Move on from Trading Time for $ - What It Takes to Create a $100K Consulting Offer - with Jessica Fearnley

Leadership isn't just changing. It's evolving in ways we're only just beginning to imagine. And women, we're not playing this game anymore. We're the ones reshaping the entire field, building models, movements, and businesses that serve more than just a few. On the She Leads podcast, you'll hear real conversations with women who've broken through all kinds of barriers, revenue, identity, borders, and expectations.

There's no sugarcoating here, just the truth told by those who are living it. I'm Adrienne Garland, entrepreneur, strategist, educator, and creator of live experiences gathering women leaders together for over a decade. And this is the She Leads Podcast.

Welcome back to the She Leads podcast. It is a huge privilege for me to welcome my next guest. Her name is Jessica Fearnley, and she's built a multi 6 figure coaching business from ground zero. She brings unmatched experience and insights as a transformational coach for ambitious B2B women consultants. And the reason that I'm so familiar with Jessica is that I have been a long time listener of her incredible podcast, The Seven Figure Consultant Podcast.

Jessica was also named a LinkedIn top voice for entrepreneurship and small business in 2019, and she continues to create thought provoking content on the platform. And while she's based in The UK, Jessica works with clients here in The US and in Canada, South Africa, The Middle East, Australia, and Europe, truly offering a unique and global approach to growing consulting businesses. Jessica is also an author of the newly released book called Too Much. What an amazing title. It's a heartfelt shout out to all the amazing women consultants and entrepreneurs who sometimes feel, and I was even thinking who maybe have even been told that they're too much.

So welcome to the She Leads podcast, Jessica. It's so incredible to speak with you.

Thank you so much for having me, Adrienne. I was so pleased to be asked. So it's wonderful to be here.

Well, for anybody that doesn't know you, and I can't imagine because I'm such a girlfriend of yours, but can you just give people a little bit of a background on how you became to be the seven figure consultant?

Yeah. So I started my career in project management. I actually worked for the NHS as my first like career move. And I studied history at university, went into project management after graduating. I did a bachelor's degree and a master's degree.

And my master's was in gender history, which is I've sort of been super in women, gender, the whole thing for a long time. So yeah, from there went into business planning, business development, and then had really bad burnout when I was just 27 years old. And I talk about it a bit in the book, well, quite a lot in the book, actually. And there's a whole thing in there that we can go into. But really from there, I kind of had a bit of a ground zero in my life.

And I was like, I was gonna have this big career. Now, I don't know what I'm gonna do. And I actually ended up working as head of operations in an occupational psychology consulting company running out of London. And we grew the company from 6 to 7 figures. And the then it it we started the the process of preparing it to be sold.

And that was where a lot of our really interesting slash alarming lessons that we learned really came from. Because when you start doing all the due diligence, you're like, what are the risks of this business? And it was kind of like, oh, we have quite a lot. Even in a successful business. So when when that process had kind of kicked off, I actually had my first son.

This was eleven, twelve years ago. And I was in a situation of like, I feel like my kind of work is done in this company, so what is next for me? And from there, I kind of fell into coaching a little bit. It was something I did not anticipate for myself, but it's been something that I have absolutely loved. So it was kind of a way of bringing my business and project management expertise into a format that works in the marketplace.

So that's what I've been doing for the last eleven, twelve years.

Wow. Yeah. You know, it's so interesting. We were talking just before we hopped on to record about a lot of people going through right now another sort of transition. I'm sure that, like you said, you know, you've been in this business for a certain amount of time.

I'm in approximately the same amount of time as you eleven years, twelve years. And you know, things that have worked, they continue to work, but there's this itch like what else is there? I think so many women entrepreneurs that have gotten past that 6 figure mark into the 7 figure mark, they don't maybe if they didn't think that maybe they would even get there. Right? So the what's next after that, we almost don't have a playbook for that.

So in in your work with women all over the world, are you seeing that come up for women now? Or is it something that you anticipate seeing in these women that have gotten their businesses to the point that they didn't even think they were going to be able to get to?

Yeah, I mean, I often feel like there's kind of an initial stage where people are like, I wanna make what I was making in corporate. You know, some of my clients, they were doing 400 a year in corporate or like even 700 a year. So, that's not necessarily like a small order. Sure.

But once you do that, then it's like, I wanna make more than I used to in corporate. It's kind of a way of sticking two fingers up, isn't it? And being sort of like, I can do much of my own. But I think for women, sometimes there genuinely can be places we can get to in entrepreneurship, particularly as consultants. I always say I think that consultants are elite entrepreneurs.

I teach people how to create a 100 k consulting offer because that is one of the the most important foundation stones. If you sell that 10 times, you've got your 7 figure business and you didn't scale. You know, people will say we should be scaling to 7 figures. I think we should grow to 7 figures. You don't need a massive team and all this infrastructure.

It doesn't need to be complicated actually. So, I always feel like for my clients, there can be this hunger that when they get to around sort of four hundred, six hundred thousand a year in their business, it's like, I wanna go all the way. And it's like this fire that gets lit. But I I do think, you know, I think it's really interesting, AG, and we've been in business for a really similar amount of time. And I've definitely had seasons and cycles in my own business.

And times when things were, like, really kind of growing. And then times when, like, one program, you you just start to feel it and you're like, it's coming to an end. Like, just is. But I've I've always found that there's something deeper, bigger, richer that lies behind it. And so I think it's almost it's this kind of accept and allow energy.

That's what I'm I'm channeling and encouraging everyone to channel. Like, if it feels like the business that you've had is not the thing that is actually what you want at the moment, ask those questions, lean into that transition. What is it transitioning into? We we don't wanna do the 2020 thing of let's all pivot. Right.

I think that was not a good energy for anyone. But it's about kind of, if you're feeling like you're losing energy with it, then like, what are you being called to? It something different? Is it something the same, but we just do it in a different way? But I think those are huge questions for us in the world as it is at the moment.

Yeah, I mean, I'm so captivated by what you're saying because I'm listening very much into my own self and thinking, yeah, you know, the reason almost that I started my business is because I wanted to, I think prove something which I think so many women can relate to, especially when you like you said, when you leave corporate and then you know you start your own business, you want to at least meet the milestone of I need to replace what my salary was. So we set out to do that and I do think that a lot of women set out to prove that they can do it on their own, that we don't necessarily need that corporate structure, which has not been built for women, or quite frankly, I think for humans. And so we set out to prove that we can do it. And then, once we get there, it really does make you question, if I don't have anything to push off against, what am I moving toward? And I don't think that a lot of us ask that question.

I mean, even myself to just be very honest with everybody that's listening. You know, I don't necessarily know what's next and I think it's a little bit it is a frustration around the lack of progress that is being made for women entrepreneurs. I mean the statistics are are they're they're frustrating, they're alarming. You know I speak to women entrepreneurs all the time and they blow my mind with how incredible, how amazing, smart and driven. And yet we just keep banging up against this wall and I don't know what to do about it.

Any thoughts? Well,

I mean, I feel similarly, like I think what kind of pushed me into entrepreneurship was kind of looking at like what my life would be with a baby. If I went back to my old job and I had pretty much a work from home job, it was very flexible, but they were wanting to change things around. So, basically would have meant I didn't see my son awake between Sunday night and Wednesday night. Oh, no. And I looked at that and I was like, this kid is like nine months old.

Like, that is a lot to kind of deprive him of. And I was very fortunate that my husband, even though it didn't really make sense for me to be self employed, he was very supportive of it actually. And he was like, yeah, you know, like, and I think he kind of said yes to it thinking this is something for her to do. Because he knew that I'd like being a little bit postpartum. I think now I'm in perimenopause.

I'm like, oh, when I have hormone levels dropping, I do not feel good. No. And I think the anxiety that I felt as a new mom, now that I'm in peri, I mean, I had an estrogen check at one point last year and my estrogen was basically zero.

Oh my gosh.

Was like, well, this is why I'm so anxious. Can't function. Yeah. It was so weird having those two things like linked for the first time and it's like, oh, I think I just understood my body for the first time. But I think, he was very on board with me doing that because I had really struggled as a new mom.

