The Biz of Nonprofit Consultants

You built a team. So why does everything still run through you? A year ago, Frances Roen was so stretched she had to step out of an Impact Collective Mastermind retreat session to cover client work. In this returning-guest episode, she comes back to share what happened after she made the hard calls: rebuilding her team, her systems, and her offer around the firm she actually wants. This year she i...

You know your retainers have a ceiling. You have even picked your specialty. But your calendar is full, your fractional clients still need you, and you are stuck on one question: how do I actually start to move to a scalable offer? Fractional retainers feel safe, but that steady monthly model is the thing capping your business. Moving to scalable high-ticket projects sounds like a leap you cannot...

If you've been quietly wondering whether the shifts you're feeling in your business are temporary, or something bigger, this episode names it. All markets mature eventually and push generalists to specialize, but AI is speeding this process up at breakneck speed. In this episode, you'll hear the 5 things that happen in every commoditizing market, why being stuck in the middle is the most dangerous...

You keep saying yes to small organizations whose missions you love. The dollars are precious. The ED is exhausted. You have the exact skill set they need. And every yes is keeping you stuck. In this episode, I share why you need to shift upmarket and the difference it will make in your own company as you build a scalable consulting firm. Work With Coach Natalie 🎯 Book a 90-Minute Intensive Let's...

You are at maximum capacity. Your calendar has no whitespace. You know you need help, but you cannot justify hiring yet. This is the loop. It is not a discipline problem. It is a structural bind almost every consultant building a scalable firm hits at some point. In this episode, our fictional consultant Fiona is experiencing THE LOOP, and we uncover two real paths through it. If you are feeling t...

What if you could go from GENERALIST fundraising consultant to a FOCUSED firm with a SCALABLE offer - in just five months? That's exactly what Robin Engle, CFRE, founder of Abundance Catalyst, has done. In this client success episode of the Fractional to Scalable series, Robin shares how she built a scalable Major Gifts offer, narrowed her niche to movement organizations, climbed "Cringe🏔Mountain"...

Building a scalable consulting firm means making moves that grow your business. It also means saying goodbye to people and clients you genuinely love. This episode is about that grief. And why it is a sign you are building something that matters. Let's Work Together 🎯Book a 90-Minute Intensive If you are facing big decisions about your clients or team and need clarity on your next move, this is t...

Here is what nobody tells you about building a scalable consulting firm: it gets harder before it gets easier. In this episode, I walk you through what I call the messy middle, the transition phase where you are straddling two business models at once, still delivering inside the old one while trying to build the new one. I share why progress feels invisible even when you are doing everything right...

You're fully booked. Your clients rely on you. Your revenue looks strong. So why does it still feel like you can't grow? In this episode, I share a story about Fiona, a fractional fundraiser, and her friend Steph, who built a capital campaign firm with a team. Their conversation reveals what's really keeping many nonprofit consultants stuck and why it's not a time or capacity issue. If you've been...

If you have been building your business through fractional work, you may be feeling the tension of what comes next. In this episode, I walk you through what it actually looks like to move from a generalist, founder-dependent model to a more specialized and scalable consulting firm. We explore why this transition does not happen overnight, how to begin testing a specialization without disrupting yo...

In this episode, I walk through the four primary consulting business models and how each one impacts your revenue, capacity, and long-term growth. If you have reached a point where your business feels full but not scalable, this framework will help you see why. I also introduce the Consulting Model Matrix , a simple way to understand how your business is structured today. The X axis represents how...

There is a stage in your consulting business where things look successful… but feel increasingly fragile. You may be operating as a fractional leader, a trusted generalist, or the go-to problem solver for your clients. Revenue is steady. Your calendar is full. But every new opportunity requires more of your time. More customization. More of you. Growth starts to feel heavy. You begin to sense a ce...

Hiring your first W-2 employee changes more than payroll. It changes how you lead. In this episode, I'm joined by HR expert Tiffany Slater of HR TailorMade to talk about what actually shifts when you move from an all-contractor model to a hybrid team with employees. We discuss expectations, accountability, performance conversations, and the infrastructure your firm needs as you step into real team...

