Black Belt Startup with Feras

Your first client may already be in your phone. If you've spent 10 or 15 years in your profession, you've probably built relationships with former colleagues, managers, clients, vendors, and industry contacts who already know what you're capable of. Yet when professionals start a business, many feel uncomfortable reaching out to those same people. We'll work through how to turn your existing netwo...

How ready are you to start your business if your job disappears tomorrow? Too many professionals wait until the layoff, resignation, or breaking point to start figuring out their business. That can cost valuable months. This Tuesday, we'll work through what you can start building while you're still employed: your initial offer, conversations with the market, your professional network, a simple out...

What’s one skill you know you need to get better at, but keep avoiding? Sales? Networking? Public speaking? Negotiation? AI? Financial management? Last Tuesday, we talked about the beliefs that can hold aspiring entrepreneurs back and how to tell the difference between a real limitation and a skill you simply haven’t developed yet. This Tuesday, September 29, we’re going to work on what comes next...

Have you ever wondered whether you're simply not cut out for entrepreneurship? Maybe you're good at your profession, but sales makes you uncomfortable. You don't consider yourself a networker. Or taking the leap feels riskier for you than it seems to feel for other entrepreneurs. We'll work through the beliefs that keep experienced professionals stuck, how avoidance can reinforce them, and how to...

What would you do if your paycheck disappeared tomorrow? More than 20 years ago, mine did. I was laid off from a Silicon Valley startup with a young family, a dry job market, and eventually our savings and 401(k) started disappearing. Entrepreneurship wasn’t the dream. It became the path forward. Seven businesses later, including an 8-figure consulting firm, I’ve learned some lessons I wish I unde...

Fake deadlines. Pressure tactics. Artificial discounts. “Let me check with my manager.” These tactics may show up in negotiations, but they’re not how I believe consultants should sell.  I’ve had a lot of opportunities to learn this, including making plenty of mistakes myself. In the final session of my three-part series on professional, win-win negotiation, we’ll cover the sales negotiation gimmi...

“Can you lower the price?” “Can we add one more deliverable?” “Can you finish two weeks earlier?” “Can we pay you Net 90?” If these questions make you uncomfortable because you don’t want to become pushy or “salesy,” you’re not alone. A consulting negotiation can move in several directions, and price is only one of them. In the second of my three-part series on professional, win-win negotiation, I...

“What if I lose the deal?” “What do I say if they push back?” “Am I charging too much?” “Should I just give them the discount?” If you’ve had these thoughts before a client negotiation, you’re not alone. Most consultants spent years developing their expertise, not learning how to sell and negotiate it. In the first of my three-part series on professional, win-win negotiation, I’ll walk through 5 N...

Most professionals spend years learning how to do the work. Far fewer learn how to sell it. I recently read The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, and several ideas stayed with me, especially his emphasis on learning to build and sell, taking rational optimistic risks, and choosing hard actions that create an easier life over time. Those ideas apply directly to anyone building a consulting business. In t...

Thinking about leaving corporate to start a consulting business? Or have already started but feeling stuck? When you leave the corporate world, one thing changes immediately: Your expertise is no longer enough. When you leave corporate, you leave the ship and you step into your own boat. Your expertise built the boat. Sales and marketing are the oars. If you don't row, you drift. Some of the topic...

Most entrepreneurs have heard of the term "growth mindset." Far fewer know how to actually develop one. In this podcast, we'll move beyond the theory and focus on practical application. You'll learn six concrete steps to develop a genuine growth mindset, overcome the fixed thinking that holds many founders back, and apply these ideas directly to your business. I’ll be covering: - Why successful en...

Have you ever caught yourself saying, "I'm just not good at sales," or "Maybe I'm not cut out for entrepreneurship"? Those statements may feel like facts, but they're often just a fixed mindset talking. In this podcast, we'll explore how successful founders think differently, why smart professionals often get stuck after leaving corporate, and the practical steps you can take to build a true growt...

