From Order-Taker to Category King
May 31, 20253 Minute Read Time
Last week, I spoke with Carl, a client in my Mastermind Program.
He works in L&D at a hospital while building his own consulting business on the side.
His niche? Workplace violence prevention for frontline healthcare teams.
Smart. Timely. Needed.
During one of our weekly coaching calls, we uncovered a familiar issue:
Like most L&D professionals transitioning out of corporate, Carl was still thinking like an employee.
The Real Problem: Abstraction World
9-5 L&D pros are trained to operate in "abstraction world."
They’re handed requests like:
"Create a module. Build a course. Make some slides."
But they’re rarely told why.
No business context. No KPIs. No clarity on what’s at stake.
So they get good at producing deliverables, not diagnosing root problems.
That works in a job.
But in consulting? It’s fatal.
The Transition Ladder for L&D Pros
If you want to start a consulting side gig, here’s the 3-level shift you need:
Level 1: L&D
- You create content. You take orders.
Level 2: Business
- You understand what the business actually cares about (risk, cost, profit).
Level 3: Marketing
- You frame your offer in a way that presses on pain and creates urgency.
Carl was operating at Level 1. He needed to climb.
The Skills-Backwards Advantage
Most people believe:
“I need to learn more skills or certification before I launch.”
Wrong.
Real consultants go to market first, then build skills as needed.
Why?
Because markets move fast. Problems evolve. And the only way to learn what works is by testing ideas in the wild.
Consultants don’t prep. They prototype.
Don’t Sell What Everyone Else Is Selling
Most of Carl's competitors offer:
- Workshops
- Compliance training
- Generic eLearning
The problem?
The market is saturated. The offers are dull. And nobody wants more training.
So we created contrast.
We explored new mechanisms:
- Mobile-first interventions
- AI-powered simulations
- “Day 1 readiness” audits for frontline teams
Why it works: In a market full of vanilla, specificity + new opportunities = attention.
From Healthcare Trainer to Category King
Here’s how Carl started reframing his brand:
Not: “Healthcare training consultant”
But: “Workplace violence prevention specialist for frontline healthcare teams using AI-powered simulations.”
See the difference?
One is replaceable. The other owns the niche.
That’s what it means to become The Category King.
The Power of the Insider Advantage
Carl is building his consulting gig on the side, while working full-time at a hospital. Which means:
- He sees what isn’t working
- He understands the org structure
- He knows the language of decision-makers
I call that insider espionage. It’s one of the fastest paths to traction.
Because if you're like Carl — working full-time in the field — you're not guessing what the market needs. You're living in it. Which means you’re sitting on insight most consultants would kill for.
Stack Value. Don’t Fragment It.
Instead of building 3 different offers, Carl is focused on one:
A single high-leverage solution.
Every week, we ask:
- What else can we stack?
- What would make this irresistible?
- What can we add that increases perceived value but costs little to deliver?
The result?
One offer. Multiple layers of value.
No confusion. No operational drag.
Design for Leverage, Not Labor
We also mapped out his delivery model:
- What can be templatized?
- What can AI automation handle?
- What assets can be reused across clients?
Because consulting doesn’t have to mean custom.
The goal isn’t to build a job you own. It’s to build a system that runs.
How We Tested the Market
Our process looked like this:
- Competitor analysis: What’s the baseline?
- Mechanism brainstorm: What’s missing?
- Sub-niche selection: Where’s the traction?
- Message testing: What resonates?
- Offer refinement: What converts?
No guesswork. Just iterations.
Your Action Step This Week
If you’re still stuck in abstraction world:
- Move from L&D to business thinking
- Move from skills-first to market-first
- Move from generalist to Category King
It’s not about doing more. It’s about thinking differently.
Because the real shift isn’t tactical. It’s philosophical.
And once you make it? You’ll never build your business the old way again.
Whenever you feel itā€™s time to take back control:
Our Inner Circle Mastermind helps L&D professionals like you leverage your expertise into consulting income ā€”Ā without starting from scratch.
Whether you're exploring a side hustle or ready to go all-in, you know it's possible to free yourself through online consulting.
So why go it alone?Ā Book your free discovery call.
