Why micro-consulting is the future of advisory services
For a large brand, a full consulting engagement with me is a legitimate investment. It’s a wildly important one, because companies can’t efficiently set their sights on their aspirations without absolutely nailing the fundamentals of mission and vision — but nonetheless, it is an investment.
These types of large engagements are and will remain our bread and butter at Cause:Effect Creative, because the development or repositioning of a brand — exploring its soul, telling its story, giving its employees, investors, and customers a reason to believe — is a deeply involved process. We spend a lot of time not just with senior stakeholders like founders and the C-suite, but with staff across the company. We translate what we learn into a package of enduring assets that will resonate and pay dividends for many years to come.
But not every engagement with me needs to be at this scale, just as not every meal is a holiday dinner with appetizers, sides, and a homemade pie. Sometimes you just need a snack.
But how do we take a flagship brand consulting service and turn it into something snackable?
Meet micro-consulting
In a traditional advisory agreement, a contract can be worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, with few (if any) off-ramps for the client. In this type of arrangement, spread over a few phases, our phase one deliverables are meaningful and practically guarantee that the client is going to feel energized and thrilled to move to phase two. But even the outlay for phase one alone might, for some clients, feel too great (at least at first).
Micro-consulting helps bridge this gap. The concept is to parcel out the advisor’s brain in an asynchronous way that facilitates meaningful, productive interactions without overtaxing the advisor or putting a big invoice in front of the client.
Effectively, micro-consulting gives clients a way to get from 🤞 to ✌️ without spending so much 💸.
Instead of “Hey Siri,” think of it as “Hey Anita.”
This concept came from my realization that many founders and entrepreneurial individuals need me as a sort of sounding board for their thought bubbles. 💬
Here’s what it can look like in the real world:
Because the work I do is so visual — and because there is no substitute for face-to-face communication — I use Volley for this, which allows me to bounce video messages back and forth with my clients. I imagine some advisors could offer micro-consulting agreements using something as simple as text messaging or email as well, but because Volley also integrates the e-commerce side of this, it’s a turnkey solution for me.
Micro-consulting is just less daunting for everyone. For me, as the advisor, it means less commitment and structure around realtime meetings and travel — and because it’s designed to be asynchronous, I can respond to questions or needs from my clients both as they arise and at my convenience. For clients, it’s less commitment upfront and offers a taste of what working with me on larger projects can feel like. And for some clients, a standing micro-consulting agreement may be all they need.
Again, there is still a place for bigger and more structured advisory arrangements, and I think many of those will come out of micro-consulting relationships as clients outgrow this service and realize they have both the budget and mindset to do something at a larger scale. But I believe micro-consulting can be the bulk of a consultant’s work if they so choose, and I’m excited to see where it goes at Cause:Effect Creative.
How to book me
- I offer my consulting services on both Volley and Intro. You can start small (that’s what micro-consulting is all about!) and scale up as your needs grow.
- I also offer cohort-based learning through Maven. And I’m currently assessing interest in a course on launching your own micro-consulting practice. Want in? Complete this survey.
- Finally, I’m represented by WSB for speaking engagements. Get in touch with my team directly if that’s something your organization needs, and we can make that happen.
Anita Stubenrauch is an ex-Apple creative and the founder of Cause:Effect Creative, an agency that helps brands express visionary ideas with poetic power, and the host of the Hyperactive Imagination podcast, a high-voltage channel for creativity.
