Sixty minutes, on the decision you keep circling.
For the decision about going out on your own, from someone who made it and spent years being the person on the other side of the table.
CHF 550 · 60 minutes · written observations within 48 hours
When people book this
- You have decided to leave and cannot work out whether it is now or eighteen months from now.
- You know roughly what you would sell and have no idea whether anybody would actually pay for it.
- You have been offered your first piece of work and do not know what to charge for it.
- You are weighing a package against going out on your own and have never properly costed either.
- You have been about to start for six months.
What happens in the hour
Before. You send me the situation in whatever form it is in. A half-written offer, a spreadsheet, three paragraphs typed at eleven at night. It does not need tidying up first. I read it properly before we speak.
On the call. We work out what you are actually selling, which is usually narrower and more valuable than the version you arrived with. Who would buy it. What it is worth. And whether the numbers give you long enough to find out.
Then what I would do next, and in what order, so you leave with a sequence rather than a list.
Afterwards
Written observations within 48 hours. Not notes on what we said, which you were there for. What I think, where I would push, and what I would want to know before you commit money or time to it.
What this is not
I am a chartered management accountant, not a tax adviser. This is your arithmetic on your own numbers, and I will not tell you what your number should be. If the answer needs somebody who knows your country's rules, get one.
I am not a lawyer either. I will not tell you what your settlement is worth, whether to sign, or how a clause would hold up.
What I can tell you is how these decisions get made on the other side of the table, what is actually negotiable, and which questions are worth putting to somebody qualified.
If your situation needs a lawyer, I will say so on the call rather than after you have paid for a second one.
Who this is not for
Not for somebody who wants an ongoing arrangement. This is one hour on one decision. If what you want is somebody alongside you for months while you build, say so and I will tell you what that costs instead.
Not for somebody who has already decided and wants it confirmed. You will get my actual read, and sometimes that read is that you are not ready yet, or that the thing you are about to sell is not the thing people want from you.
I worked with Lisa Mayer over several months during a career transition, and it was genuinely useful. She brought an independent, outside read on my experience and how it holds up in the market, a well-benchmarked perspective that's hard to get from inside your own network. She was also a sharp sounding board, pressure-testing my thinking and sharpening how I frame my work across my CV, LinkedIn, and conversations with hiring managers. Structured sessions, clear written follow-ups, and direct, practical advice throughout.
I worked with Lisa on a recent career move and I couldn't recommend her more. Her previous corporate experience combined with excellent coaching skills add huge value for anyone acting on a major career decision. I will also continue working with Lisa in my new role.
Questions
“CHF 550 for an hour?”
You are not buying an hour. You are buying the read before it, the hour, and the written observations after, which is the part people go back to.
The comparison is what the decision is worth. If it decides whether you spend the next year building something, or whether you take a package instead, the hour is a rounding error against it.
“What do I need to send you?”
Whatever you have. A half-finished idea, a spreadsheet, three paragraphs. It does not need writing up first, and the people who wait until they can present it properly are the ones who book too late.
“What if it turns out you are not the right person?”
Find that out before you pay for it. Email me three sentences on the situation and I will tell you honestly whether anything I do is relevant, including when the answer is no.
I would rather lose the booking than take an hour off somebody I cannot help.
“Can we do this before I have left?”
Yes, and that is usually the right time. The decision about leaving is taken while you are still there, by definition, and that is when both your leverage and your runway are largest.
“Is this coaching?”
Partly, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Building a practice from nothing is coaching in the ordinary sense of the word and it is a good deal of what I do. This particular hour is narrower than that. One decision, with somebody who has made the same one and who spent years deciding what other people were worth.
CHF 550. Sixty minutes, and a written read within 48 hours.
If you are not sure it is the right thing, email me and describe it in three sentences. I read every one and I will tell you honestly whether anything I do is relevant.