How I got off the feast & famine rollercoaster (and how you can too)

You've probably realised by now it's waaay harder to make money in your coaching or consulting business than as a salaried employee.

Just because you’re brilliant at what you do, doesn't mean running a business is going to be a breeze. Being great at what you do and running a successful business are two totally different ball games.

Some months it feels like the enquiries are free-flowing and you're as busy as ever, and the next, tumbleweed…there’s not much coming in and you start to wonder if you’re cut out for this and need to dust off that CV and get a ‘proper’ job! But before you know it, the cycle starts again. A flurry of sales hits you and you’re back to spinning all the plates.

This is the feast and famine rollercoaster, and it can wreak havoc on your mindset as well as your finances. Inconsistent sales result in anxiety-ridden months while doing the actual selling and marketing feels draining, inauthentic and a little bit icky. If you’ve been on this dizzying ride recently (and now want to get off!), you’re not alone! Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted and takes a very special type of person, like you and me.

So, how do you get off? 

Here’s my story of how I did it and to show you how you can do the same.

The boom-or-bust struggle is real

Between 2018 and 2020, my income from coaching and consulting services varied wildly, ranging from £1k to (very occasionally!) £3k per month. I topped up my income with the occasional culture consultancy or associate gig, but I constantly worried about where the next client would come from. The fear of potentially dipping into my dwindling savings to pay the nursery fees and mortgage was always looming.

Having earned decent money as a Head of Talent, I was used to contributing equally to the household pot. My ego meant the pressure to make my biz profitable quickly was intense, and the uncertainty of client flow led to a permanent state of anxiety, causing me to overwork and nearly burn out.

Speaking from a place of privilege, and as an eternal optimist, I knew deep down we’d never end up on the street. However, the feeling of ‘winging it’ every month was incredibly stressful. My nervous system was in a constant state of fight, flight, freeze (and occasionally fawn). I figured if I kept showing up consistently on social media like I had been for years, all would be OK. And yet my lead flow would range from a healthy flow one month to a feeble drip the next.

I couldn't put a finger on what I was doing differently during the months when enquiries were more forthcoming.

I felt utterly powerless. Like my business was running me, not the other way around.

My nervous system (and my bank balance) couldn’t cope anymore!

Yet my experience is not unique. It's something I hear again and again from clients.

The realisation of what wasn’t working

In 2021, after three years of struggling and riding the feast and famine-rollercoaster, I finally cracked it. I worked out what was making everything feel soo overwhelming and out of control.

I was trying to market four different offers simultaneously, each aimed at a different ideal client.

My work happiness membership, The SHINE Collective

My 1:1 career coaching programme, S.H.I.N.E

My 1:1 leadership coaching programme, S.H.I.N.E Brighter

My group career coaching group programme, S.H.I.N.E Club

Each one delivered a slightly different transformation. Each one was aimed at a slightly different ideal client. My signature S.H.I.N.E framework was pretty much the only thing that stayed consistent in each offer.

My marketing was a mess because my messaging was mixed up. I was trying to speak to everyone about everything, which resulted in speaking to nobody about anything.

FYI marketing 101 - focus is key!

I realised the solution was niching down.

And not in the same way as everyone else. 

It wasn't about restricting myself to only working with blonde women from Bolton called Brenda who are 5' 5 and work in Pharma forever more!

It was about finding the approach that worked for me.

Finding My Purpose and Profit Niche™️

The months when marketing felt easier were when I stopped promoting all my offers at once. And perhaps unsurprisingly, these were also the months when my incoming enquiries would skyrocket and my income would nudge into the ‘feast’ zone. I focused on:

• The perfect people my service was for (and not for)

• The urgent problems I was passionate about solving

• The juicy transformations/results my service delivered

• How my approach to solving these problems was uniquely different from my peers

Without realising it, I had accidentally homed in on my Purpose and Profit Niche™️. This focus simplified my messaging and content marketing, making it easier to create and understand for both me and my audience.

By consistently targeting a specific niche, people began to associate me with solving specific problems in a uniquely 'me-shaped' way. My authority and audience grew, and referrals increased because my value proposition was clear. 

Talking about my unique approach allowed me to stand out from the rapidly growing pool of other coaches online.

So, if you’ve been resisting niching, I get it. I really do.

But you really don’t have to fit a prescribed mould or niche to find work happiness – you can create it yourself.

The secret to shaping and growing a coaching or consulting business that makes you happy AND makes you money lies in your personality and purpose. When you make your business an extension of who you TRULY are, you’ll attract values-aligned clients who go on to get incredible results – win-win.

Niching down, which I initially resisted, turned out to be liberating and expansive, both emotionally and financially. 

And now, my superpower is helping you see (and believe in) your own valuable gifts, experience and skills so you can package up this solid-gold brilliance into profitable life/career/health/business-changing services, and position them in such a way that will leave your perfect people queuing up to work with you.

Ready to get off the feast and famine rollercoaster?

If you want to identify your very own Purpose and Profit Niche™️ so you can finally get off the dizzying ride, you can book a free no-string clarity call here and see if my Fruitful Founder programme is right for you.

Want to get a taste of how I do things first? Download a copy of my 6 ethical strategies and learn how you can ethically grow a happy, profitable and authentic business that can change lives – without compromising your own.