Key Lessons
- Consultant vs. Contractor: Contractors sell time; consultants sell outcomes.
- Sell outcomes, not tasks: Address the customer's pain — "If your app is losing customers to hallucinations, I can help" beats listing your resume.
- Build a content flywheel: Blog posts, videos, and open-source tools position you as an expert and provide sales assets.
- Ask the right questions: "What's most important to your business?" "What does success look like?" These reveal true value.
- Structure proposals with options: Basic (requested deliverable), Enhanced (deeper needs), Full responsibility (outcome-tied payment).
- Price based on value, not time: If you help raise $10M in Series A, $200K in consulting fees seems reasonable.
- Services have limits: Scale beyond $5M/year requires products — courses, books, SaaS tools.
"When you focus on outcomes instead of tasks, a whole new world of pricing opens up."