30/09/2026
𝟕 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝟓𝟏 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝟒𝟖𝟎𝟎+ 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
Today, on 30th September, it's exactly 7 years since I officially registered my consulting business. 🔥 For the first 6 months, I was building it part-time alongside my corporate job (in the nights and weekends), but this date still feels like an important milestone.
So I asked Claude to analyse my table tracking my clients and working hours.
𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝟒𝟖𝟔𝟔 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤
▪️ 2038 client contact hours (consultations, project meetings etc.)
▪️ 2828 hours of background work (preparation, interim project management, follow-ups etc.)
These numbers don't include workshops or other group formats, nor the work related to my own business and brand building.
It's little or much, relative. But for me it's more than enough.
💡 Around 42% happened directly with clients. The other 58% happened behind the scenes. I think this says something important about consulting:
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. Behind those conversations and decisions there is a big amount of thinking, preparation and work from my side.
Of course, 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭. However, I think 2000+ hours of active listening, asking questions, challenging ideas, solving problems and going through different business situations shape the way you think and work.
💡 These numbers were a good reminder for me as well:
𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐩. It accumulates project by project, conversation by conversation, hour by hour.
7 years later, I'm still learning, still refining the way I work and still building. And now another business milestone ahead of me and PwG Communication. 🔥 But now I stopped for a moment to look at the distance already covered. 🙂
❓ What is behind the scenes in your case? What is behind your 'contact' or 'background' numbers? I'm curious about your experience and perspectives.
p.s.: 📸 This photo was taken at my first business portrait photo shooting. I’ve learnt a lot since then, but my determination was strong in that time, too. :)