Chapter 18: Scaling Beyond Yourself
At some point, your time becomes the bottleneck. Here's how to scale without just working more hours.
What You'll Learn
- Converting expertise into courses
- Bringing in other consultants
- Building vendor and investor relationships
- Managing inbound with friction
From Office Hours to Courses
When you're tired of answering the same questions, package them.
"I was so tired of answering the same questions. I built the RAG course. The first time it took maybe 30 hours to produce an hour of content."
The Math
Would you rather: - Be paid $1,000 thirty times for the same answer, OR - Invest that time once into something that sells repeatedly?
Courses as Pre-Work
Courses also help your consulting:
"Before we schedule this call, watch this video."
Benefits: - Client comes in educated - Conversation is higher-value - Filters for serious prospects - Establishes your expertise first
Course Development Path
| Stage | Focus | Investment |
|---|---|---|
| Identify repeated questions | What do you answer most often? | Low |
| Create basic content | Blog posts, Loom videos | Low |
| Package into course | Structured curriculum | Medium |
| Add community/coaching | Premium tier | Higher |
Bringing in Other Consultants
As engagements grow, bring in specialists.
For Smaller Engagements (<$20K/month)
Bring in experts for specific questions:
"There are people I know who can really come in and tell us something useful. I can say: 'Hey, there's a question we have. Do you have time to jump on a call? I'll pay you at an hourly rate for preparing some notes.'"
For Larger Engagements
Structure it as a partnership:
"We're going to work together. Because his contract is so much larger, I just make the referral and let them negotiate directly."
Or absorb them into your pricing:
"Option A is just me. Option B is me plus [specialist]. I charge $45K instead of $40K because there's communication and management overhead."
Be transparent about the markup.
Finding Specialists
| Source | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Former colleagues | Known quality | May be busy |
| Conference speakers | Proven expertise | May be expensive |
| Open source maintainers | Technical depth | May lack consulting skills |
| Your client alumni | Understand your process | Limited availability |
Building Vendor and Investor Relationships
Your content attracts more than just clients.
Vendor Relationships
"Vendors are just like: 'You sound like you're building a lot. I want to understand what tools you're running into so we can make our software better.' And I say: 'Let's grab a coffee. Show me your product.'"
Benefits: - Early access to tools - Speaking opportunities - Referral partnerships - Inside information
Investor Relationships
It's always in an investor's best interest to meet people who are building.
"When someone asks 'How can I help?', ask for introductions: 'I'd love to meet more people doing what I'm doing. Can you introduce me to somebody?'"
That's how networks grow.
Managing Inbound with Friction
Control your availability with progressive friction:
When You're Free
- Calendly link on website
- Easy to book
- Minimal qualifying questions
When You're Busy
- Survey form before booking
- Questions filter for serious inquiries
- Minimum engagement displayed
When You're Very Busy
- Price displayed prominently
- High minimum engagement visible
- Application-style intake
- Explicit: "If you see this price and you're shocked, don't email me"
Friction Is a Feature
Friction ensures the people who do get through are qualified and serious. Don't feel bad about adding barriers.
The Partnership Mindset
Stop thinking of yourself as a vendor. Position as a partner.
"Understanding what that partnership looks like has been a pretty big aspect of how I think about my business now."
Partner Characteristics
| Vendor Behavior | Partner Behavior |
|---|---|
| Bills hours | Invests in outcomes |
| Executes tasks | Shapes strategy |
| Follows specifications | Challenges assumptions |
| Waits to be asked | Proactively advises |
| Transactional | Relationship-focused |
Partnership Negotiations
When working with other consultants, ask:
"What are you looking for in a partnership?"
They might want: - Leads (you deliver) - Branding (you let them put their name on it) - Learning (you mentor them) - Network access (you make introductions)
The softer elements (credit, learning, network) are negotiable value.
Productized Services
Create standardized offerings that scale better than custom work.
Examples
| Productized Service | Structure |
|---|---|
| AI Readiness Assessment | Fixed scope, fixed price, 2-week delivery |
| Team Training Workshop | Half-day or full-day, fixed curriculum |
| Architecture Review | Defined process, deliverable template |
| Hiring Support Package | Interview framework, evaluation rubric |
Benefits
- Easier to sell (clear scope and price)
- Faster to deliver (repeatable process)
- Can be delegated (documented methodology)
- Better margins (efficiency improves over time)
When to Hire Help
At some point, doing everything yourself becomes the bottleneck. Here's how to know when you've reached that point—and what to do about it.
The 11 PM Rule
"If you're staying up past 11 pm handling administrative tasks, you should be hiring someone."
This is the simplest diagnostic. If you're regularly up late doing work that isn't client delivery or business development, you're losing money.
The ROI Calculation
The math is straightforward:
"If you're spending 10 hours a week on delegatable tasks at $250/hour effective rate, that's over $2,000 in lost potential revenue—far more than the cost of getting help."
