Ryan Rouse

Growth advisor to consumer businesses with a focus on every line of the P&L | Previously, Co-Founder at Factor Meals (acquired), CEO at Highkey

Growth-minded CPG leader with deep experience across finance, brand building, and operational leadership.

After more than a decade in finance—culminating in an eight-year tenure at Merrill Lynch—I co-founded Factor_, a ready-to-eat meal delivery company that went on to be acquired by HelloFresh for $277M in 2020.

I joined HighKey Snacks as Chief Marketing Officer and later CEO, guiding the low-sugar snack brand through rapid expansion and an acquisition in 2024.

I'm currently the President of MALK Organics, a fast-growing, near nine-figure brand redefining the plant-based milk category with its commitment to clean, organic ingredients and uncompromising quality.

And I write a newsletter about what it really takes to grow—your company, your mindset, your tolerance for chaos:
​
​• The unfiltered truth about building a brand
• Why “strategy” isn’t always strategic
• What to do when everything feels on fire
• Mindset shifts that keep you sane(ish)​
• Founder mistakes, market moves, and lessons I’m still learning​
​
​Part playbook, part perspective shift.
For anyone trying to grow something—and keep their head on straight.

Sign up using the link here (or below my profile pic above): https://ryanrouse.me/

Vice President | Partner

Data driven investors in early stage consumer brands. 

Watched someone's face light up yesterday. 

I'd just told them their bonus number.

Not a polite smile. Not a professional nod.

Their entire face changed.

After a killer 2025 at MALK, I got to sit down with my team over the last few days and share what they'd earned.

These conversations are my favorite part of leadership.

Not because I'm handing out money. Because I'm watching bets pay off.

Every hire is a bet. Every promotion. Every time you give someone more responsibility than they've had before, you're betting they'll rise to it.

Most of those bets don't feel safe when you make them.

You're trusting people before they've proven they can handle it. Giving them room to fail. Hoping like hell they don't.

And then you get a year like this one.

Where chaos turned into wins. Grind turned into growth. And the people you bet on delivered more than you imagined.

That's the payoff.

Not the revenue. Not the milestones.

Watching someone realize their work mattered (and was recognized).

Never been on a Forbes list // President @ MALK Organics // Follow for posts about the highs and lows of building consumer brands from 13+ years in the trenches actually doing it

MALK made the Bain 2026 US Insurgent Brands list 👀 

What I love about this list is it's numbers based (i.e., not a popularity contest.)

• Greater than $35MM in revenue
• Grown at least 10x faster than their category average over the last 5 years
• Maintained positive growth over the past 2 years

A couple other stats that stand out. 

- While the overall market grew less than 2% in 2025, the insurgents captured 36% of market growth.

- Insurgents grew volumes by approximately 55% year over year in a market where overall volumes were largely flat, demonstrating that their growth reflects real consumer demand, not just price inflation.

- Insurgent brands continue to be at the forefront of where consumer demand is accelerating with 44% of the brands featuring natural or organic claims. 

I'm proud of what we're building at MALK. 

And honored to sit alongside the other amazing Brands on this list. 

Let's get after it once again in 2026!

We’re debuting our new Cleaner Creamers at Expo West.

Organic, dairy-free, and made without gums, oils, or natural flavors. 

One thing we all need at Expo is coffee (duh), so come have a cold brew on us at our Cleaner Creamer Coffee Bar outside of Hall E (S21). 

Or explore the full MALK lineup (and more) at our main booth N322.

Lastly, we're also hosting a happy hour on Thursday 3/5, from 4-5PM — where MALKtinis will also make their debut :)

See you there!

(Full details in the link in the comments)

I turn 47 today.

Five years ago, I wrote a post on my 42nd birthday about entering my prime.

Looking back, I was right. But I underestimated what was coming.

Because every year since then, I've finished even stronger than I started.

Not older. Stronger.

Mentally. Physically. Emotionally.

Patience made me stronger mentally.

I stopped needing everything to happen right now. The urgency that used to consume me is more controlled. The more I let things unfold, the quieter my mind gets. Clearer. 

Acceptance made me stronger emotionally.

I stopped fighting what I can't control. The setbacks, disappointments, and other people's opinions that used to stunt me... I learned to let them pass through instead of take up residence.

Balance made me stronger physically.

I stopped treating my body like it was separate from everything else. Sleep matters. Recovery matters. I'm in better shape at 47 than I was at 37 because I finally stopped grinding myself into the ground.

Focus made me stronger universally. 

I stopped giving F's to things that don't fill me up. Relationships, opportunities, envy of other's people's highlight reels on social media. 

I'm still a work in progress, but recognize and acknowledge that if I'm going to grow, those are the areas that need to be more developed. So I work on them. 

At 22, I thought 47 was ancient.

At 47, I know the truth.

I'm not declining. I'm compounding.

Every hard conversation. Every failure I sat with instead of ran from. Every time I chose the long game over the quick win.

It all stacks.

So if the 22-year-old version of me showed up today, I'd tell him the same thing I said five years ago:

You have no shot against this version of me.

But now I'd add one thing:

You won't have a shot against the 60-year-old version either.

We’re hiring a Director of Finance.

You’ll report directly to and work closely with our CFO Jay Stone. 

MALK is growing fast with a smaller team which means you’ll have meaningful ownership and impact.

It also means we need a builder. 

Someone comfortable operating in the fast-moving, messy world of high-growth CPG.

You’ll partner closely with Sales, Marketing, Category Insights, and Demand Planning to help us understand what’s driving growth and how we invest to scale the business.

We have a culture we protect furiously. 

A group of humans who are all different, but who have common traits. 

Self motivated, open minded, intellectually curious, and cool. 

Last thing I’ll say is this.

This place is special. And will be one of the most fun and rewarding work experiences of your life if you’re the right fit. 

I don’t just believe that. I know it. 

If you’re interested, or know someone great, email hr@malkorganics.com. 

Or text me if you know me.

I've never met a happy person in a hurry.

Last week I looked down and realized I'd eaten an entire lunch without tasting a single bite.

Fork in one hand. Slack in the other. Eyes on the next call starting in 4 minutes.

I couldn't tell you what I ate. I was already somewhere else.

And I thought: what am I actually racing toward?

Look, I get it. Speed wins. 

I've built my entire career on moving fast. I preach it constantly.

But there's a difference between moving with urgency and living in a constant state of hurry.

Urgency is a choice. Hurry is a disease.

Urgency says "this matters, let's go."
Hurry says "this moment isn't good enough. I need to be somewhere else."

Every time you're rushing, you're basically telling yourself: I don't want to be here. I want to be there.

"There" is always some future moment. When the deal closes. When the launch is done. When you're "further along."

You know what you'll find when I got there?

Another "there."

Happiness isn't waiting for you at the finish line.

It's not in the next milestone or the cleared inbox or the lunch you inhaled at your desk.

It's here. Right now. 

Even if "here" isn't where you thought you'd be.

If you can't get your arms around that, happiness will always elude you.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

Stop trying to be Steve Jobs.

He's the exception, not the rule.

An entire generation of founders watched the turtleneck tantrums and thought that was the playbook for great leadership. 

It's not.

I've watched brilliant people flame out because nobody wanted to work with them.

Being easy to work with is a competitive advantage.

Nice people make more friends.
Nice people create more loyalty from colleagues.
Friends and loyal colleagues expand your network.
Your network brings more opportunity.

The math is simple.

Be decent.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

There’s nothing like putting your skills to the test.

I say it to the team all the time. 

No doubt they’re sick of hearing it. 

But getting the chance to put your hard work to the test is a privilege. 

Full stop. 

I’ve worked really hard on my jiu jitsu since picking it up 3.5 years ago. 

And love to compete in tournaments because what better way to test skills than that?

This is me getting a choke submission in the gold medal match at the Austin Open last week. 

Stoke Level = Off The Charts

Really proud of the work I’ve put in regardless of the outcome. 

But winning is pretty sweet.

No alternative text description for this image

I used to think good leaders had an opinion on everything.

Every deck. Every decision. Every damn detail.

If someone brought me something, I had to weigh in. That was my job, right?

Wrong.

I was exhausting my team and myself.

Not everything demands your judgment.

You're actually allowed to say "I trust your call on this."

You can sit in a meeting and just listen. You can let your direct report run with their idea without inserting yourself into every corner of it.

The best leaders I know? They're selective about where they spend their opinion capital.

They know the difference between:

• Things that need their input
• Things that need their approval
• Things that need neither

When you comment on everything, two things happen:

Your team stops thinking for themselves. And you become the bottleneck.

So now I ask myself: Does this actually need me? Or do I just want to feel important?

Most of the time, it's the latter.

Shutting up is a skill. And it might be the most underrated one in leadership.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

Nothing will advance your career faster than being able to connect with other humans.

It trumps every other skill by a country mile.

This starts with you making everything less about you and more about them.

Ironically, even though it's the most important skill to get you into a leadership position, it's actually more important once you get there.


—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

The best leaders don't announce themselves.

Sure, you can feel their presence.

But when they're with their team, there's no performance. 

No need to remind everyone they're the boss.

Their authority comes from how they listen. How they ask questions instead of giving orders. How they make space for others to shine.

The insecure ones do the opposite.

They interrupt. 
They dominate conversations. 
They make damn sure you know they're running the show.

But real leadership shows up in the room without saying a word. 

People lean in when they speak. 
Decisions get made faster. 
The team moves with confidence.

That's the tell.

If someone has to constantly remind you they're in charge, they probably aren't.

Your best relationships aren't built in the good times.

They're forged in the shit storms.

When revenue's down. When you're making layoffs. When the product launch flops and everyone's pointing fingers.

That's when you find out who's really on your team.

I've watched partnerships crumble during growth phases that should've been celebrations. And I've seen teams get tighter during crises that should've torn them apart.

The difference?

How you communicate when it's hard. 

Whether you protect respect even when you disagree. If you can trust each other when the path forward isn't clear.

You can't go back to the early days when everything felt simple. When the stakes were lower and disagreements didn't matter as much.

And honestly? You shouldn't want to.

Because every hard conversation, every tense board meeting, every moment you chose trust over ego made you stronger.

The relationships that survive the pressure are the ones worth keeping.

Everything else is just networking.

Self reflection is in short supply.

Most people are so damn sure they're right.

I get it. Confidence feels good. Certainty is comfortable.

But what I've learned in nearly 47 years on this planet is the most dangerous thing you can do is stop asking yourself one simple question:

Am I wrong?

Not once in a while. Regularly.

Pick something you're convinced of and argue against yourself. Make the best case you can for the opposite view.

You'll either strengthen your position or realize you need to change it.

