I'm always very skeptical of books/articles/etc that claim to help you 'create your own 6-figure business'...
Just reminds me of those ads you see saying "make $1000 in 5 minutes, working from home"
What lessons are in this book that are totally different to all the generic advice that people can get elsewhere?
@bentossell Very valid concern! As a co-author and the member of the mastermind, I can say that the main difference here is the mindset. That's what the reader is paying for (even though he might think "the actionable techniques" matter the most).
Usually with a book you get a mindset of just one person, traded for your money and time spent reading. In this case, it's the mindset of 13 smartest consultants, pulled together. The highest concentration!
@bentossell,
Excellent question — I'm familiar with those "Make Money Online" ads too and the thing that stands out to me about them is that they always promise 'Great riches with no work!'
The Independent Consulting Manual (ICM) is different than those ads. Here are three reasons why:
First, we wrote the ICM specifically to offer advice, guidance, and direction to consultants who want to grow their business based on our experience growing our individual consulting practices. While it would be impossible to offer a 'Comprehensive Guide To Everything Consulting' _(just look at Alan Weiss's impressive library of consulting material)_, we've done our best to share strategic _(building a productized consulting offering, positioning your firm, qualifying your prospects and clients, writing better proposals, etc.)_ and tactical lessons _(using cold email outreach, using facebook ads, avoiding late payment, etc.)_ to help give people a strong direction of the options available to them and how to implement them.
Wherever possible, we worked to go 'above and beyond' in the advice we share to make sure that it's actionable, relevant, and specific to an independent consultant who is looking to grow their business.
Second, as Bryce Bladon was kind enough to write in the introduction:
> It would take years of experience and dozens of new and interesting mistakes to learn as much as I have from Kai and his colleagues over the first few months of knowing them. That’s what this book is: a shortcut for time, effort, and mistakes.
> If you’re someone who considers themselves an independent _anything_, then you’re probably someone who understands accountability. You understand that this book is not going to catapult you to ridiculous new heights of success as soon as you finish the last chapter.
> What it is going to do is provide proven and actionable advice. It’s going to make you reflect on how you do business and it’s going to make you better for it.
We wrote the ICM to provide actionable advice specific to independent consultants. But, much like a cookbook, it takes action on the part of the reader to implement them and, slowly, consistently, over time, improve their business to get to that next level.
I know that from when I started my independent consulting practice to when I had my first 6-figure year, it took 5 years of consistent, steady progress. With the ICM, we're offering lessons, advice, and direction to help the reader understand the steps to take to reach that point. Again, much like a cookbook, we're offering lessons and recipes. The job for the reader is to implement, test, refine, and repeat.
Third, we stand behind our product and the quality of the information we're sharing. If a reader buys the ICM, reads it, and finds it lacking or not up to their standards, all they have to do is hit reply and let me know. They'll get an immediate refund. We list a 14-day money back guarantee on the website and the truth is after 14, 28, or 365+ days, if a reader said "Hey, you know what, I made this investment in the ICM and I'm just not happy with it, I'd like a refund," I'll instantly refund them their purchase.
***
Could a reader find the same advice that we share in the ICM elsewhere online? Most likely. But what we've done is collect the advice, lessons, strategy, and tactics that have been valuable in _our_ businesses in one place so that the reader can avoid the pain and struggle of searching out the information themselves, piece by piece.
Am I explaining all of that well? I deeply appreciate your question!
@bentossell Ben, absolutely love that question. I think each of the us (co-authors) is usually sceptical about those as well! We get it and we are happy to answer!
I think the major difference is in the actionable tips and steps we provide within the book. You can’t help yourself with general and vague advice, can you? We did the exact opposite of that.
I can also mention that a couple of people within the mastermind (including myself) have said that joining this mastermind was the best thing that happened for their business in 2015. I had a great consulting practice before with respectable revenue, but the advice of the other 14 people within that group has put me on a totally different and next-level path. Not only revenue-wise, but everything else as well.
Hopefully that answers your question. :)
Heyo Hunters!
I couldn't be happier to finally see this on Product Hunt! We're really hoping to bring some of you great value and I know we will!
This book has interesting beginnings. About a year and a half ago a small group started a mastermind which grew into a community of 15 extraordinary people (each with his/her own business) who learn from each other every day. The mastermind is full so we couldn't accept more people, but we wanted to share our knowledge with all of you. That's where our book comes in. :)
We wrote this 400+ pages long, full of actionable advice book collaboratively, each author contributing one or more chapters of actionable advice on growing your business and creating the life you want.
And because we really want to spread the word and the knowledge, there's a 25% discount waiting for you on the link. Because you're awesome!
We would love to answer any questions you might have and chat a little bit more! :)
Makerpad
Userlist
Make Money Online - 15: Working With Experts
The 1-Hour UI Audit
Don't Hit Publish
Make Money Online - 15: Working With Experts
The 1-Hour UI Audit