Season 2 of the ProducTea! Elena Verna joins me to openly gossip about our diverse income streams: Advisory, consulting, and everything else in that word salad. We both dive into our different modes of engagement with an emphasis on what the ideal duration and conditions are for each of them. If you ever wanted to have an inside look into how growth advising happens, this is your episode. Timestamps: 03:00 What Elena has been up to in the last 6 months 03:50 What does being a growth advisor/consultant or solopreneur mean? 09:50 Is career optionality a strength or weakness as a candidate? 15:11 How content, advising, and full-time role play into each other 17:04 How to get your first contract? 22:59 It takes a long time for your seeds to grow, learn to seed fast and putting yourself out there including your knowledge 27:19 Leah’s modes of engagements 28:34 Elena’s modes of engagements 34:14 Acceptable durations for different modes of engagements 36:54 The first 3 months as an advisor 39:10 The case for interim positions and why Elena picks them occasionally 43:40 Interim positions and reasons why companies use them 46:55 Contractual conditions you need to set up to have a chance at advising 52:10 Monetizing your advising career too early 54:50 Being a generalist vs. a specialist, disclosing weaknesses Leah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube