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On-Ramp to Full-Time Advising and Consulting for Busy Execs

New
·

3 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Stand up and scale your advisory business: a course for busy execs who want freedom and broader impact

Previously at or currently serving

PayPal
Instacart
Goodfynd
Mina Foundation
Dapper Labs

Course overview

Get a step-by-step guide for making the transition to full-time consulting.


I frequently speak with busy execs -- both from large, publicly traded companies, and from startups -- who would like to start a new chapter of advising and consulting full-time. If you're reading this, you may be one of them.



The thing is, while you recognize this path exists, you also have really good questions:


- How, exactly, do you find clients?

- How many clients can you really serve at once before you burn out or quality degrades?

- How in the heck do you figure out pricing?

- Do you need to be a "thought leader" / influencer to do this?

- Can you really make a decent living with this setup?



Beyond the practical, there are deeper emotional questions as well:


- I'm really uncomfortable with sales -- will that be a problem?

- I'm scared that I'll have a hard time setting and maintaining boundaries around my time. How do you do that?

- How do I spot red flags with potential clients as we're vetting one another? If I'm going to do this, I want to enjoy it.

- I'm comfortable operating within my corporate structure. How can I manage my time and stay motivated?

- Am I really an expert? Aren't there hundreds of better / smarter people doing this?



After 15 years of operating in both startups and large, publicly-traded companies -- and after having three children -- I decided to take control of my time, while staying on the steep learning curve that I've always loved.



In full-time advisory and consulting, I've constructed a work-life that is grounded in variety, diversification, and choice. Everyday, I'm building out my network, my skillset, and my optionality for the future.


This path brings incredible benefits, and it may be available to you.



But it is not for everyone. Constructing a portfolio of engagements is an entrepreneurial pursuit requiring testing, iteration and hustle. The income variability and the ambiguity surrounding many of the engagements can lead to anxiety, fear, and real instability.



This course is for execs who are in a position to navigate these risks, can find joy in the ups, downs and lessons, and are looking for freedom and broad impact in the next chapter of their careers.



I've developed this 301-level course for busy execs that will help you understand the practical and tactical aspects of standing up your own advisory business, and what it looks like to scale it for broader impact.



In this short and meaty course, we will dive into the following:


Defining Your Offering: I will provide you with tools that I've used to draft and refine my offering over the last two years:

- Role Deconstruction: look back on your career to-date and clearly distill the outcomes, expertise and disciplines you've mastered.

- Energy Audit: filter out the things that wipe you of your energy, and focus on things that you can offer with joy.



Building Your Pipeline: I will share my playbook for seeding and expanding your funnel:

- How to start warm and then fill top-of-funnel

- How to convert warm leads into clients

- Pricing: What are the various structures you can utilize and when should you consider each?



Setting Up Your Back-Office: We will cover exactly what you need, and what you don't need, on Day 1, including:

- LLCs, Licenses, Taxes and Accounting: what's necessary to-start, and what can you phase in after revenue?

- Contracts: what are the standard agreements that you'll need for each and every client?

- Finances: we'll walk through my P&L in detail to discuss operating expenses, and margin for different engagement types



Much More :)

- As you start to ramp-up, you'll also encounter opportunities with subcontractors and partners, challenges with time management, wrinkles in how you service clients, and so much more. We'll dive into many of these scenarios and I will share my direct experience with each.



How we'll tackle this together:

This course is specifically designed for seasoned execs who are looking for an on-ramp into full-time consulting and advisory work, and want to go past generalized knowledge and into first-hand experience.



Cohorts will learn the ropes together through the following:


- Three live courses, with Q&A throughout. This is a 301-level course where we will dive into nuance and breeze by things that you could have easily Googled.


- Concrete and productive assignments to help you apply insights and make real progress


- Open Office Hours for more in-depth Q&A, group coaching and feedback on materials


- A closed Slack group for peer networking and learning (a superpower when pursuing this path!)