I really loved my baby. I really had been looking forward to being a mom so much, but then the responsibility of it. And I was so lonely and I was just like, I've got no one to talk to. So I think that for me that made kind of early stage entrepreneurship a very safe bet because there was no expectation on me. It was really like, I just went and did stuff.

I went out networking every day of the week. It was crazy. Like this stuff, I look back now and I'm like, gosh, I don't know if I do that today. I think it was very much looking at that and being like, I don't feel like the options that are available in the corporate world are gonna help me as like someone who is feeling postpartum anxiety and has had a history of energy issues anyway and sort of chronic fatigue style chronic illness. Mhmm.

I was like, I don't feel like a like a go to work nine to five is gonna be the thing for me and my family. And I've really I have totally found over the last eleven, twelve years that, like, it's been amazing, like, the the lifestyle I've been able to have. During that time, I had another baby. I didn't even have to tell my clients until I was about thirty weeks pregnant. They had no idea because they never saw me when they So, saw this I think that flexible working is life changing for women.

And it makes me really frustrated and sad that like we, you know, I think in sort of the pandemic times, I was like, this is watershed, like people working from home. Like, if a lot of moms and dads could do this all the time, we would be able to contribute so much to the national economy, the international economy, and our workplaces as a whole. I think it's frustrating to see that progress going backwards, I also don't think that it's the end of the story. So I always want to sort of hold out hope for the reality that actually more women have been able to contribute to, you know, a proper, proper career, but like really maintain that earning power because it is a fact. You know, when you look at things like retirement pensions, women are the poor relative literally in a lot of marriages, in a lot of situations, if you have paused your career to have children, you see that cost, you know, that affects you for the rest of your life.

It sure does. Yeah.

There's a ton of work that that can be done. But yes, I absolutely have felt that entrepreneurship can provide an amazing alternative for women.

That is so beautifully said. And thank you so much too for just sharing so much of your personal experience. I do not think that women talk about all of this enough. And it is, I mean, you don't feel right when your body is going through all of these different changes that every woman experiences, it affects how we show up, it affects our energy level and the way that corporate is structured requires constant levels of energy. And you know doing things the same day after day after day with just maybe a little bit of a break over the weekends and it's not enough and I've often said that you know corporate was not designed with women in mind and we've had to shove ourselves into, you know, us as there's nothing wrong with us, but it just doesn't fit.

So what is what's the alternative? And I've, I often years ago, I started thinking, well, is there a way that women can create something else that is a new corporate? And maybe that's the wrong question to even be asking you, you really are making me think it's not another form of corporate. It's another approach to value creation. Corporate.

And it's designed to, to go along with the ebbs and flows of women's, you know, cycles really, we are very much a cyclical type of human and so if we can develop a system that allows us to create value for other people going with that system that's the way to go and perhaps that is what women need to be doing more and more and what we need to be figuring out. And I think that unfortunately the markets, they reward, you know, scalable, you know, unicorn businesses, they get funded. It's why they keep going, why everybody tries to create those businesses like that.

But that does not work for us. It just doesn't.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think the stats bear that out completely that so few female founded businesses get funding. I mean, the stats that everyone talks about are like 2%.

Two percent less than 2%. Yeah.

But the thing is as well, I think I've never felt super comfortable with that model because if you have that kind of funded model, you give all of the power to the investors. And what I've seen too many times is amazing female founded companies where it's just decided higher up, this isn't something we wanna invest in anymore. We don't think this is performing the way it should do. Plug is pulled, network disappears overnight. And I think in a way it's worse, isn't it?

Because it's It's devastating. It's still disempowering for women because you lose that ability to decide, yes, this is something I believe in, this is something I want to pursue.

So the women that you're working with, they are specifically B2B consultants. So they are going into corporations that we're talking about and providing consulting services for those companies. What are some of those types of consulting, you know, roles that these women are taking on because clearly corporate needs this as well because they don't have it, you know, on staff. So can you talk a little bit about that? Because this could be a really amazing opportunity for women to think about when they're thinking about what's next.