Most consultants understand this intellectually but still resist hiring. The resistance usually breaks when reality hits hard enough:
"I realized this when I found myself at 2 am creating contracts, making Stripe invoices, and hunting down email addresses. If I had used that time to acquire another client instead, I would have made three times what I would pay my Executive Assistant for the whole month."
Every hour you spend on administrative tasks costs you $200+ in opportunity cost. That's not efficiency—it's expensive pride.
What an EA Actually Does for You
Beyond just handling tasks, a good Executive Assistant transforms how you operate:
The "Good Cop/Bad Cop" Advantage
"An EA lets you be 'a little bit meaner' without being the one who's rude. She protects my time in a way that would be awkward for me to do directly."
When you used to spend $400 on Ubers racing between meetings trying to accommodate everyone, your EA can simply say, "Jason has other commitments at this time—it makes more sense for you to meet us here." They protect your time without damaging your relationships.
Professional Perception Enhancement
Having an EA immediately elevates how clients perceive your business. Professionally managed communications and seamless scheduling signal that you're established and successful. This perception alone can justify higher rates.
Consistency in Client Experience
An EA ensures no client falls through the cracks. Follow-ups happen on schedule, contract renewals are anticipated, and client communications maintain a consistent cadence. This consistency dramatically improves retention.
Mental Bandwidth Recovery
Perhaps the most valuable benefit is regaining cognitive capacity. With administrative details handled, you're free to focus entirely on strategic client work and business development—the activities that actually generate revenue.
Working with Writers
Once you've proven content works for your business, consider hiring a writer.
The pattern: you talk through your ideas, they draft the content, you edit and approve. This approach lets you produce significantly more content while preserving your voice and expertise.
For consultants managing RSI or other physical limitations, working with a writer isn't optional—it's essential for maintaining your content flywheel.
AI vs. Human Help
Many consultants ask whether AI tools can replace a human EA.
"The more I work with my EA, the more convinced I am that AI can't do this job well yet. There are so many judgment calls."
Is this person important enough that the call should be scheduled today versus in two weeks? Which client needs a special accommodation and which one is being unreasonable? These decisions require contextual understanding and emotional intelligence that current AI systems can't match.
That said, a tech-savvy human EA who knows how to leverage AI tools can be extraordinarily productive. The combination is more powerful than either alone.
Starting Points
| Approach | Investment | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Part-time VA (5-10 hrs/week) | Low | Testing delegation |
| Task-specific contractors | Low | Bookkeeping, formatting |
| Project-based assistance | Medium | Proposal development, onboarding |
| Full EA | Higher | Sustained administrative load |
Start small if needed, but start somewhere. Your future self will thank you for recognizing that your time and mental energy are your most valuable assets.
The Leverage Ladder
| Level | Leverage | Income Potential | Time Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 Consulting | Low | High per engagement | High |
| Group Workshops | Medium | Medium per person × many | Medium |
| Courses | High | Lower per person × many | Low ongoing |
| Products/Software | Very high | Lower per person × very many | Low ongoing |
The Strategy
- Start with 1:1 consulting to learn what people need
- Document patterns and repeated advice
- Package into group offerings and courses
- Build products for largest audiences
Each level feeds the next. Consulting informs courses, and courses build audience for products.
Choosing Clients Strategically
Not all client opportunities are equal.
"When selecting clients, I recommend optimizing for learning rather than just revenue. Working with less sophisticated clients might seem lucrative at first, but bad companies tend to get worse over time."
Strategic Client Selection
| Criterion | Good Clients | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Learning | Complex, interesting problems | Simple, repetitive work |
| Trajectory | Growing, well-funded | Struggling, underfunded |
| Network | Well-connected leadership | Isolated organizations |
| Domain | Interesting industries | Boring, commoditized |
"I'd rather work on a complex RAG implementation in oil and gas or defense than basic implementations in familiar territories."
These engagements may lead to unique expertise that commands premium rates.
Action Items
-
Identify your course content: What 5-10 questions do you answer most often? That's your curriculum.
-
Map your specialist network: List 3-5 people you could bring into engagements, and what they specialize in.
-
Define your friction levels: What barriers will you use at each busyness level?
-
Create one productized service: Package a common engagement into a fixed-scope, fixed-price offering.
-
Evaluate client quality: For each current client, rate them on learning, trajectory, network, and domain.
Key Takeaways
- Package repeated questions into courses. They scale and work as pre-work
- Bring in specialists for specific expertise, either paid hourly or as partners
- Content attracts vendors and investors—leverage these relationships
- Manage inbound with progressive friction based on your availability
- Think like a partner, not a vendor—invest in outcomes
- Productized services scale better than fully custom work
- Optimize for learning and interesting work, not just revenue