Let's Fix Your Sales Call Mistakes Together Have you ever finished a discovery call feeling confident... only to have the opportunity disappear? Join me for a Discovery Sales Call Workshop for Consultants, where we'll review the four mistakes that quietly cost consultants deals before the proposal is even sent. Bring one of your recent discovery calls (won, lost, or still in progress), and we'll w...

Declare independence from: - Waiting until you're ready - Needing permission - Perfectionism - Fear of selling - Imposter syndrome - Believing expertise alone creates opportunity Many professionals never achieve real professional independence. They have the talent. They have the work ethic. What they haven't built are the capabilities that create freedom. Entrepreneurship gives you more than the o...

“That sounds like a great idea” is not validation. It may be support. It may be encouragement. It may even be sincere. But it does not mean someone has a painful problem, budget, urgency, or willingness to take action. In this podcast, I’ll show you how to validate a consulting or service business idea without relying on polite feedback. We’ll break down the questions to avoid, the better question...

Many consultants believe the secret to growth is becoming indispensable. But what if that's exactly what's holding them back? The strongest consulting businesses don't create dependent clients. They create empowered clients. Clients who understand your thinking, trust your judgment, and become more capable through the engagement often generate more repeat business, referrals, testimonials, and lon...

Why do so many businesses get stuck… right when they should be growing? It’s rarely a lack of effort. It’s usually a few hidden barriers in strategy, execution, or mindset that quietly slow everything down. In this week’s podcast, I’ll walk through the 3 categories of growth barriers — and help you identify what’s holding your business back. We’ll break it down, apply it in real time, and I’ll ans...

If your business can't function without you for a week, you don't own a business. You own a job. The growth rate for companies led by strong delegators is 112% higher than for leaders who struggle to delegate. Yet most consultants and service business owners keep doing everything themselves. Sales. Delivery. Client communication. Project management. Admin work. At some point, working harder stops...

The difference between a struggling consultant and a growing one? One chases projects. The other builds relationships. After you win the client and deliver the work, most people move on. They start from zero again. New outreach. New sales cycle. New pressure. This week, I’m breaking down how to grow your consulting business by expanding existing client relationships—the right way. Land and Expand:...

Why do so many consulting projects start strong… and then slowly go off track? It usually happens right after the deal is signed. Misaligned expectations. No structure for execution. And before you know it, you’re chasing the project instead of leading it. I’ll walk through how to start projects the right way and stay in control from day one. We’ll break it down into the core phases of execution:...

Most consultants focus on getting clients. But what happens after you land them… is where most businesses struggle. Projects go off track. Scope expands. Clients get frustrated. And suddenly, something that felt like a win becomes hard to deliver. Ahead of releasing my ultimate guide to service delivery for consultants, I’m hosting a livestream to break down one of the most critical—and least disc...

A lot of capable entrepreneurs struggle with focus—not because they lack skill, but because the way they’ve been taught to focus doesn’t fit how they actually think and work. This is something I’ve seen often, especially with neurodivergent professionals navigating entrepreneurship. In this upcoming live session, I’ll walk through 6 principles that can help you rethink focus—and apply them in a pr...

Most consulting businesses don’t fail because of competition—they fail because they become too complex, too early. And here’s how it shows up: You add more services, more tools, more “strategy”… and everything starts slowing down instead of speeding up. So instead of things getting easier, everything feels heavier. In this session, I’ll take a concept called the “Founder’s Mentality” (used by high...

Most consultants don’t fail because they’re bad at what they do. They fail because they never built a sales system. In this session, I’ll break down the exact framework that took me from a 1-in-20 proposal win rate to building and selling an 8-figure consulting firm. We’ll cover:  - The numbers behind consistent client acquisition  - The emotional drivers behind B2B decisions  - Why most proposals...

Entry-level roles are shrinking. AI is taking over routine work. And doing what’s assigned is no longer enough to stand out. For students, the rules you’ve been trained to follow—study hard, get good grades, land a job—are no longer enough on their own. In fact, many graduates are preparing for a job market that no longer exists. But this isn’t just a student problem. Across the board, the people...