As a young consultant at BCG, I remember feeling very self-conscious about staying staffed.

On the one hand, a week or two on the bench between cases was great.

A time to recharge a bit, and claw back some of those late nights and long travel weeks.

But you didn’t want to sit out too long, as there was a feeling (mostly self-imposed) that you were costing the firm money if you weren’t billable.

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This seems to match the sentiment when you’re between jobs, voluntarily or involuntarily.

Rest up and regroup, but don’t get too comfortable.

Too much time on the sidelines and “people start to ask questions”

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So when you start out as a solo consultant, there’s often this same itch to keep yourself booked.

You’re the boss — if you can find demand, you might as well accept all the work you can handle.

There’s an intoxication to it too. Plus, who knows if this will last?

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Well, not so fast.

If you book yourself out to 100%, you’re not leaving time for much else.

Most importantly, pipeline-building and other investments in the long-term sustainability of your business.

As you settle into a groove, you find your ideal deployment is more like 50-60%.

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So how do you make a decent living when you’re only “working” 50% of the time?

Amp up your fee accordingly.

Remember, you’re the boss of that too.

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💡

-Wes

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Webinar this week: This Thursday, my co-presenter and fellow Kellogg alum Erika Weiss and I will be touching on capacity planning in our talk about "The Rise of Flexible Expertise"

There are over 1000 registered, so I likely won’t “see” you, but let me know if you plan to attend!

It’s open to the public, and free to register.