Either way, you win.

The people who do this consistently? They make better decisions. They build stronger teams. They avoid costly mistakes.

The ones who don't? 

They get blindsided by their own blind spots.


—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

People who tell you to "enjoy the journey" have already finished theirs.

They're not wrong. They're just not useful.

When I was grinding 90-hour weeks at Factor_, people would say "enjoy the process!"

I wasn't enjoying anything. I was trying not to go bankrupt.

You can't enjoy drowning while you're drowning. You're just trying to breathe.

Here's what actually helps:

• Permission to not love every moment
• Knowing survival mode is temporary
• Understanding gratitude comes later

Stop beating yourself up for not loving the grind.

The appreciation comes when you've got bandwidth for it.

Right now? Just keep climbing.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

Intelligence isn't why leaders fail.

They fail because they can't connect.

I watched a VP with all the talent in the world lose his team in 6 months. Not because the plan was wrong. Because no one wanted to follow him.

He couldn't read a room. Couldn't give feedback without destroying morale. Couldn't build trust.

The gap between good and great leadership isn't IQ. It's EQ.

You can be the smartest person in the building and still create a vibe people don't enjoy.

Because leadership isn't about being right. It's about bringing people along with you.

Your direct reports. 
Your counterparts. 
Your boss. 

The hard skills get you in the door. The soft skills determine how far you go.

If you're stuck at a certain level, ask yourself: Is it really your capabilities holding you back? Or is it how you make people feel?

Start there.

The hardest workers at startups aren't always the ones who get promoted.

I've watched this play out dozens of times across three companies.

Everyone's grinding. Everyone's busy. That's table stakes.

The difference? It's not who works the most hours.

It's who takes ownership of their own growth.

Take two different people. Both talented. Both working their asses off.

One finishes a project and asks "what's next?" before you even have time to think about it. She spots gaps in your process and just... fixes them. Builds skills you didn't even know you needed yet.

The other does his job well. Really well. But he waits. Waits for you to assign the next thing. Waits for feedback. Waits for someone to tap him on the shoulder and say "here's your growth opportunity."

Guess which one gets promoted?

Here's the reality at a startup: No one has time to manage your career development for you.

Your boss is putting out fires. Your company is trying not to die. There's no HR department building you a nice little development plan.

If you're waiting for that, you're already behind.

The people who make it aren't necessarily the smartest or most experienced.

They're the ones who look at their current role and ask "what's next?" without being prompted.

They find the gaps. They raise their hand. They build new skills before they need them.

The others? They're always surprised when growth opportunities go to someone else.

Stop waiting. Start owning.


—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

I used to think confidence was more correlated to competence.

That the person dominating the conversation must know what they're talking about.

I was wrong.

Tens of thousands of meetings over the decades taught me this lesson the hard way.

The pattern is always the same.

Someone walks in with all the answers. Voice loud. Presence commanding.

Most people defer to them because of the volume and presence.

But...

The quiet ones. The people who didn't fight for airtime. Who wait until everyone else has spoken before they say anything at all.

They aren't quiet because they have nothing to say.

They're quiet because they were actually thinking. Processing.

Connecting dots that everyone else misses while they're busy talking.

I've watched entire strategies shift because someone who barely said a word for 45 minutes finally raised their hand and pointed out the one thing everyone else overlooked.

The flaw in the logic. The customer insight we missed. The operational reality that would kill the whole plan.

But here's the thing.
If you're not paying attention, you'll miss it entirely.

Because those voices don't demand space. They don't interrupt. They don't repeat themselves three times to make sure everyone heard.

They say it once. Quietly. And if you're not listening, it's gone.

The quiet people aren't always right.

But when they're wrong? They're wrong in interesting ways.

Ways that make you think differently. Ways that open up new angles you hadn't considered.

Real insight doesn't need volume.

It needs space. And attention. And someone willing to create room for it to surface.

If you're leading a team, this matters more than you think.

Because the breakthrough idea you're looking for? It's probably already in the room.

It's just not screaming at you.

It's sitting quietly in the corner, waiting for someone to notice.

Pay attention to the people who don't fight for airtime.

Ask them what they think.

Then shut up and listen.

You might be surprised what you've been missing.

Momentum is the most powerful force in business.

It's intoxicating. And finicky as hell.

When you have it, deals close faster. Hiring gets simpler. Problems suddenly have solutions.

That part is obvious. The part that isn't... 

Your team doesn't feel it the way you do.

They're in the weeds. Focused on tasks. They don't see the pattern you're seeing.

So when momentum's on your side, your job isn't just to ride it.

It's to make sure everyone else feels it too.

Point it out. Celebrate wins. Connect the dots between their work and the results. 

So you can get the most out of it when the winds are at your back. 

Because it can disappear as fast as it arrived.

Consuming content doesn't build confidence.

Doing does.

I spent years thinking I needed one more book, one more course, one more framework before I was ready. Spoiler: I was never ready.

The confidence I have now didn't come from any of that.

It came from:

• Launching things that flopped
• Making calls I wasn't sure about
• Building Factor_ with no roadmap
• Getting it wrong, then getting it right

You can watch every YouTube video on swimming. But you don't learn to swim until you're in the water.

Same with business. Same with parenthood. Same with life.

The reps are the education. The failures are the curriculum. The wins are just proof you survived long enough to figure it out.

Stop waiting until you feel ready. You won't.

Start before you're confident. That's how confidence actually gets built.

Imagine this… Instead of struggling to find clients, you have high-level decision-makers consistently reaching out, eager to work with you.

Sound appealing? It’s all about having a market-validated, irresistible offer coupled with a reliable outbound system to consistently fill your calendar with qualified leads. 

That’s where our proven, four-phase approach comes in.

Phase 1: Craft Your Offer 
First, we work together to package your expertise into a unique offer that speaks directly to your ideal client, positioning you as the go-to solution.

Phase 2: Validate with the Market 
Once your offer is defined, we use a tailored, soft-sell strategy to test and refine it, ensuring it not only solves a key problem but that clients are ready to pay premium prices for it.

Phase 3: Generate Leads 
Next, we install lead generation systems that help you have meaningful conversations with high-quality leads, reliably and predictably.

Phase 4: Scale for Growth 
Finally, using data-driven insights, we scale the top-performing campaigns, maximizing revenue and expanding your client base.

If you’re a new consultant ready to scale sustainably, let’s connect. 

Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/carlacherry/call-w-carla-cherry

========================================================================

Prior to helping consultants 👉 I was a producer 🤩 for Larry King & more (see below)


Showrunner credits include: 
- Larry King's digital, celebrity talk show (Collector’s Cafe / Ora TV) 300+ episodes
- Larry King's "8-camera, live audience" TV talk show (Collector's Cafe / BiteSizeTV)
- "Inside Versailles" After-Show (Netflix /Ovation / 2017)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
* "Inside Versailles" After Show (Creator/Showrunner - 2017) - over 665K views on Facebook 
* “Women of Versailles” Marketing campaign video (Producer/Editor) - garnered major advertising sponsorship from Volkswagen
* Booked celebrities including: Tiffany Haddish, Cheech Marin, Betsey Johnson, Kat Von D, Tom Green, DJ Kaskade, Dick Van Dyke, John Fogerty, Rev Run (Run DMC), Debbie Allen and more on a Larry King hosted talk show.
* Jim Henson's "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas" pop culture throwback video - (Producer/Editor)  2.2 M views - highest video count in Ovation’s history (2017)

Carla Cherry

The CEO of Anthropic just EXPOSED consultants

"50% of all entry-level lawyers, consultants, and finance professionals will be completely wiped out within the next 1–5 years."

Let that sink in.

Not outsourced or restructured. Wiped out.

And if you're a consultant right now still selling generalist work, vague deliverables, and hourly rates, you're already on the wrong side of this.

Nobody wants to say this but AI isn't taking the jobs of people with REAL expertise and a specific, urgent problem they solve better than anyone.

It's taking the jobs of people who are expensive, slow, and generic.

Which is what most consultants are positioned as right now (even the brilliant ones).

The consultants who are going to WIN in the next 5 years are the ones who:

→ Get hyper specific on the problem they solve
→ Attach outcomes to their work
→ Go after clients with budget and urgency
→ Adapt with AI and use it

And charge accordingly

The ones who are going to get wiped out?

Still trying to be everything to everyone.
Still competing on price.
Still sending proposals to people who were never going to buy.

This isn't scary if you're positioned right.

It's actually the best time in history to be a highly specialized consultant with a sharp offer and the right targets.

But you have to move. NOW!

Carla Cherry🍒

I help people escape corporate → Build an offer → Sell back to corporate. Helped 100+ people leave corporate. Send me a message to make corporate your client!

This is the question that breaks most consultants' brains.

Would your old boss, the one who signed off on $200k vendors without blinking…

Would THAT person pay corporate money for what you're selling right now?

Not "would they think it's interesting." Not "would they take a meeting." 

Would they go to the team and fight for budget to hire you.

If the answer is no, your offer isn't ready.

And I know that stings but sit with it for a second.

Because most of you left corporate with REAL expertise. 

The kind that companies pay $50k, $100k, $200k for when it comes from a firm with a logo and a slide deck.

But then you went independent and immediately shrunk yourself.

You took that same $200k skillset and repackaged it as "$3,000/month coaching" because you didn't know how to sell it without the corporate brand behind you.

That's not a pricing problem, you have identity crisis.

Here's what your old boss actually cared about:

They didn't care about your methodology. They didn't care about your framework or your process or your 6-week timeline.

They cared about ONE thing. "If I bring this person in, does my problem go away? And can I justify this spend to my boss?"

That's it. that's the entire buying decision at the enterprise level.

So ask yourself. Does your current offer solve a problem that a VP or director would lose their job over if it didn't get fixed?

Because THAT'S what corporate money flows toward. 

Be that person and price accordingly.

I disqualify people who want to make less than $10k/month.

Sure it sounds harsh but let me explain why

It's has nothing to do with the number, it's about the mindset behind it.

When someone tells me they want to make $3k or $5k a month, what they're really telling me is: I don't think I deserve more.

I don't think I'm worth it, I'm playing small because playing big feels scary.

And I can't fix that.

I can fix your offer, I can fix your messaging. I can get qualified leads on your calendar every single week.

But I cannot convince someone to believe they're worth six figures when they've already decided they're not.

Most of my clients came from corporate making $250k, $300k+.

They're used to that money, they KNOW they're worth it. 

So when they're sitting at $8k/month as a consultant they're not going "oh this is fine."

They're going "what the hell is the gap here?"

THAT energy I can work with.

That's someone who will do the homework. Follow the process. Push through the uncomfortable parts of selling.