Bonus Materials will include:

- All course materials and course recordings

- A suite of tools and templates, including:

--> Role Deconstruction / Capabilities worksheet

--> Engagement Models w/ pros & cons

--> One-Pager Template for Driving Leads

--> Advisory Comp Benchmarks

--> Project Estimate Template

--> Communities to Join for Network Expansion

--> My Tech Stack: with breakdown of expenses each month and year

--> Example P&L: broken out by different engagement types



If you want to take a bet on yourself and create your own path through full-time advisory or consulting -- and you want to avoid 18-months of costly fumbles, this on-ramp is for you.



A note on Cohort 1 vs Cohort 2:


- Cohort 1 takes place over five weeks, and includes two Office Hours sessions for group coaching between classes.


- Cohort 2 takes place over three weeks, and includes one Office Hour session, and one 1:1 coaching session.

Who is this course for

01

Execs with 15 years+ of experience, in the midst of, or looking to transition into full-time advisory or consulting and need support

02

Seasoned leaders looking for diversification, impact across companies, work/life balance, optionality and who want to hit the ground running

03

This is not for: consultants looking for guarantees of “a seven-figure contract in 6 weeks” or execs unwilling to put in the work.

What you’ll get out of this course

Develop a clear sense of the unique capabilities that you will offer to companies at various stages.

Utilize tools that will help you view your career experience and track record in a new light.


Lean on a community of peers, and your instructor, to pressure-test and hone your pitch.

Build a pipeline of initial opportunities and a clear understanding of selling and client management.

Identify blindspots and dig deeply into the realities of selling, pricing, servicing and growing a portfolio of clients. Work directly with someone who has "done it" and go deep into the nuance of day-to-day interactions.

Accelerate your transition by utilizing ready-made tools and guides that will save you time and give you meaningful focus.

Avoid fumbling around for 18-months, and gain the focus and confidence to capture real opportunities.


Gain lifetime access to tools and frameworks that I've used to generate and close initial clients, manage my back-office and focus productively.

Bootstrap your peer advisor network as you work alongside a curated group of other experts.

Learn and build alongside a curated cohort of fellow Execs in transition. You will share feedback, exchange ideas and opportunities, and hold each other accountable along the way.

Analyze whether this path is right for you, working directly with an experienced advisor who has your back.

Gain in-depth feedback and space for group coaching in open Office Hours sessions.


All students will also receive a lifetime discount to 1:1 coaching with instructor following the course.

This course includes

5 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

4 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

5 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Dec 5—Dec 8

    Dec

    5

    Live Course 1: Defining Your Offering

    Thu 12/54:00 PM—5:30 PM (UTC)

    Is this path right for me?

    2 items

    Defining your offering

    3 items

Week 2

Dec 9—Dec 15

    Dec

    12

    Live Course 2: Building Your Pipeline

    Thu 12/124:00 PM—5:30 PM (UTC)

    Dec

    13

    Optional: 1:1 Coaching w/ Amanda

    Fri 12/135:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)
    Optional

    Building Your Pipeline

    2 items

Week 3

Dec 16—Dec 20

    Dec

    18

    Optional: Open Office Hours #1

    Wed 12/1810:00 PM—11:00 PM (UTC)
    Optional

    Dec

    19

    Live Course 3: Setting Up Your Back-Office

    Thu 12/194:00 PM—5:30 PM (UTC)

    Building your Back-Office and other Lessons...

