Blog
Some of my best secrets are a click away – from streamlining hacks and marketing strategies, to revenue generating tips and operations tricks!
What my sad plants taught me about using AI
Early last month, I was sending ChatGPT pictures of some very sad plants. They’d had pretty flowers at one point but a busy August travel season did them in. Now I was looking at dry stems and dead stuff, trying to figure out what could be saved and how much I should cut away. There were several...
The anti-goal question that changes a Q4 plan
The question I ask every business owner before we plan a quarter has nothing to do with their goals and it's the one that changes the plan.) Last September, about an hour into the Q4 Profitability Planning Intensive, I asked the participants my anti-goal question. What do you want to avoid...
Why Busy Business Owners End Up with Empty Pipelines
Years ago, one client represented nearly 75% of the revenue in my HR consulting business. It was a major contract with a large public agency in Chicago and for a long time it gave me steady work and a strong income. It also created a level of dependence that became increasingly uncomfortable....
Don’t Judge the Harvest Before You Check the Roots
“This Business is Like a Vineyard” An established leadership coach and author said that to me during her coaching session a few weeks ago. I wrote it down immediately, because in one sentence she had named the rhythm of solo practice better than I ever have. Vineyards run on patience and...
25 Years, 2 Businesses, and the Power of Releasing the Tight Grip
This month marks a double milestone that has me looking back, reflecting, and celebrating. It has officially been 25 years since I launched my first HR consulting business, and 15 years since I started Scattered to Streamlined. When I look back at "Year 1 Me," I see a young founder from a...
The 3 Disciplines That End the Client Pipeline Rollercoaster
Ever feel like your business is running like a roller-coaster - up and steady for a while, then down in the dumps until the next upward climb? I recently worked with a fractional chief financial officer who was grinding through 60-hour workweeks. On paper, she was successful. In reality, she...
Life has a way of showing you exactly how well your business is built.
Last month, my mother passed away unexpectedly. Important life events happen to all of us, some happy, some devastating - and these events have an impact professionally as well as personally. I've shared how grateful I am to those in my and my mom's lives who supported us during this time. (Jim...
The Three Decisions Every Solo Professional Must Make for Second Quarter
Every March we talk about luck, good fortune, and four-leaf clovers. Being mostly Irish - I love it! But if your business revenue depends on luck, look out - you’re relying on a wish instead of leading a business. By the time we reach mid-March, Q1 has already given you useful...
When Effort and Results Stop Matching
Hello. My name is Connie Whitesell and I am a People Pleaser, a 9 on the Enneagram - a Peacemaker (aka “yes-woman”). That did not serve me well when I started out with my first business as an HR consultant. “Connie, would you: Create an Employee Handbook? Yes, of course. Help with an...