But if someone walks in with a $5k/month ceiling in their head?

I'm just going to be talking at them. Trying to convince them of something they don't believe about themselves.

I learned this the hard way.

So yeah. $10k minimum. Not because I'm gatekeeping.

Because I only want to work with people who already know they deserve more they just need help getting it.

Burnout isn't always about doing too much.

Sometimes it's about doing too much of the wrong thing.

I've worked 12-hour days and felt energized.

I've worked 4-hour days and felt drained.

The difference is just alignment.

When the work matters to you (actually matters) you find capacity you didn't know you had.

It’s easy to wake up 
It’s easy to sit and not get distracted

When the work doesn’t matter to you, everything feels heavy and funny enough like a job.

Protect your energy by protecting what you work on!

Burnout isn't always about doing too much.

Sometimes it's about doing too much of the wrong thing.

I've worked 12-hour days and felt energized.

I've worked 4-hour days and felt drained.

Th

The hardest but best decision I ever made?

Walking away from corporate with nothing but a gut feeling that I was done.

No backup plan, savings cushion or guarantee any of it would work.

But I had 1 thing: A clear line in the sand.

I was done with:

→ Toxic cultures
→ Watching my work get claimed by someone else
→ Building other people’s dreams while mine collected dust

It was terrifying.

I had spent years delivering good results, yet I had no control , not over what I created, how I was treated, or how much I earned.

So I bet on myself.

I took everything I knew about building offers that sell and used it to build my own.

That decision changed everything.

And now my clients use my same systems to close massive enterprise deals!

Ron used my system to add $425,000 in revenue to his data focused consultancy (and he’s not done).

Dominique landed a $120K contract, with her very first pitch.

That’s when it clicked: this wasn’t just theory.

It was a repeatable, profitable, scalable process.

Since then, my clients have closed well over $1M using this system.

But the real win for them and myself is freedom.

We’re not waking up dreading Zoom calls and office politics.

We’re building, selling, and winning, on OUR terms.

The hardest but best decision I ever made?

Walking away from corporate with nothing but a gut feeling that I was done.

No backup plan, savings cushion or guarantee any of it would work.

But I

Someone with half your experience is charging 3x your rate.

Same skills and market but COMPLETELY different positioning.
⠀
I know that stings. But stay with me.
⠀
You've got 10, 15, maybe even 20 years of experience.
⠀
You've led teams.
⠀
You've saved or generated companies millions.
⠀
You KNOW you're good.
⠀
So why is some consultant with half your experience charging 3x what you charge?
⠀
Positioning.
⠀
That's it. That's the whole game.
⠀
Because the market doesn't pay for what you CAN do.
⠀
It pays for the problem you SOLVE.
⠀
And if you're out there listing all your capabilities like a diner menu hoping someone picks something?
⠀
You've already lost.
⠀
I have clients come to me all the time.
⠀
Absolute wizards at what they do.
⠀
And they're charging $150/hour because they positioned themselves as "I can help with a lot of things."
⠀
Meanwhile someone with LESS skill but a clear "I help X person solve Y problem in Z timeframe" is landing $100k contracts.
⠀
Dominique came to me positioning herself as a "project manager who helps authors."
⠀
Vague, forgettable and, competing on hourly rates.
⠀
We repositioned her as a "book launching success coach who liaises between major publishing houses and first-time authors to ensure a successful launch."
⠀
SPECIFIC. Premium. Undeniable.
⠀
$120k contract. First pitch.
⠀
She made more in April than she did the entire year before.
⠀
So stop perfecting your craft and start perfecting your packaging.
⠀
Because nobody's paying you for how good you are.
⠀
They're paying you for how clearly you solve their problem.

What to say when your prospect “already has a vendor”
⠀
9 times out of 10 this isn't actually an objection.
⠀
It's a brush-off.
⠀
And you know what it really means?
⠀
They can't tell the difference between you and whoever they're already paying.
⠀
That's not their fault 

It’s because you probably walked in there talking about what you DO instead of what PROBLEM you solve.
⠀
You gave them capabilities. Features. A resume.
⠀
And their brain went "cool so you're basically the same as the person I'm already paying. pass."
⠀
The thing is their current vendor is definitely NOT solving their actual problem (or they wouldn’t be on a call or talking to you)
⠀
So when they hit you with "we already have someone for that" don't get defensive.
⠀
Don't start listing why you're better.
⠀
Don't trash the competitor.
⠀
Instead: get curious.
⠀
"Totally makes sense, what are they helping you solve right now?"
⠀
And then LISTEN.
⠀
Because they're about to tell you exactly where the current vendor is falling short.
⠀
They might not even realize it yet.
⠀
That's your opening.
⠀
You're not competing on who does the same thing better.
⠀
You're competing on who actually understands the problem they haven't been able to fix.
⠀
That’s when they realize their need for you.

I was terrified to sell. Like genuinely terrified.

I came from TV and film not finance, not consulting. 

And when I started selling to corporate executives I was completely out of my depth.

My business partner at the time said something that stung: "You don't know how to sell, you suck at it."

He wasn't wrong.

I could deliver and help people get results. 

But the actual SELLING part? I was intimidated.

Faking it, hoping nobody noticed.

So I did something that felt painful at the time and hired a real sales coach. 

I paid thousands of dollars for it, and here's what changed:

BEFORE the coach, I was selling myself like a resume.

