Dr. Roberta (Bobby) Pellant: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started My Consulting Business
An Interview With Doug Brown
You need to constantly hustle for your next lead/client.
The average lead time for clients for me is generally about 1–2 months. If you are consulting as a primary income source, you need to have several clients in the various pipeline stages of inquiry, prospect, lead, and current client stage. Don’t get yourself in the situation that I described earlier- having not one business in any of these categories.
If you don’t have the money, you will need to do the job yourself.
When you are first starting out, there will be a lot of sweat equity that goes into growing your consulting business. You will need to learn every aspect of running a business from operations, finance, to management and marketing. If you do not understand each one of these areas, you will not have the most streamlined efficient business, and time and money being wasted could be an issue for your business.
As a part of my series called “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started My Consulting Business ”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Roberta Pellant, Bobby as she goes by.
As a Business Success Expert, Chief Learning Officer, and Consultant, Dr. Roberta (Bobby) Pellant is sought after for her guest speaking abilities, webinars, and highly interactive professional development trainings. Bobby works with businesses to be able to execute strategies for a sustainable financial performance, remain competitive, and thrive in their industry for years to come. She is a certified trainer in the Jack Canfield coaching/training methodology and is also a Barrett Value Centre Cultural Assessment corporate trainer. www.robertapellant.com
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Well, I am an MBA Professor, and I knew that I wanted to share my knowledge with companies. I got my first chance in the late 90’s when a CEO in the Midwest working for a Fortune 500 company asked me to help with a merger and acquisition culture change. From that point on, I grew Roberta Pellant Consulting to become a six figure ‘side hustle.’
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
Most of my clients come from word of mouth. A CEO/Founder approached me to help with a valuation of a company within an industry I did not know a lot about, and that I really did not care to learn about. At that time, I believe my hourly rate at that time was around $400 an hour. I sent him a contract proposing my new fee of $800 an hour, thinking he would pass. Well, imagine my surprise when they signed. What do you think my hourly rate became from that point on? Moral of the story, ask for what you want and what you are worth!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
That would have to be Jack Canfield, Author of The Success Principles. It was August 2019, and I had just gotten laid off my job working for a non-profit organization, teaching underprivileged youth. I did not have any consulting clients lined up, and the next University teaching semester did not start for several months. I was scheduled to attend a seminar he was giving. I flew out to the seminar, not knowing what I was going to do. I was able to sit down and have lunch with Jack, and he told me I was thinking too small. He told me I should pivot from consulting one-on-one with clients and go into corporate training. Within 6 weeks I had booked a 2-hour $10,000 leadership sales training. Problem solved, and I never looked back.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Early on, growing up in rural Northern Wisconsin in poverty with no running water, I adopted the motto by William Johnsen, “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.” This drives everything I do. For many years, I wanted someone to come save me, a prince or a knight in shining armor, a Plan B fall back option, someone to help rid me of that deep-rooted fear of not having a roof over my head, food on the table, or being able to provide and take care of myself. I wrote a chapter in a booked called Women Who Empower, as concrete evidence to any woman (or man) that you are not a product of your circumstances. You can do anything you want to do. Fast forward to who I am now:
- Doctorate in Leadership with an emphasis in Organizational Behavior; along with a post-doctoral 3-year professional certificate from Harvard Extension School in Corporate Sustainability and Innovation.
- 23+ years as a professor in higher education: including international lecturing, teaching management, marketing, and communication courses.
- Owner of Roberta Pellant Consulting: helping leaders with strategy planning in management, marketing, and other unique projects. Professional development trainer, executive leadership coach, cultural consultant, motivational speaker.
- Co-founder and Chief of Advisors of USCGA™: helping businesses with due diligence and developing TASASS™ scores to secure capital for start-ups to established organizations.
- Former Owner and Vice President of Organizational Development of Bum Boosa Bamboo Products: product launch, distribution, marketing, and entrepreneurship expertise.
- I am an author, speaker, educator, certified coach, and trainer with a vast global network of C-level executives across multiple industries (C-level executives can be Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, or other top managers).
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. We’d love to learn a bit about your company. What is the pain point that your company is helping to address?
Studies show before COVID hit, 20% of all small businesses failed within the first year of opening, and 50% of businesses would fail within 5 years. Now, according to a recent Economic Impact Report, 60% of all business closures due to COVID will not reopen. There are 31.7 small businesses in the US alone.
Businesses do not have to fail. Roberta Pellant Consulting helps business owners understand what it takes to get back on track, taking them through a step-by-step process to execute strategies to predict ongoing financial success so that they can remain competitive and enable them to have their best year ever.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Roberta Pellant Consulting uses a business success algorithm to help predict business success that was developed by Tony Drexel-Smith over a longitudinal 10-year study of over 300 businesses. We co-authored the book Business Capital 101: The TASASS™ — Objective Due Diligence Defining the Processes and Protocols Required for the Acquisition of Capital, which outlines this process.
