𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳: 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦-𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦.
𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘺 2023, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦.
𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 2023.
Dear Kelly,
I’m writing to you from a local coffee shop in November 2025. And you are sitting in your newly set up home office in an old dining room chair in 2023 dreaming about starting your own business and wondering how to get your first contract.
As you start this journey, I know you are thinking about how long it will take you to find a client who is the right fit and who is going to hire you after this career break. What you don’t know is those first few clients are just a few phone calls and meetings away.
Here’s what I’ve learned over the past few years.
𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.
You’ve worked in different industries and at a global consulting firm, led start-ups, served on nonprofit boards, volunteered locally, and donated to causes close to your heart. Each of these experiences shaped who you are and how you show up as an advisor to your clients. Don’t discount the experiences during your career break. You learned some of your hardest lessons on boards when you weren’t getting paid. You show up as a better entrepreneur, leader, community builder, and consultant when you lean into all of your life lessons.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
When you start sharing what you are building, you will find that you have a network and a community that believes in you. You’ll have former clients tell you that they remember how much you cared.
Mentors will introduce you to potential clients. And new acquaintances will share their knowledge and contacts. Learn to tell your story authentically. Ask your network for help. They will make introductions that will change your life.
Your first three contracts came from introductions to nonprofit leaders who needed exactly the kind of help you offer. In fact, I’m sitting in the coffee shop where a chat with a former colleague led to an interview with a nonprofit President & CEO. In that interview, you heard “Wow, you’ve been really busy since you left consulting” and it ended with “we’ll send you a contract tomorrow”.
𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝘆.
When the work is hard and the conversations that you need to have are even harder … when you’re worried about finding your next client or how to balance all of the demands of running your own business, hold on tightly to why you work in this sector. You believe that nonprofits make the world a better place.
Nonprofits are built on heart. Yes, there is pain – a child who needs school, a family who needs food, or a woman who needs a job. But there is so much hope. Staff who care deeply. Lives changed for the better. Hold on to what inspires you. You know how to help nonprofits work better so they can deliver on their mission.
𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 … 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻.
Share your story boldly. You took a career break. That’s ok. Include what you learned during your break in your story. You’ve built deep capabilities in governance, organization design, and change management during an impressive career. Integrate all of these pieces into your story and relentlessly refine how you describe your work. You’ll be surprised by how many people resonate with your story and value your counsel.
𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.
You’ve forgotten how good you are. You deeply understand organizations, how to help clients find clarity, and how to help them work better. When asked to help a national nonprofit with a thorny organizational problem, you helped them clarify the problem and set up a path to solving it. You’ve worked through the ups and downs of organizational change with them. In the midst of shared frustrations, they reminded you: “Remember, we would not be here without you.” You will learn to believe in yourself and to tell your story loudly even if it feels messy. You will learn that people listen to you and value what you have to say.
You’ll build something real. You’ll help organizations do their work better. And you’ll remember what it feels like to lead from where you are right now.
With love,
Kelly