Sales does not have to feel awkward, pushy, or unpredictable. In this episode, I'm joined by my friend and trusted sales expert Nikki Rausch. We unpack her Selling Staircase framework and talk about how to confidently lead a sales conversation from introduction to close. We cover buying signals, permission-based leadership, circleback calls, and simple closing language that prevents ghosting. If y...

After 12 years, 2 podcasts and 711 total episodes, I took my longest break from podcasting. It was not planned. It was not strategic. And it taught me something important about leadership, margin, and what consistency is really for. You will learn what was happening behind the scenes in Q4, why I chose to pause, what shifted in my business as a result, and the unexpected breakthroughs that came fr...

What happens when your consulting business no longer needs you in the work but needs you to lead the leaders? In this final episode of the Growing Pains series, I break down what it really takes to build a Scalable Firm . This phase, often experienced somewhere between $1M and $3M in revenue, is defined by adding leadership layers, stepping fully into the CEO role, and creating the operational cla...

The $700K–$1M stage is a pivotal moment for many nonprofit consulting firms. Visibility increases, stronger talent begins to find you, and leadership demands rise in ways that often feel heavier than expected. This is the phase where achievement must shift from personal client work to team success, and where many consultants plateau without meaning to. In this episode, I unpack what actually chang...

The jump from four $400,000 to $700,000 looks simple on paper, but it is one of the hardest phases to navigate. In this episode of the Growing Pains series, I walk you through what happens when your consulting business reaches this stage, where scalable operations, stronger systems, and early full-time hiring become essential. You'll hear the stories of two fictional consultants, Riley and Jean, w...

If your consulting business is between $200K and $400K, it may look successful from the outside but feel surprisingly unstable on the inside.  In this episode, I break down why Phase 2 is one of the most challenging stages of growth and why so many consultants feel stretched thin, busy, and at the edge of their capacity.  You will also learn what needs your focus in this phase so your business can...

Most consultants start their business without a clear roadmap. They rely on referrals, hustle and hope. In this episode, I break down Phase 1 of the Scalable Consulting Firm Method: the Foundations Phase, from $0 to $200K in revenue. Whether you're consulting full time or part time, this stage can feel intense. You're learning how to deliver client work and run a business at the same time. I share...

**APPLICATIONS CLOSE 12/31/25 FOR IMPACT COLLECTIVE MASTERMIND ** If you're a Nonprofit Consultant earning anywhere from your first client to $1M+, this series gives you something most consultants never receive: a real roadmap. In this short kickoff episode, I share what the Growing Pains series is all about! This series is perfect for newer consultants who want to know where they are headed, and...

**APPLICATIONS CLOSE 12/31/25 FOR IMPACT COLLECTIVE MASTERMIND ** The Impact Collective Maste rmind - A 12-month hybrid of mastermind and private coaching for nonprofit consultants between $200K–$1M in revenue. We focus on scaling through my Scalable Consulting Framework by refining offers, streamlining operations, hiring, and leadership growth.   9 0-Minute Intensives  ($997) A focused working se...

If every 🔥fire routes back to you, your team has learned that only you can fix it. My guest and client Amanda Silver, a leadership consultant and executive coach,shares how to rewrite that pattern through practical tools for scalable leadership, coaching and accountability. 💡We talk about what it really means to lead as your firm scales, how to delegate effectively, build a healthy culture and h...

Scalable operations turn you from the person doing the work into the person creating the environment for great work to happen. That is what my guest Christine Schwitzer, the founder and CEO of Holistic Grants, and member of my Impact Collective Mastermind has found. Christine shares what it looked like to move from spreadsheets and mental checklists to real systems that give her visibility, struct...

Your scalable offer is where everything starts. It informs your operations, your team, your pricing, and your client experience. In Episode 67, I introduced the concept of a scalable offer, and the response was overwhelming (in a good way). Clients and listeners have been rethinking how they structure their services, teams, and operations around this one idea. In this follow-up episode, I go deepe...