Hi Reader,

Thank you for taking the time to answer the Consulting Almanac survey this spring. You gave us something honest, and every finding in this report belongs to the people who answered it. That includes you.

Before this goes anywhere public, I wanted you to see it first.

Here is what 86 independent consultants told us about how their practices actually run.

• Seventy-one of the 86 handle every piece of operational work themselves. Only five have a dedicated operations partner. That is not a gap. That is one person selling the work, delivering the work, managing the calendar, chasing the invoices, and still holding onto nearly every client.
• Fifty say their operations are working okay. Only two say very well. Steady is a real accomplishment, and most small businesses never reach it. It is also the state that never gives you a reason to move.
• Forty-nine report that friction has delayed their growth. Twenty-four report burnout, including twelve who also said they are keeping up just fine. That second number is the one worth sitting with.
• Asked what they most want solved, the answer was clients. But look closer and the friction underneath is operational. A capacity problem wearing a sales costume.
• Not one of the 86 turns first to a consultant or agency when something breaks. Forty-seven figure it out themselves. That is not a failure. That is an entire lever still sitting untried.

That is the shape of it. Nothing here is broken. It is a capable, proven group sitting one deliberate step from something better than steady.

The full report is yours below, with all six findings laid out the way you just read them.

More to come. For now, just thank you.

With gratitude,
Erin Peshoff, Founder
Partner with Vivid