Weekly Nuggets Newsletter for Independent Consultants: Sample Issue

You’re about to read a full sample issue of Weekly Nuggets — your Friday briefing for winning big, meaty consulting clients. Each issue serves up one sharp perspective from the field, a curated resource, a tool I actually use, a LinkedIn post recipe that wins, and a quote worth chewing on.

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You're reading the tastiest newsletter for Independent Consultants who want to attract big, meaty clients.

This week’s nuggets:

• The Anti-Brain-Pick Message: Stop Giving Away Free Consulting
• What Self-Employed Consultants Really Charge
• The $15 System That Made Me Look Ridiculously Professional
• LinkedIn Post Recipe: The Personal Transformation Story
• Wise Words From A Man Who Knows How To Cook

Let’s get cookin’! 

– Dave

The Anti-Brain-Pick Message: Stop Giving Away Free Consulting

I’m a habitual people-pleaser. I was spending several hours every week giving career advice, letting people “pick my brain,” and giving away free consulting. It feels good to be needed. It feels good to have meetings on the calendar. But it doesn’t feel good working on Saturday or missing out on family time because I was a nice guy to strangers on the internet.

I’ve declared 2025 "The Year of No." No more free consulting, brain-pick sessions, or career advice. I created a paid consultation event type in my calendar booking software that takes a credit card payment when someone books the meeting. Now when someone wants to pick my brain, ask for career advice, or sell me stuff under the guise of "helping each other out," I send them this message:

Hi [Name],

I truly appreciate your interest in [the brain-pick topic], and I’d love to support you in the best way possible. To ensure my clients receive the highest level of service, I’ve made some adjustments to my policies and now offer mini-consultations as a paid service.

If diving into [topic] is still a priority for you, I have a few consultation slots available, and I’d be happy to help.

To schedule one of these sessions, please choose a time here:

[link]

I’m wishing you much success in [industry/topic]!

[Your Name]

If they blow you off or don’t respond, they were never going to buy from you anyway. If they do book a session, then you can serve them like the client they’ve become.

What Self-Employed Consultants Really Charge

Do you worry you're under- or over-priced? We all do. Forbes has some examples of what independent consultants are charging for everything from email marketing to neurodiversity consulting.

The $15 System That Made Me Look Ridiculously Professional

Last Friday, as I sipped my morning coffee, my phone buzzed: someone submitted the contact form on my website.

Whoa! A fresh inbound lead inquiring about my journey mapping services! Inbound leads are the best. They've already done 70% of the work, and just need to feel confident about signing your contract.

Don't sleep on inbound leads. Your chances of winning the work decrease exponentially as you wait. (Think early bird. Think worm.)

Because HubSpot instantly captured their contact information, I researched them on LinkedIn and replied within 20 minutes. Moments later, I got the "email opened" notification. And by 10am, we'd set up an Intro Call—the first meeting in my client onboarding process—for the same Friday afternoon.

After that, everything moved like clockwork:

• Monday: Strategy Session.
• Yesterday: Proposal Review.
• Next: Decision Meeting.

It's a beautiful thing when individual email tracking, website forms, meeting scheduler, email newsletter, CRM, and your website are all working together in one system to give you a 360-view of all interactions.

No data entry. No integrations. No duct tape. No zaps.

Even solo, the right tech makes you look ridiculously professional.

Right now, new customers can save 25% on the monthly plan of HubSpot Starter with a limited-time pricing offer: $15/month (was $20). That's less than the price of Calendly, for your entire client onboarding system.

LinkedIn Post Recipe

Share a personal transformation story that resonates with your ideal client.

Here's the formula:

1. Hook. Open with a strong line that creates curiosity in your reader so they keep reading.
2. Pain. Dig into the pain you experienced before the transformation. Use specific details, not general statements. The more specific you are, the more it will resonate.
3. Transition. In a short statement, describe the change you made.
4. Benefits. What great outcomes did you experience after making the change?
5. Call to Comment. Ask a specific question to invite engagement from your reader.

Your goal with this post should be broad awareness. You want to reach new people and gain new followers.

Example: My post from Monday, Independent consulting gave me my life back, had a moment this week—5,924 impressions in the first 48 hours. But more important than the ego boost, I've seen an 89% increase in profile views and 62 new followers.

Quote of the Week

“Take risks and you’ll get the payoffs. Learn from your mistakes until you succeed. It’s that simple.”

– Bobby Flay, #1 World-Famous Host, Food Network