As a consultancy owner, it’s easy to spend all your time doing strategic work for your clients—only to neglect the same level of strategic focus for your own business.

Is your business always taking the back seat?

Imagine spending hours firefighting tasks and delivering client results—only to realise your own consultancy is left without the strategic direction it needs to grow.

I see a common thread with all the consultancies I work with: you help your clients achieve strategic transformations, but making time to work strategically on your own business? That’s where things stall.

What is the strategic line?

In an ideal world, leadership functions—finance, marketing, sales, HR—would spend 80% of their time on strategic work and only 20% on transactional tasks.

The reality? In most businesses, it’s the other way around.

For small consultancies, where the owner wears many hats, the time spent above the strategic line on their own business is often much less than 20%.

This imbalance stifles growth, creativity, and your ability to drive your consultancy forward.

Growth, creativity, and innovation thrive when you spend your time above the strategic line.

How to spend more time above the strategic line

You already know how to help your clients work strategically—now it’s time to apply those principles to your consultancy. Here’s a three-step roadmap to start freeing up your time and moving above the line:

1️⃣ Start with data

Small consultancies might not have "lakes of data," but even small "puddles" can provide invaluable insights.

To gather the right data, ask:

• What? Questions you want to answer about your business.

• Why? The value of answering those questions.

• Where? The data source to answer them.

💡 Pro Tip 1: Target questions that simplify, not complicate. Ask what decisions this data will help you make—and eliminate redundant ones.

2️⃣ Define and streamline your processes

For each question, map out the processes needed to gather accurate data.

• Identify transactional tasks (routine, repetitive) and transformational tasks (strategic, high-impact).

• Use this distinction to free yourself and your team from transactional work.

For example:

💡 Pro Tip 2: Free yourself from the weeds. Start small by delegating one transactional task this week and measure the impact on your time. 

Also, remember that while transactional tasks can be delegated, the results they generate (e.g. leads generated) can still drive transformational growth.

3️⃣ Apply technology to automate and delegate

Automation and outsourcing are your best friends. When selecting a solution, ensure it:

1. Frees up your time and your team’s.

2. Captures actionable data you can easily report on.

3. Provides a quick return on investment (ROI).

💡 Pro Tip 3: Focus on quick wins first. Identify tasks where automation or delegation will have the most immediate impact—whether that’s freeing up hours of your time or delivering fast, tangible results.

When automation isn’t feasible, find an outsourcing partner who can execute transactional tasks efficiently and reliably and ticks the three criteria above.

Recap: Elevate your consultancy above the strategic line

You help your clients stay above the strategic line—now it’s time to do the same for your consultancy.

• Start with data: Define the key questions to simplify decisions.

• Streamline processes: Delegate or automate transactional tasks.

• Leverage technology: Focus your efforts on transformational growth.

The result? More time for strategic work that drives meaningful growth for your consultancy.

Elevating your consultancy above the strategic line isn’t just about freeing up time—it’s about creating the clarity and focus needed to scale sustainably. Your consultancy’s growth starts with spending time where it matters most—above the line.

Ready to spend more time where it matters?

The Ready-To-Buy Playbook helps you free yourself from busy work and focus on strategic growth, all while generating high-quality sales calls with ideal clients.

👉 Download your free copy here