Yeah, well, so a really key thing is being the trusted strategic advisor for corporate clients. And I think that comes out of, firstly, it's something that it makes sense for corporates to invest in. Because if they've got an unexpected vacancy, if they've got someone who's acting up, it is high stakes for that VP, whatever role they might be in. But at the senior level, they need that support because it affects the organization, it affects their bottom line if they have someone underperforming in that role. But I think as well, it's something that a lot of my clients like to offer because they were that person sort of five, ten years ago.

And they want to be the support that they didn't have. And I think, you know, all of us, and I think you said this in your podcast episode, all of us have that thing of like, I wanna be the link in the chain that wasn't there for me. I want to help people not fall into the holes that I fell into. So that's absolutely a key part of the equation. I think that retainer work is actually something that can be very lucrative and very helpful to organizations.

Again, they're covering gaps, what whatever that might look like, but it's the advisory nature. If you are able to help them make the most of the people that they have in those roles. And it there can be some sensitivities around that. Some leaders don't want to admit that they need the help. But very often, it's it's very easy for them to make a case for that this this is a hire that just makes sense.

This is money well spent that will help the organization.

And and from a corporate perspective, because I was actually listening to your podcast yesterday in my drive into New York City. But this whole idea about truly listening to what corporation is looking for versus trying to say this is what I offer, this is what I can do for you, almost let that go so that you can truly listen to what it is they're looking for. That's a very fine line to walk to because you need to approach a company and let them know that you know, you're the right person, the right consulting agency for them. But how do you balance the, you know, here's, here's what I can offer, but, but we don't even need to do that. We can do what you need.

How, how do you sort of approach that?

Yeah. I mean, so I have like a sort of image that I use when I talk to clients about this. I kind of made it up out of thin air a couple of years ago when I was working with a client and they really liked it and so do all the clients that I've shared it with. So, I'll share it here. And that is, if you go to the supermarket and you're looking to buy cereal, you are looking for a rectangular box.

If you go to the cereal aisle and they like they say, look, we've got this new this new cereal. It's in a cylindrical tube. You're not gonna be like, hey, that looks good. I'll try it. You'll be like, that is weird.

That is wrong. I'm looking for a rectangular box. And it's kind of the same game with packaging and selling your corporate offers. You know what they need. They know what they want.

If you say to them, I've got a cylindrical tube for you, they're gonna be like, no.

Got be

something that is a line item. I mean, is the easiest thing. And I think people can fall into this hole all the time of like, I just need to persuade them that they should be investing on that. That is a hard sell. That is a lengthy If you can make it something that they already invest in, you know, you're looking for the people who they're looking for a new supplier for this thing that they already do.

You can provide what you want within reason inside that container. But I think it needs to be recognizable to a corporate organization. If you are trying to persuade them to go in a new direction, why on earth should they take a risk like that on you, especially if you're not already a preferred supplier of theirs? Sure, there's space down the road when you've built the relationship, you've worked with them for a while to have that conversation of like, look, I've got this vision for how we should be doing leadership development. By all means, like once you've got your foot in the door leverage it like crazy.

But as a first, like, let's wedge this door open. You want to be something that is recognizable to them. That's the way that I usually phrase it with people.

Hey, everyone. So for years, I've been working with Dr. Kent and sending people in my network his way. He does so much impact work. What do I mean by that? Well, he helps people create books and podcasts and things like that.

He even helps with this podcast behind the scenes. Dr. Kent is my thought partner. Anyone listening knows that we all need to do what we can to get our thoughts, opinions, and voices out into the world and how important it is for women to invest in other women and for women to hire other women. I am all about that, and you all know that. But in this case, I think Dr. Kent is an exception.

He's doing something really different via this new program that he's launched called the Genius Discovery Program. So he wants to work with people like me and like you who are impact driven. Dr. Kent has an intensive program that goes for a month. He also has a three month program where he figures out where you're headed with your brand, your business, your speaking, and your signature story as a thought leader.

I've known Dr. Kent for a long time. So believe me when I say that he has a ton of experience working with people that are looking to make an impact but might not know exactly how to approach them. So if you're interested in talking to him, you can go directly to or you can send me a DM on Instagram at She Leads Media, or just shoot me an email over at hello@SheLeadsMedia.com.

