Consulting Side Hustle With Kristen Meinzer

Many of Rebel Therapist's program participants and listeners are brilliant folx who feel intimidated by the idea of consulting for organizations, and yet they have the gifts those organizations need. I'm talking about you. It's part of my mission to help healers, especially those who are queer/trans and/or BIPOC to parachute into organizations, facilitate real change, make lots of money, and not lose themselves in the process. If you want in on this exploration, this is for you. I'm so excited to bring you one of my personal heroes, Kristen Meinzer. Kristen is an award-winning podcaster, culture critic, royal watcher, and author. She currently hosts Movie Therapy with Rafer & Kristen, a podcast in which listeners write in with their quandaries, and she and her cohost Rafer Guzman respond with a mix of advice and viewing recommendations. She also hosts By The Book, a podcast in which she and her cohost Jolenta Greenberg live by the rules of a different self-help book in each episode. Her book, So You Want to Start a Podcast, won the Audie Award for best business/personal development audiobook of 2020. She was named a 2020 Woman of the Year by The Women's Center in Washington DC. In 2021, she was selected by the U.S. Department of State to serve in the U.S. Speaker's Program. As you may have noticed, most of the work she does is NOT consulting. Consulting is only about 10% of her business. If you'd like to bring your gifts to organizations as a side hustle, whether or not you want to grow that side hustle into a full time thing, listen up. You'll hear what worked for her, and what she's learned through mistakes to do differently. Your gift is probably not the same as hers. You're probably not poised to be a world class podcast consultant. Your gift may be around communication or healing trauma or Diversity Equity and Inclusion or something else. As you listen, think about how you could be bringing YOUR gifts into organizations. Here's some of what we talked about: Developing her primary consulting packages based on her years of experience Creating a valuable "prescription" document for each of her clients Find allies in organizations, especially if you're part of a marginalized community How she deals with the isolation and loneliness of being an entrepreneur Her mistake early on of giving away too much without getting paid How she sets up her pricing for individuals and for corporations The scary early months of starting her own business Her rolling to-do list and other productivity hacks Here are some takeaways that particularly stand out to me: Takeaway #1: One way Kristen creates immense value in her consulting work is by giving her clients a document with plans mapped out in tangible steps. She calls it her prescription. This is a way she demonstrates the value she's delivered and it helps the clients make the best use of the consultation. Takeaway #2: Especially if you're part of a marginalized group, look for people in an organization who can advocate for you. Find allies, nurture relationships and don't try to do everything alone. Takeaway #3: Kristen shared an early mistake so that you don't have to make it too. She gave too much away without getting paid. Now she's careful to limit what she shares before she officially gets hired. Takeaway #4: A piece of advice Kristen would give to her past self who was about to start her own business: Believe it's going to be OK and don't overwork out of anxiety. Show notes at http://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/154