Description
The doing half of The Collective Advantage. A self-paced, fillable workbook that walks solo consultants through all seven steps of building a collective, the network of complementary partners that lets you sell work you could not win alone.
What a collective is, and why a solo consultant needs one
A collective is a small group of independent professionals who bring each other into work none of them could win alone. Referral networks pass work out and hope something comes back. Subcontracting puts one person on the client and the rest behind them as suppliers. A collective is different: a handful of people whose skills do not overlap much, who trust each other enough to put their own client relationships on the line, and who have agreed in advance how they scope, price and split the work.
The reason it matters is arithmetic. On your own you can only sell what one person can deliver, which caps the size of engagement you can credibly bid for and what you can earn in a year. A collective lifts that ceiling without turning you into an agency with payroll and overhead.
What is inside the workbook
49 pages. 9 fillable worksheets. One plan you walk away with.
- A Solo Startup Scorecard that shows you where you stand today and which of the seven steps matters most right now, so you are not working through all of it when you only need part.
- Seven step-by-step sections, each with its own worksheet.
- A 90-Day Launch Plan and your first collective play, so you finish with something dated rather than a list of intentions.
- A tool quick reference and a final exercise.
The seven steps
- Know Your Strengths. What you are actually selling, stated precisely enough that someone else could describe it for you.
- Build the Foundation. The entity, the contracts, the insurance and the admin that have to exist before you take money.
- Assemble Your Tech Stack. The small set of tools that run a one-person practice without becoming a second job.
- Get Visible. How work finds you when you are not a brand name and have no marketing budget.
- Build Your Collective. Who to bring in, how to test the relationship before a client is involved, and what to agree before you need it.
- Price for the Life You Want. Working backwards from the year you want to the rate and the number of days that produce it.
- Put It All Together. The 90-day plan and the first play you actually run.
Who it is for
Senior operators and consultants who have already gone independent, or are close to it, and who have hit the ceiling of what one person can sell. It assumes you can do the work. The workbook is about everything around the work.
Who it is not for
People looking for a way to start consulting without a track record, and people who want a done-for-you service. This is a workbook. You fill it in.
How it relates to the course
The Collective Advantage course is the teaching half. The workbook is the doing half, and it stands on its own. What you pay for the workbook credits toward the full course if you enroll within 30 days, so starting here costs you nothing if you later want the whole thing.
Common questions
How long does the workbook take to complete?
Most people work through it over two to three weeks rather than in one sitting. The Solo Startup Scorecard at the front tells you which steps you can skip, so it is often less than the 49 pages suggest.
Do I need to already have a collective to use it?
No. Step 5 is how to build one. Several of the earlier steps are worth doing whether or not you ever form a collective, because they are the foundations of any independent practice.
Is this a PDF I print, or can I type into it?
It is fillable. You can type directly into the 9 worksheets and keep it digital, or print it if you think better on paper.
What is the difference between the workbook and the course?
The course teaches the model and the workbook applies it. The workbook is the exercises, the scorecard and the 90-day plan without the instruction around them. If you would rather be walked through it, start with the course.
What happens if I decide I want the full course instead?
What you paid for the workbook credits toward the course if you enroll within 30 days, so you are not paying twice.
Who wrote it?
Amber Murayi, founder of Artisan Strategy Partners. It is drawn from building this firm and its Collective, not from theory.
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