Listing all the things I could do, hoping they'd figure out where I fit.

AFTER the coach, I learned to sell like a problem solver.

Specific person. Specific problem. Specific moment on their timeline.

BEFORE, I took every rejection personally, my ego was bruised after every "no."

AFTER, I learned it's not about me, at all. 

They're thinking about themselves, their problems, their budget. I just control my side.

BEFORE, I was practicing in my head, researching, planning and preparing.

AFTER, I realized that's NOT the same as being on the field. 

You have no idea where the ball's coming from until you're actually playing the game.

The coach didn't make me less scared, he gave me frameworks so the fear didn't matter anymore.

I could sell even when I was nervous, I could close even with imposter syndrome.

That's the difference between winging it and having a system.

⠀

I was terrified to sell. Like genuinely terrified.

I came from TV and film not finance, not consulting. 

And when I started selling to corporate executives I was completely out of my depth.

M

If you're trying to "convince" prospects to buy from you...

You've already lost the sale.

Here's what's actually happening when you feel like you have to persuade someone:

They're confused.
They don't understand what you do.
They don't know where you fit. 
They can't figure out if you're the person who solves THEIR specific problem.

So they say "let me think about it" and disappear.

You're not getting ghosted because of budget. 

You're getting ghosted because they can't figure out what you actually do.

That's on you.

I use this analogy all the time…

When you pitch yourself like a diner menu listing everything you CAN do, the buyer gets overwhelmed.

Ever been to one of those New York diners with 10 pages? You sit there going "oh god I don't even know what I want anymore."

That's what you're doing to your prospects.

The fix isn't better sales tactics, It's eliminating ambiguity.

Just be SPECIFIC

When you do that, you don't have to convince anyone of anything. 

They look at your message and go "holy shit this person just read my mind."

THAT'S when they raise their hand. 

Not because you persuaded them.. because you described their exact situation better than they could describe it themselves.

The goal isn't a "maybe I'll think about it."

The goal is an undeniable match, hard yes or hard no.

90% of AI projects failed to meet expectations in the last 12 months.
⠀
And yet 90% of enterprises are planning to INCREASE their AI investment this year.
⠀
That tells you everything about where we are.
⠀
The money isn't stopping. The tolerance for slop is.
⠀
CFOs are done with "let's run a pilot and see." They want ROI. They want specifics. They want someone who can actually tell them what happens after the demo.
⠀
Here's what I'm seeing…
⠀
The consulting firms that are going to win aren't the ones slapping "AI-powered" on their website. 

They're the ones building systems that run WITHOUT them. Autonomous. 24/7. Actual decision automation, not just task automation.
⠀
There's a real difference between "we use AI tools" and "our delivery costs dropped 40% because AI runs our backend."
⠀
One is marketing. The other is margin.
⠀
McKinsey is projecting 30-45% productivity gains in customer care alone. That's not hype. That's the floor for what's possible if you actually build it right.
⠀
And the wildest part is automation is making client segments profitable that were completely untouchable before. Smaller deals. Faster delivery. Economics that actually work.
⠀
So the question isn't "should we use AI"
⠀
It's are you building a consulting practice that happens to use AI, or are you building something that couldn't exist without it?
⠀
Because that's the line in 2026.

90% of AI projects failed to meet expectations in the last 12 months.
⠀
And yet 90% of enterprises are planning to INCREASE their AI investment this year.
⠀
That tells you everything about where w

"We don't have budget" is NOT rejection.

It's confusion your broad offer is causing
⠀
I had this conversation three times a few weeks ago so I'm just going to say it.
⠀
You think going narrow means you're leaving money on the table.
⠀
Turning people away.
⠀
Being "too exclusive" or whatever corporate brain tells you.
⠀
It's the opposite.
⠀
When you stay broad you become a diner menu.
⠀
You ever been to one of those New York diners where the menu is like 10 pages?
⠀
You sit there for 20 minutes trying to figure out what to order and then you just get eggs.
⠀
That's what you're doing to your clients.
⠀
"I help companies with operations and strategy and leadership and process optimization and change management and…"
⠀
STOP.
⠀
They're not hiring you because they can't figure out what you actually do.
⠀
And they don't have time to figure it out for you.

Wide skillset in corporate = job security.

Consultancy is the opposite.

Narrow = clarity
Clarity = faster “yes”
Faster yes = bigger contracts
⠀
You're not turning people away by narrowing.
⠀
You're finally giving the RIGHT people a reason to say yes.
⠀
So what's the one problem you solve better than anyone?

My client kept hearing "let's circle back next quarter."

One sentence change and suddenly nobody needed to wait.

It's not about your credentials.
It's not about your "unique methodology."
It's not even about your price.
⠀
It's this:
⠀
"I know you're dealing with [SPECIFIC PROBLEM] right now and it's costing you [SPECIFIC CONSEQUENCE]."
⠀
Because what's actually happening when they ghost you or hit you with "not the right time" or "we don't have budget"
⠀
They're not lying.
⠀
They genuinely don't see why they need to move NOW.
⠀
Which means you haven't hit the thing that's keeping them up at night.
⠀
You're solving a problem they kinda have.
⠀
Not the one that's on FIRE.
⠀
I had a client facing this problem too
⠀
We looked at her pitch and she was talking about "operational efficiency" and "process optimization."
⠀
We changed it to: "I help manufacturing execs who just lost their second ops manager this year figure out why people keep leaving before it tanks Q4."
⠀
• SPECIFIC person. 
• SPECIFIC problem. 
• SPECIFIC moment on their timeline.
⠀
Suddenly nobody needed to "circle back."
⠀
Corporate buyers don't buy services.
⠀
They buy relief from the thing that's making their job harder RIGHT NOW.
⠀
So before your next call ask yourself: “Do I actually know what's keeping this person up at night?”
⠀
”Or am I just pitching what I'm good at?”
⠀

My client kept hearing "let's circle back next quarter."

One sentence change and suddenly nobody needed to wait.

It's not about your credentials.
It's not about your "unique methodology."
It's

By 2028 90% of B2B buying goes through AI agents
⠀
$15 TRILLION in spend running through software that decides if you even get a meeting
⠀
And most consultants are still sending cold emails like "hey just wanted to circle back"
⠀
The shift is wild. Firms that are winning aren't just adding AI to their stack. 

They're rebuilding the whole pricing model. Outcome based fees for the repeatable stuff. Fixed pricing when scope is tight. Hourly only when it's genuinely custom work
⠀
That's not a tweak that's a different business
⠀
TAM is expanding 10 to 20x for people who are actually positioned for this. 

Because automation made smaller deals profitable. Client segments that used to be a complete waste of time now have margins that work
⠀
All that AI and automation still needs someone who can sit with a CEO and figure out the actual problem. Tech runs execution. You run strategy. That's the job now
⠀
If you're not building systems that free you up for the thinking work you're just going to get outpaced by someone who did

Stop building your offer in isolation for 6 months.

Build the plane while you fly it.

I talk to 20+ consultants a week, and the majority of them have been sitting in a room for 6 months trying to build the "perfect" offer. 

Why? Because they built something nobody asked for.

The alternative is scary but it works: get clients WHILE you're building.

I tell my clients, you should be getting beta clients before you "launch." 

Tell your prospects straight up: you're one of my first.

I'm going to work my butt off to get you results because

 I need the case study. And I'll give it to you at a better price.

That's not unprofessional, that's SMART.

You find out what they actually want versus what you THOUGHT they wanted. You course correct in real time.

We now know within 24 hours if a campaign is working. Not endless months.

And we pivot immediately.

Oh that messaging flopped? Cool, we test something else tomorrow.

That target didn't respond? Great, we double down on the one that did.

Entrepreneurship isn't about arriving.

It's about starting with one client, then two, then three  and perfecting the process as you go.

Waiting until everything is "ready" is just a fancy way of hiding.

Stop building your offer in isolation for 6 months.

Build the plane while you fly it.

I talk to 20+ consultants a week, and the majority of them have been sitting in a room for 6 months trying t

The tech consulting market is about to cross $400 billion

 and IT spending is projected at $6 TRILLION in 2026

And most consultants are still out here charging $3k/month retainers wondering why they can't keep the lights on.

Let me break what this means for your consultancy:

73% of corporate clients now DEMAND real-time visibility into project status. They don't want your monthly recap PDF. They want receipts. They want dashboards. They want to see exactly what their money is doing.

That's not just a trend… it’s the new floor.

Corporate has the budgets. They're actively looking for outside expertise to fill gaps during tech implementations. They literally cannot hire fast enough internally.

So the money is there. The demand is there. The willingness to pay is there.

The problem is most consultants have zero infrastructure to capture any of it. No outbound system. No validated offer. No way to get in front of decision-makers at scale.

You're sitting on a six figure corporate offer and you don't even know it yet. 

$400 billion market and you're competing for crumbs because your positioning is off and your outreach is nonexistent.

That's not a market problem. That's a you problem.

"Your price is too high" is NOT a pricing problem.

This is how you should test pricing:

So you pitched your offer and they said it's too expensive and now you're thinking maybe I should lower my price
⠀
Now you just trained your entire market to wait for the discount.
⠀
Your price isn't the problem… businesses just can't figure out what you do.
⠀
That's on you.
⠀
I have clients come to me all the time like "Carla I think my price is too high" and I'm like okay let's look at your messaging and it's just... a resume.
⠀
A list of things you CAN do.
⠀
Not the ONE thing that's going to make them money or save them from a fire.
⠀
So instead of guessing what to charge and throwing spaghetti at the wall… you validate.
⠀
→ Have actual conversations with actual buyers.
⠀
Not pitching. LISTENING.
⠀
Finding out what language they use.
⠀
What's keeping them up at night.
⠀
What they've already tried that didn't work.
⠀
And while you're doing that? You're positioning yourself as the person who gets it.
⠀
Ron came to me from the Long Island Railroad.
⠀
He had built this AI cost-efficiency model. Brilliant guy.
⠀
But he had NO idea what to charge or if anyone would even want it.
⠀
We didn't guess. We validated.
⠀
He talked to manufacturing and construction execs.
⠀
$425k in contracts. DURING VALIDATION.
⠀
Before we even turned on the automation.
⠀
The price was never the issue.
⠀
The positioning was.

Same goes for you.

"Your price is too high" is NOT a pricing problem.

This is how you should test pricing:

So you pitched your offer and they said it's too expensive and now you're thinking maybe I should lower my

Most "beta offers" fail for the same reason.

(It's not because your offer sucks or your audience is too small)

It's because you positioned it like a FAVOR instead of an OPPORTUNITY.

Let me explain.

