Kyle Mlakar is the founder of HireCOS, a fractional Chief of Staff consulting company that helps organizations bridge the gap between leadership vision and execution. With extensive experience in logistics, transportation, and various corporate roles, Kyle specializes in creating synergy within organizations and helping leaders achieve their strategic goals.
Self-employed consultant Kyle Mlakar shares his journey from corporate executive to building a successful fractional Chief of Staff consulting business. In this candid conversation, Kyle reveals the emotional and financial challenges of leaving his president role to start HireCOS, the strategies that helped him overcome the consulting revenue roller coaster, and how finding the right business partner transformed his practice.
What You'll Learn in this episode:
- How to vet potential business partners for long-term success
- Practical strategies for overcoming feast or famine consulting cycles
- Why setting aside 20% of monthly revenue is crucial for financial stability
- Business development tools and systems that actually work for solo consultants
- How to manage the emotional ups and downs of inconsistent consulting income
Key Topics & Timestamps
[
00:05:15] From Corporate Executive to Solo Consultant Kyle explains his path from various corporate roles to becoming a fractional Chief of Staff consultant and what ultimately drove him to leave his president position.
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00:06:54] What is a Corporate Chief of Staff? Breaking down the role beyond the White House version - how a Chief of Staff serves as the "synergist" of an organization, bridging gaps between C-suite and employees.
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00:09:23] The Difficult Decision to Leave The emotional and professional process of walking away from a corporate leadership role and the year-long journey to process that transition.
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00:14:38] Finding the Right Business Partner Kyle's three-step framework for vetting potential partners and how finding Stephanie Denton transformed his business capabilities.
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00:22:02] Business Reality Check at 10 Months Honest assessment of where the business stands versus expectations and the biggest lessons learned in year one.
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00:23:21] Biggest Mistakes and Key Lessons Why neglecting business development pipeline was costly and the importance of setting aside 20% of monthly revenue for stability.
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00:24:59] Business Development Challenges The struggle of balancing service delivery with sales activities and specific tools Kyle is testing to solve this problem.
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00:31:40] Managing Mental Challenges How being "extremely hard on yourself" can both help and hurt as a consultant, plus strategies for building mental endurance.
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00:36:13] The Revenue Roller Coaster Reality Kyle's honest description of the emotional highs and lows of inconsistent consulting income - from "pure ecstasy" to "3 AM wake-ups." [
00:41:05] Vision for Growth Plans to build an industry-agnostic Chief of Staff consultancy with multiple teams across different sectors.
Connect with Kyle Mlakar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylemlakar/