ourselves out. So I really want to encourage you this week, whether it's auditing your current workflow or trying a new tool, or just simply you letting go of the idea of perfection and taking that first step in doing something that you see to be a little bit messy. I want you to do that this week. And then I want you to DM me on social media, on Instagram or LinkedIn. I want you to send me a message and share with me how you took some step forward this week.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this episode as I break down some of the lessons I've been using as I grow out this YouTube channel. Pray for me as I continue to press forward with building it out and I hope you are going to tune in to future episodes here on the podcast, but then also subscribe to YouTube. It's Black Girls Consult 2. Same name, same title everywhere on social media, youtube everywhere. So just subscribe to that channel, share with a friend and I look forward to talking to you again soon. Take care. Thank you for tuning in to the Black Girls Console 2 podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to leave your review on Apple Podcasts, subscribe and share it with a friend. We're on a mission to increase the success and longevity of women in consulting, and you can help us do just that. Also, I'd love to hear from you. So let's connect at Dr Angelina Davis on Instagram or LinkedIn and don't forget to visit excelatconsultingcom for more information to support your consulting journey. Until next time, keep breaking glass ceiling, all right, take care.
