The hardest decision wasn't finding clients. It was choosing focus.

Let me share today a learning that will reduce stress, time and money. It is about the hardest part of starting my consulting business.

For many surprisingly, it wasn’t about finding clients. It was deciding who I would not work with.

When I left corporate life, I made a classic ex-executive mistake:
I tried to enter three different industries at once.
I assumed I knew them well enough.

I thought my network would carry me.
I believed a wide net would create faster traction.

It didn’t.

In two of the three, I got:

– scattered conversations
– blurred positioning
– diluted messaging
– the constant feeling of starting from zero

I was busy, but nothing was compounding nor selling.

The realization that changed everything

There was one market where I didn’t need to explain myself.
One market where trust formed faster.

I deeply understood the printing ecosystem:

– equipment manufacturers
– workflow and production software
– consumables

I knew the economics, technology cycles, competitors — and the leadership pain points.

Because I had lived them.

The turning point

I stopped trying to:

• stretch expertise I didn’t truly have
• chase industries I didn’t know deeply
• serve buyers who didn’t match my ICP

And I made one clear decision: I built my business around the one market where I was unmistakably the expert.

Everything changed.
My message sharpened.
Referrals increased.
Conversations accelerated.
Confidence returned.

Not because I sold better — but because prospects immediately understood why they could trust me.

The lesson most executives miss

Your value isn’t what you could do.
Consider what you can do better than 99% of the market because you’ve built it, run it, fixed it — and paid the price for knowing.

That’s why this matters:
Your niche isn’t a limitation.
It’s a multiplier.

Clarity isn’t discovered.
It’s chosen.
And once chosen, everything aligns.

Let me know how I can help you as an experienced executives to define that focus and turn it into a repeatable, authority-based consulting business.

The hardest step isn’t starting.
It’s choosing.