When I left corporate life to build my own consulting business, I made one decision that changed everything:
There was no Plan B.
Not emotionally.
Not operationally.
Not in my calendar.
And that forced a very different way of thinking.
The real problem is not courage. It's focus.
Most senior executives who consider “going solo” don’t fail because they lack experience.
They fail because they try to:
- solve too many problems at once
- serve everyone
- build a “perfect” offer
I did the opposite.
I defined one ICP.
I solved one concrete problem.
And I built everything around that.
Clarity beats brilliance.
However, I must admit that it took some months for getting there.
I had to relearn the business — from the other side of the desk
As an executive, I bought consulting.
As an executive, I was the target.
As a founder, I had to sell me and my services.
That was the real shift.
Listening with the ears of your customer.
Thinking with the mind of your customer.
Besides my industry expertise, I didn’t need much more.
So, I was diving into a business model I had only known as a client:
- How trust is built before credentials matter
- Why positioning beats reputation
- Why tools and structure matter more than confidence
Once I was truly aware of these basic and fundamental mechanics, things accelerated.
No Plan B means speeding up with the right tools and better processes, not blind hope.
“Protecting my time as the most critical asset."
It means:
- Chosing the right customer and products
- Chosing the right CRM instead of sticky notes
- Defining a structured outreach instead of waiting
- Develop proven frameworks instead of improvisation
- Overdelivering what I missed as customer
- Overdelivering what I missed as candidate
I treated my transition like a task force:
clear priorities,
clear daily targets,
fast feedback and constant iteration,
ongoing creation of opportunities,
ongoing learning.
That’s how momentum is created.
Time matters — especially at this stage of life
Let’s be honest.
A senior executive starting out at 56 does not want success in 5–8 years.
You want:
- clarity in weeks
- traction in months
- confidence through action
That is possible — if you stop thinking like an employee and start operating like a focused founder.
Speed comes from simplicity.
January 29th, 2026 — let’s make this practical
On January 29th, 2026 at 05:00 p.m. (CET), I’ll host a live webinar for senior executives who want to build a consulting, interim, or advisory business fast — and deliberately. It’s called „From Executive to Entrepreneur“.
We’ll focus on:
- taking the leap
- choosing the right ICP
- defining one problem that sells
- using the right tools from day one
If you feel ready for making this change— but want to move with structure, not guesswork — this is for you.
If you want to register now, sign up here:
https://academy.brandtpartners.com/forms/2149403734
Dieter Brandt
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