    2 items

What people are saying

        Working with Amanda is a competitive advantage for anyone looking to build an advisory practice. She was instrumental in helping me develop my narrative, scope initial work, and set up the back-end of my business in the most optimal way. Amanda shared insights on client interactions, significantly improving my skillset.
Shira Stember

Shira Stember

Early-Stage CMO Turned Advisor
        Working with Amanda has been truly transformational. Coming from an untraditional background (cookies in China…), I didn’t know quite how to present my experience and skillset. She really helped me come up with a framework for my consulting services in a way that felt authentic and compelling. 
Lexie Comstock

Lexie Comstock

Entrepreneur
        Amanda has been a game-changer for me as a CEO. As I grow my business, it is imperative that I am advised by industry experts with a track record of success. Amanda has given me strategic guidance on many of my most complex operational problems. I consider myself very lucky to have her on my advisory board, and fully recommend her course.
Sofiat Abdulrazaaq

Sofiat Abdulrazaaq

CEO, Goodfynd (FinTech, Seed Stage)
        Amanda's wealth of experience in scaling high-performing organizations and her strategic insights are truly unparalleled. She has been advising me from day one and her guidance continues to be instrumental in our growth. Amanda’s ability to distill complex concepts into actionable strategies make her an exceptional instructor.
Kurt Hemecker

Kurt Hemecker

CEO, Mina Foundation
        I have learned SO much from Amanda. She is able to distill complexity into normal-person speak whether it's tech, relationships, or strategy. I'd also be remiss not to mention her network. Amanda is able to thread connections from her unparalleled network into clients and partnerships. I've landed several new clients by replicating her strategies.
Samantha Mullett

Samantha Mullett

Marketing Advisor and Coach
        What makes Amanda an expert on this is that she's done it herself and also helped others find their paths. She was a valuable resource and sounding board for me when I was first considering the differences between consulting, advisory and fractional leadership work. She was so helpful that I've referred several friends and colleagues to her.
Clam Lorenz

Clam Lorenz

Executive

Meet your instructor

Amanda Schwartz Ramirez

Amanda Schwartz Ramirez

Hi! I'm Amanda Schwartz Ramirez, a strategy and operations executive, advisor and board member. Over the last 15 years, I've built and scaled high-performing organizations at their earliest stages, during hyper-growth, and at Fortune 500 scale.


Currently, as an advisor and founder of Garden Labs, I help venture-backed CEOs and COOs hone a more focused strategy and scale more intentionally. I also work closely with publicly-traded companies to advise on emerging tech.


I built this comprehensive course to help other execs make an informed leap into this meaningful, yet poorly defined, ride.


My hope is that all students come out of this course smarter about the journey, more prepared to take (and mitigate) its risks, and ready to benefit from the freedom and broad impact that I've enjoyed over the last two years.


For more insight into my career journey, find me on Linkedin.


Click here for more info on Garden Labs.


Find me on Substack, where I sporadically write about ops and strategy.

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

On-Ramp to Full-Time Advising and Consulting for Busy Execs

Cohort 2

$1,999

Dates

Dec 5—20, 2024

Application Deadline

Dec 5, 2024

Course schedule

2-4 hours per week

  • Live Sessions

    Every other Thursday

    For Cohort 1: we will meet bi-weekly on Fridays, from 8 - 9:30am PT, for 5 weeks. There will be 3 live classes, with 1 async kick-off leading in.


    For Cohort 2: we will meet weekly on Thursdays, for 3 weeks. There will be 3 live classes, with 1 async kick-off leading in.

  • Actionable Steps

    2 hours per week

    Every class will have a clear next-step, allowing you to take action and make progress in your transition.


    Tools and templates will be provided.

  • Office Hours (Optional)

    Twice During Course Period

    For Cohort 1: I will host two one-hour Office Hours, for any student to join with questions or materials to review.


    For Cohort 2: I will host one one-hour Office Hour, with one 1:1 coaching session for each student.

Learning is better with cohorts

Learning is better with cohorts

Active hands-on learning

This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects

Interactive and project-based

You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams

Learn with a cohort of peers

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

Frequently Asked Questions

Stay in the loop

Sign up to be the first to know about course updates.

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

On-Ramp to Full-Time Advising and Consulting for Busy Execs

Cohort 2

$1,999

Dates

Dec 5—20, 2024

Application Deadline

Dec 5, 2024

$1,999

3 Weeks