So many things are coming up for me as you're speaking. First, you know, so many women leave corporate because it's not designed for them and everybody always hits some type of a wall and whether it's, you know, personal or something that's going on in the business. And and then we're starting a b to b consulting business where we need to then go back to corporate and say I want to help you. That to me also feels a little bit like, wow, we're going back to the place that we have rejected. You know, how how do you sort of

the trauma. Yeah.

Yeah. Yes. How how do and I don't know if that's this comes up for your clients, but, know, how do you sort of contend with that? I might even be asking for myself personally. Right?

Well, this comes up all the time. And I actually think there's two phases with, like, with creating a consulting business. So first of all, you come out of corporate and I I speak to women and men all the time who've had a really hard time in corporate and a really bumpy exit. Maybe they've been through burnout like I did. And interestingly, I never wanted to tell anyone my burnout story.

I was so ashamed of it. And when it happened to me, the word burnout hadn't even been invented. And I was just like, I don't know what happened, but I wasn't okay for a while and now I think I am. But if you've had that bumpy exit or been told that you're, you know, some of my clients, they've been told you're a bad leader by someone who's And a bad it's like, oh my gosh. So, there can be all kinds of mess that happens.

And so, there can be a phase where actually you feel like, sorry, my dog has gone mental.

My dog was going mental before too. I don't know if you heard him. It's all good.

Okay, good. But yet there can be a phase where it feels like we have to like really just kind of like consolidate, stabilize. That was really hard. You feel really churned up, you just wanna play it safe for a while. And it's almost like a nervous system reregulation, like calming, healing, starting Some people do therapy in that stage to get over the trauma that they've been through.

Because I think there are a few things that feel as bad as having to go every day to a toxic workplace and be treated badly. And to just be like my whole life and career is invested in this place which is chewing me up. Yeah. I think that's a really hard thing to go through. But what I tend to find, and so some people, they engage me when they are in that stage and they're like, I think I'm gonna get laid off.

I need a plan. Can you help me make a plan? So, and that's quite a new thing for me, actually. That's something which has increased over the last year. But where people also reach out to me is that they've been playing it safe for like a year, maybe two or three years.

And they're like, I'm bored. And I think I can do more. In fact, I know I can. It's almost like you get your confidence back. You get that feeling of like, I am at a level, you know, in my career.

I was when I left. And they can feel that they went lower than they needed to. I think that there can always be that sense, like when you're doing any kind of career change, but women seem to do it more readily. Think than men of taking a big pay cut doing something which is very basic, very easy. I think sometimes we need that when we've been through something really hard in the workplace.

Yeah. We need that kind of buffer zone almost. But then there's that moment where it's like, wait, I've remembered who I am. And like, I could definitely have a 7 figure business. And I think that's the point where a lot of people find me and they're like, look, I can do these things.

Help me turn it into something which makes sense in my industry. So that's what we do.

Wow. Yeah. This is this is gold. Thank you so much. For just sharing everything because I do think that many more women need this type of support and when they are ready, and you're right, it's a we need a nervous system reset after the the trauma that we often experience in corporate.

And I don't, you know, I don't I don't wanna be so negative against corporate because I know for myself, I learned so much. I I made such incredible friends that I have until this day. Such great things came out of corporate. And there was also a lot of, was, I think it's identity trauma that we experienced because we try to be authentic to ourselves and do a really good job. And we, and then we're almost like slapped in the face with your, your, you personally have something wrong with you.

Whereas you, you didn't think that you did. And that's where it's almost abusive and that we have to come out of and rediscover that we are valuable. It's just that in that context, it, it didn't fit. So fitting in to corporate perhaps is being on the outside and coming back in to help those that work inside that environment and just connecting to what you said before. It's the you from, you know, five years ago, ten years ago that you want to help and maybe lessen that trauma because I do believe that corporate is going to evolve and change.

It has to because the younger generation, I see it. I teach undergrads. They will not put up with some of the things that I know that I put up with that you probably put up with. They will just walk out and companies need workers period. So they're going to have to change whether they like it or not.

