Let’s talk about life-work balance for consultants.
And no, I don’t mean WORK-life balance. I mean LIFE-work balance.
Because I believe it’s time we rethink the entire notion of what balance means. The problem with the phrase work-life balance is that we are still saying WORK comes first. The term literally puts work first.
In today’s work-life balance framework, we only achieve balance by personally putting guardrails around WORK. And when those guardrails falter, it’s our individual responsibility and “failure.”
Let’s be honest, though. Our culture glorifies being busy. It’s something a lot of us have internalized. We’ve learned to define our self-worth by how productive we are. Things like how many meetings we’re in, how many hours we work, how many side hustles we have, and how many tasks we add to—and check off—our to-do lists each day.
For too many of us working as consultants, work is never-ending. We never shut off.
This is a recipe for exhaustion, burnout, and health crises. In fact, chronic stress is increasingly recognized as a contributing factor to many chronic and scary medical conditions—including heart disease and stroke.
The answer of “reducing stress” by seeking work-life balance though is inadequate for the task. Because it still puts work first.
Instead, for those of us working in consulting or running small businesses, I propose two key steps for rethinking our life-work balance.
Step 1: Imagine what if we put LIFE before WORK as consultants?
Imagine this: What if your health, relationships, family responsibilities, and personal passions weren’t something that had to be crammed in “on the side.” What if you prioritized LIFE before your work?
If you’re like me, your day-to-day life and consulting would look a lot different if you put life first. And maybe that is a good thing! This past year, I realized that even though I’d been taking time away from running my consulting business, I still wasn’t truly putting LIFE first. So I decided it was time to start.
There is a LOT that would have to change—in ourselves and our society—for LIFE-work balance to become the norm. But as Dolly Parton said, “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”
Change can start with each one of us and it can be as simple as the words we use. So, give it a try. How does saying “life-work” balance feel to YOU as a consultant?
Step 2: Seize the power of CHOICES as a consultant
The magic of consulting is that it gives us CHOICES. And each of the choices you make in your business gives you a chance to put life before work.
First, though, let’s talk about the difference between freedom and choices. A lot of consultants say that what they want is more freedom.
Many consultants start their businesses because they want the freedom to not have a boss or to work from anywhere or to work fewer or more flexible hours.
But when you’re in the thick of running a nonprofit consulting business like I am—juggling nonprofit clients and their missions and your own needs and commitments—it doesn’t feel like freedom. It feels like work.
The difference between having a 9-to-5 vs running your own consulting business isn’t freedom. It’s the ability to MAKE CHOICES about how you work. So, let’s dig into some of these choices!
As a consultant, you CHOOSE the services you actively market and promote.
Just because you CAN do everything, doesn’t mean you have to. Even though I’ve got tons of fundraising experience, my favorite work right now is coaching and mentoring nonprofit consultants. I’m choosing to focus on that.
Consultants can CHOOSE how much we want to earn and how.
Before the start of every year, I decide where I want the next year’s revenue to come from, prioritizing the different products and services in my business. I also review and update my pricing AND assess my own and my team’s capacity. A business plan doesn’t do much good if you can’t deliver on it.
As a consultant, you get to CHOOSE the clients you take on.
Choosing our clients is one of the most empowering things we do as consultants. We decide who we work with. We can fire clients. We can say no to clients or projects. This can be scary at first, but it’s important.
Consultants CHOOSE who we surround ourselves with.
As a consultant, you aren’t stuck with random coworkers someone else hired. In addition to your clients, you can find or build community. A year ago, I came up with the idea to create a community of nonprofit consultants called The Hive—and I cannot express how much the members keep me inspired and on my toes.
When you work in consulting, you can CHOOSE if you want to work less or more.
This is important for those of us who get into consulting because we’re burned out from long nights and weekends as nonprofit staff. If you ARE working nights and weekends as a consultant, there’s no boss to complain about (except yourself). Which means it’s time to make new choices. For example, for 2025, I’m choosing not to travel for work.
Life-work Balance in Consulting Is About Making Different Choices
Unlike full-time staff members, those of us running our own consulting businesses have a lot of power to make choices. But we need to learn to use that power wisely and without guilt. Because, yes, our culture doesn’t reward putting life before work. So it’s up to us to start the change.
Are you missing out on the power of choice in your consulting business? Grab some time on my calendar and let’s talk about how our mentorship programs can help!