I have a client who has been in the hospitality business for 33 years. In 2019, her boutique bed and breakfasts were closed for almost 3 months due to Covid. Between cancellations, refunding deposits, and state regulations, she worried that the business might not survive. Working with her from June-November, she not only saw her occupancy rates soar to almost 98% when she reopened, but 2020 turned out to be her most profitable one on record. Working with RPC, business owners receive the customized help they need to fulfill their business needs. Similarly, after my corporate sales training, a midsize organization saw a 4% increase in sales in Q1 2020 despite of Covid.
When you first started the business, what drove you, what was your primary motivation?
Taking business theory I was teaching at Bentley University at an MBA level, teaching across 4 different departments: management, marketing, human resources and professional communications motivated me to help businesses achieve success, whether that be financial, product or service driven, or international expansion.
What drives you now? Is it the same? Did it change? Can you explain what you mean?
The success factor has stayed consistent, but it has changed in the past year, as more small business owners are feeling the effects of COVID. While I am still working with larger corporations, I went back to helping small to medium sized businesses get back on their feet again.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes! I have pivoted a bit and am being sought after for my guest speaking abilities, webinars, and am getting booked on more mainstream media outlets. I think it will help reach more businesses by realizing that there are consultants out there with a proven track record to help businesses achieve better financial success. My business tag line has always been “transforming leaders, one business at a time” and I still believe that to be true.
In your specific industry what methods have you found to be most effective in order to find and attract the right customers? Can you share any stories or examples?
Word of mouth is the best form of organic lead generation out there. Testimonials are huge, whether they are on your Linked In profile or website. Because I have so many other jobs I do other than just being a consultant, I rely heavily on past clients recommending me to my future clients. I am a big proponent on the universal Law of Attraction. If you believe it by putting it out there, and they need it, they will come.
Based on your experience, can you share a few strategies to give your customers the best possible user experience and customer service?
Relationship building and trust is key. While I can’t guarantee results, I can show clients what I have helped other businesses achieve in the past. By using the business success algorithm, it helps cement those guarantees. I always listen to my clients closely and build a relationship before we sign a contract. That way we can both determine if it is a good fit for not only the businesses needs, but my expertise as well.
Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started My Consulting Business”. Please share a story or an example for each.
- Marketing is hard.
I’m a Marketing Professor and learning about digital marketing takes time and education. It took me a long time to figure out which social media platforms are the best ones to attract clients, as well as what types of content I should be creating to garner interest. Roberta Pellant Consulting helps businesses navigate the dark world of digital marketing, because we have been there!
2. You need to constantly hustle for your next lead/client.
The average lead time for clients for me is generally about 1–2 months. If you are consulting as a primary income source, you need to have several clients in the various pipeline stages of inquiry, prospect, lead, and current client stage. Don’t get yourself in the situation that I described earlier- having not one business in any of these categories.
3. If you don’t have the money, you will need to do the job yourself.
When you are first starting out, there will be a lot of sweat equity that goes into growing your consulting business. You will need to learn every aspect of running a business from operations, finance, to management and marketing. If you do not understand each one of these areas, you will not have the most streamlined efficient business, and time and money being wasted could be an issue for your business.
4. Do not wait to pay taxes until the end of the year.
Most consultants receive a 1099 for their compensation. If you have a lot of clients, you will be inundated at the end of the year, as taxes are generally not taken out beforehand. I like to pay either quarterly or more frequently depending on my client load.
5. Raise your rates based on your experience and project successes.
I was hesitant to decide on an hourly rate early on, as I had ‘imposter syndrome.’ Why would anyone pay that much per hour for my advice or skill? If you can’t justify your rate to yourself, how do you expect someone else to accept it? I state my price, without apologizes or defending why they are what they are. I know my worth, and so should you.
Wonderful. We are nearly done. Here are the final “meaty” questions of our discussion. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
It would have to be the movement of business education and creative strategy. This is the key to every successful business, to quote Star Trek, “to go where no one has gone before”. I am hired as a consultant to see things a little bit differently and come up with solutions that might not have been thought of before. Sometimes it is a traditional benchmarked solution, other times, it is an unproven, risk solution. As I always tell my clients, what do you have to fail if you don’t take this advice? 9 times out of 10 the worst that could happen would be that they are right back to where they started, and we can try again. But if they take the risk and succeed, the opportunities could be endless.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)
I am picking two. Oprah and Ariana Huffington. Both powerful, creative businesswomen coming from diverse backgrounds that are mega successful yet strive to empower other individuals. I want to have coffee with them so that I can piggyback off their successes to help as many businesses as possible that are suffering worldwide after this pandemic.
Thank you so much for this. This was very inspirational, and we wish you only continued success!
Thank you, Doug, it was a pleasure speaking with you.