So I just, I love that you're offering this really unique solution for women to almost benefit from corporate, but just in a different way. One other thing that I just am so fascinated with, and you mentioned it before, is this idea of developing at in your b to b consulting business a $100,000 offer. What

when when you talk about

that, and I've heard you speak about this on your podcast, it's often not throwing, you know, everything in the kitchen sink into your offer. Can you just talk at a high level about what a 100,000 offer looks like? Like the structure of it just so that we can start thinking about what that's like, and we could potentially use that as our next step.

Yeah. So, I mean, first of all, there is no one way to achieve this. And that's a really key thing for me as a coach. I work with like the unique personalities of my clients. And particularly for the new consultants, always, some coaches are like, I'll teach you to do it exactly the way that I did because I've been really successful.

And I'm like, please don't do any of the things that I did. I jumped into my business with no plan. I never had a safety net until about two years ago, like this is crazy, never do that. So, that's the first thing, like, it can be completely custom. And I think it often works really well when it's something which reflects you, your natural energy, your skills, your abilities, your unique like pathway through your corporate career.

But I would say in really simple terms, advisory retainer. It can be that simple. I have had clients who have actually sold six months of an advisory retainer for a 100,000 and it wasn't really difficult to sell. So, it really can be that straightforward. Yes, we can create something that is like kind of, there's a workshop with some group elements and there's like senior leadership coaching and sort of one to one coaching for the person who's at the very top of the chain.

We can create that structure that's worked really well for some of my clients as well. But it actually doesn't always need to be very complicated. And, you know, one of the things that I've said kind of in some of my workshops, but also on my podcast is the more they pay, the less they get. That's

actually Yes. This is so beautiful. And I want to experiment with this. So I just just going back to this this advisory, when you talk about advisory, it's basically offering up your brain, your advice, and being available to the people that you're working with in in corporate so that they if they have questions, if they do need you to come in for anything, you're you're sort of available with with a nebulous type of approach. It's it's like, I'm a trusted adviser for you when you need me, I will be there for you.

And that's the offer.

Yeah, it can literally be that simple. It's not necessarily gonna be that for everyone. But like I have clients who in the last year have sold at that level for that offer. Very little like stuff in the And really it's for that person where it's strategic. It's very high risk to the organization to do it wrong in this area.

So you are earning your money by keeping them from making big mistakes at crucial

Oh gosh, that is so beautiful. And I mean, I can even imagine myself in corporate because you have to be careful with who you're asking for advice within corporate because sometimes that can backfire on you. So knowing that you have a third party neutral trusted advisor who is there for you is truly valuable. And and value is what companies and and anybody in entrepreneurship value is what people pay for. So I I just I love that so much.

And I would love to almost end on that golden nugget of advice and and almost challenge listeners, you know, what could be your 100 k offer because we do as women, we have so many layers of intelligence that go beyond logic that are truly meaningful. And I do believe that in this world, people are starting to recognize that women have so much more value than we've ever been credited for. So we need to be compensated for that because we are just amazing.

Yeah, 100%.

So Jessica, if people would like to get in touch with you help themselves. If people would like to get in touch with you and get your help for themselves, how can they do so?

Yeah. So come to my website, jessicafernley.com. There's there's resources there to help you, but you can book in for a discovery call with me. We can explore if we're a fit. I I do this work a lot.

I really enjoy it. So, yeah, if if you were listening to this and you just really feel like I wanna do that, I actually call it like having a business remodel. Like it's a normal thing that we are required to do like all businesses as they grow, they just need a reshuffle sometimes. We need to redesign the business model. It's work that I love to do.

It's work that I do very successfully with my clients.

Oh my gosh, I know a lot of people are going to be giving you a call. And don't forget to listen to The Seven Figure Consultant Podcast, and also get your book. I mean, there's there's so much here. Put it

All. Many options.

We'll we'll put it all in the show notes, but just thank you so much for spending your time with me here today. It's been a absolute honor to speak with you, and thank you for all of your incredible advice.

Thank you so much for having me. It's it's been so wonderful talking about these things. Thank you.

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