I see consultants do this all the time. They spend weeks building something, get all excited, then post on LinkedIn like:

"Hey I'm launching something new and I'm looking for a few beta testers! It's free, I just need your feedback 😊"

And then they wonder why the only people who signed up are their mom, dad and two people who will ghost them by day 3.

Here's the problem with that:

1. "Free" doesn't mean valuable, it means suspicious.

When you say "it's free during beta" you're basically telling people "I don't even think this is worth paying for yet." Why would THEY think it's worth their time?

2. You opened the door to everyone so you got no one worth having.

No filter, no criteria. No specificity. You said "anyone who wants early access" and attracted people who collect free stuff like it's a sport. They were never going to pay you. Ever.

3. You made it about YOU.

"I need feedback" is not a compelling pitch.

That's a chore. You're asking strangers to do unpaid consulting for your business and wondering why they're not jumping at it.

So what actually works? Cap the spots. 

"We're taking 12 people" hits completely different than "sign up for beta." It says "this matters and there's a bar to clear."

Be specific about what they GET. "You get the full program for 90 days. I'll check in at day 30 for a 15-minute call." That's a clear value exchange.

Filter like your business depends on it. You only want consultants doing $10k+/month? SAY THAT. The people who don't qualify will respect it. The people who do will lean in.

Stop calling them beta testers. They're founding members. They're early adopters. They're getting something most people won't have access to for months. Language matters. 

"Beta tester" sounds like you're asking someone to find bugs. "Founding member" sounds like a seat at the table.

The best beta offers I've seen don't even feel like betas.

They feel like getting invited into something valuable before everyone else catches on.

Most "beta offers" fail for the same reason.

(It's not because your offer sucks or your audience is too small)

It's because you positioned it like a FAVOR instead of an OPPORTUNITY.

Let me ex

I watched a client go from "business consultant" to FULLY booked.

ONE change made it happen:

Every consultant I talk to has the same fear

"If I niche down, I'm leaving money on the table"

You've got 15 years of experience. You CAN do a lot of things. So why would you limit yourself?

It’s because when you say "I help companies improve operations" you sound like every other consultant on LinkedIn. 

The enterprise buyer has 49 tabs open and you just became background noise.

But when you say "I help manufacturing companies reduce production downtime by 30% in 90 days using AI-driven maintenance systems"

NOW you're the only person who does that specific thing

The math is counterintuitive:

Broad offer = massive TAM, tiny conversion
Narrow offer = smaller TAM, dramatically higher conversion

I watched a client go from "business consultant" to "I help personal injury lawyers double their caseload by cutting intake from 2 days to 20 minutes"

That lawyer? He was about to quit law from burnout because our client brought in so many leads haha

He's at 50 cases a week instead of 25.

And my client isn't chasing leads anymore, the leads chase her.

The fear of narrowing is really fear of commitment. 

Fear of being wrong about the bet.

But staying broad isn't safe. It's slow death by a thousand "let me think about it" responses.

You're not a generalist anymore, you're an expert who's been hiding behind a generalist label because it feels less risky.

Pick the problem you solve better than anyone

Go so narrow it scares you a little, that's where the money is

Your prospect asks, “So, what do you do?”

And you freeze, then start saying things like:

“I help companies improve operations.”
“I do leadership development.”
“I offer business consulting.”

It sounds professional, but it doesn’t actually do anything, because it’s about you.

The successful consultants I know, flip it.

They say things like:

“I help B2B teams replace inconsistent sales with a repeatable acquisition system that consistently brings in qualified leads without extra ad spend.”

“I help growth-stage companies turn their entire go-to-market into a predictable revenue engine by aligning strategy, messaging, and execution across every department.”

“I help established B2B companies shorten their sales cycle and increase close rates by turning complex offers into simple, high converting sales narratives their buyers instantly understand.”

Now the person on the other side leans in.

They get it.
They feel the pain.
They see the outcome.

That’s the difference between explaining your offer… and getting invited to fix a problem.

If you can’t answer “What do you do?” in a way that makes someone say,

“Wow, we need that,” you don’t have a clarity problem, you have a positioning problem.

Because in consulting, clarity isn’t “cute” it’s clients.

Your prospect asks, “So, what do you do?”

And you freeze, then start saying things like:

“I help companies improve operations.”
“I do leadership development.”
“I offer business consulting.”


Every enterprise deal I've seen close comes down to 1 thing.

Someone on the inside has a problem, they've been trying to fix it with their team for months, it's not working, and now there's a deadline breathing down their neck.

They don't want to learn. 
They don't want a workshop. 
They don't want a "thought partner."

They want someone to walk in and make the problem GO AWAY faster than they could do it themselves.

That's a shortcut, and that's what your offer needs to feel like.

But most consultants design their offers backwards.

They start with what THEY know. "I'm an expert in X so I'll build a 12 week program around X with modules and check-ins and a final deliverable."

Cool, You just described a college course, no VP is buying that. 

Here's how you flip it.

Start with the OUTCOME they're under pressure to deliver. Not the topic you're good at. The actual measurable thing their boss is going to ask them about in the next quarter.

"Reduce churn by 15%."
"Cut onboarding time from 90 days to 30."
"Launch the new vertical by Q3."

NOW build your offer around getting them there as fast as possible.

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The Battle

Ryan Rouse

Carla Cherry

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The Battle

Ryan Rouse

Carla Cherry

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ryan Rouse's LinkedIn Performance

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