Episode 19: From Corporate Leader to Thriving Consultant: How Beverly Flores Secured 13 Clients in 6 Months Through Courage and Authentic Connection

Are you ready to break free from your corporate job but fear is holding you back? How do you confidently price your services when you're just starting out?

In this episode, host AJ Riedel talks to Beverly Flores, founder of Thyme Out Consulting. Beverly helps businesses and individuals unlock their potential through strategic coaching and consulting services. We talk about Beverly's journey from a 24-year corporate career to securing 13 clients in her first six months as a consultant, the power of letting silence work for you in pricing conversations, and defining success beyond financial metrics.

The Power of the "I Help" Statement

Beverly's journey began with a clear understanding of her value proposition. As she shared on the Thriving Through podcast, "I help businesses and individuals unlock their potential. And in today's environment, being able to have that confidence to unlocking what's possible really helps to give back some of that control to individuals and businesses."

This simple yet powerful "I help" statement demonstrates a crucial principle for consultants: focus on what you help clients achieve, not just what you do. As Beverly notes, people don't wake up thinking they need to hire a consultant—they wake up with challenges they need solved.

The Watch Analogy: You Already Have What You Need

Drawing from her 24-year Fortune 100 career, Beverly shared a memorable insight about consulting: "Hiring a consultant is like bringing someone in, taking off your watch, handing it to them and saying, 'Tell me the time.'" Often, clients already have the answers—they just need help accessing or connecting them.

This perspective shaped Beverly's approach to coaching and consulting. Rather than positioning herself as the expert with all the answers, she focuses on helping clients refine and connect what they already possess. This creates efficiency, generates revenue, and builds better workplace cultures—outcomes that resonate deeply with her passion for people development.

The Courage to Align with Core Values

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Beverly's story is how she discovered and leveraged her core values to overcome fear. Through Brené Brown's "Dare to Lead," Beverly identified her two core values: courage and freedom. These became her North Star during challenging moments.

A pivotal moment came during a difficult travel experience in France when a security guard simply said "courage" to her family. That word became her rallying cry. "When I made this decision, I kept going back to what are my core values," Beverly explains. "If you haven't done this exercise as a coach or a consultant, I would highly encourage you to do it. Know your why."

Overcoming the Fear of "Bothering" People

One of Beverly's most valuable insights addresses a common fear among new consultants, particularly women: the reluctance to "bother" potential clients. This fear can paralyze marketing efforts and limit business growth.

Beverly's solution? Reframe the mindset entirely. "If you have a genuine service, you help people, and if you are communicating with someone who has the problem that you uniquely can help them with, you're not bothering them. You're just making them aware that you're available."

She emphasizes the importance of letting your audience determine if your content is valuable, rather than pre-selecting or deselecting them before you even reach out.

Pricing with Confidence: The Silence Strategy

When it comes to pricing, Beverly learned a powerful lesson from her business mentors: after presenting your price, don't be the first person to speak. "Human beings we don't like silence," she explains. "We will do just about anything to fill silence."

This PR trick puts the power in the hands of the person who doesn't speak. Most clients will either accept the price or raise specific objections that can be addressed. If price is the first objection, it often means other value propositions weren't adequately covered.

Beverly's pricing philosophy is straightforward: "You can always choose to lessen the price if, after you present it, you get pushback. You can't ever increase the price."

Dealing with Rejection: The Emotional Management Framework

Beverly has developed a sophisticated approach to handling the inevitable "no" responses that come with consulting. Her framework focuses on emotional intelligence and reframing:

1. Separate yourself from your emotions: Instead of saying "I am disappointed," say "I feel disappointed"
2. Analyze the why: "I feel disappointed because I thought I did that one really well" or "I feel disappointed because I wasn't as prepared as I could have been"
3. Move forward strategically: If you've done everything in your control and they still said no, "let them say no" and focus on the next potential client

As her coach reminded her: "Beyond the emotions, you are okay. Let yourself move forward."

Building a Sustainable Lead Generation Strategy

Beverly's approach to lead generation combines online and offline strategies, with particular success from Chamber of Commerce networking. "I come across better in person than I do in the digital space," she admits, acknowledging that while she led advertising in her corporate role, social media doesn't resonate as authentically with her.

Her current focus includes LinkedIn and Instagram, but she's planning to shift toward a more comprehensive digital system with email marketing and online courses. "I may start to shift away from some LinkedIn and Instagram and focus more on that true digital system that's outside of the social networks."

The Vision: Living Full and Free

Looking ahead 3-5 years, Beverly's vision extends far beyond financial goals. With her twins finishing high school in three years, she plans to embrace her freedom value through international travel while building a coaching practice that can operate from anywhere.

Her ultimate message to fellow consultants is profound: "Stop letting society define [success] for you. How you define your success is a very personal statement."

Key Takeaways for Thriving Consultants

1. Develop a clear "I help" statement that focuses on client outcomes, not your activities
2. Identify your core values and use them as decision-making guides and sources of courage
3. Reframe "bothering" as "serving" when reaching out to potential clients
4. Present pricing confidently and let silence work in your favor
5. Manage rejection emotionally by separating feelings from identity
6. Choose lead generation strategies that align with your authentic self
7. Define success on your own terms, not society's expectations

Beverly Flores' journey from Fortune 100 executive to thriving consultant demonstrates that with courage, authenticity, and strategic thinking, the transition to independent consulting can be both financially rewarding and personally fulfilling. Her story reminds us that sometimes the universe conspires to push us toward our true calling—we just need the courage to listen and act.

Timestamps for Key Moments

13:32 - Courage as a Core Value: Beverly explains how identifying courage as her core value helped her overcome fear

25:17 - The Power of Silence in Pricing: Beverly shares the critical technique of staying silent after stating your price

31:35 - You Are Not Your Emotions: Important mindset shift for handling rejection and disappointment

35:57 - Call the Second List: Powerful story about persistence after rejection with a client who gave up halfway

38:27 - Lead Generation Tactics: Beverly's practical approach to finding new clients through Chamber of Commerce

41:14 - Building an Email List: Overcoming reluctance to reach out to people with valuable content

47:43 - Four Buckets of Success: Beverly's framework for defining success beyond financial metrics