From Independent to Interconnected
Dan Minkin
I lead the NZBCA Marketplace, a world first platform connecting buyers with nearly 100 NZ Owned boutique consultancies and specialists
Growing a consulting business isn’t about just finding the next client. It’s about building momentum over time by doing every value creating activity well and keeping multiple activities going forward.
That’s where the NZBCA Flywheel comes in.
The flywheel analogy explains how independent consultants and boutiques can use momentum to increase their success and how Ecosystem led-growth acts as an accelerant.
"Flywheel" is often used to describe a self-reinforcing cycle where momentum builds over time, making each iteration more effective. In your consultancy lifecycle, each step feeds into the next, and as knowledge is collected and applied, the value proposition improves, making future marketing, sales, and delivery more efficient.
The idea is that once the cycle gains momentum, it becomes easier to generate results, much like how a physical flywheel stores energy and keeps spinning with less effort.
How It Works
The flywheel is built on five key stages:
Below is a draft of how this model works. Each stage has a purpose, key success elements and information that is passed to the next stage in the cycle.
Stage 1. Creating the Value Proposition & Services
It all starts with defining what you offer and who you serve. The better your services align with client needs, the easier the rest of the process becomes.
Key Elements
Passed to the next stage
Clear messaging: The value proposition shapes how marketing materials and campaigns are crafted.
Target audience insights: Knowledge of the ideal client and their pain points informs the direction of marketing efforts.
Stage 2. Marketing
Once you have a solid offering, you need to get it in front of the right people. This includes building awareness -and making sure potential clients know you exist.
Key Elements
Passed to the next stage
Qualified leads: The marketing stage generates leads, which are then nurtured into prospects during the sales process.
Client expectations: Insights into client needs gathered through marketing help shape sales conversations and contracting terms.
Stage 3. Sales & Contracting
Marketing creates interest, but sales is where that interest turns into real business. This stage is about having the right conversations, building trust, and closing deals efficiently.
Key Elements
Passed to the next stage
Client objectives and goals: The key expectations and goals discussed during the sales process are passed to the delivery team to ensure alignment.
Contract specifics: Details regarding scope, timeline, and deliverables, as agreed upon in the contract, are handed over for implementation.
Stage 4. Delivery
Now comes the work itself—delivering high-quality outcomes for clients. Great execution doesn’t just lead to satisfied clients but also repeat business and referrals.
Key Elements
Passed to the next stage
Lessons learned: Insights, challenges, and successes during the delivery phase are documented to refine future processes.
Client feedback: Valuable feedback from clients is gathered to inform adjustments in future engagements and improve overall service.
Stage 5. Collecting & Using Knowledge
After every project, there are lessons to be learned. Capturing insights allows you to refine your services and improve your approach—which brings us right back to step one.
Key Elements
Passed back to the next stage (Stage 1 Creating the Value Proposition)
Success stories: Case studies and examples of successful projects can be used to strengthen the value proposition.
Refined messaging: Lessons learned from client feedback and delivery outcomes may lead to adjustments in how you present your offering, making it more aligned with what clients “true need” is.
The Flywheel
This Flywheel effect ensures that the value proposition evolves based on real-world insights and keeps the consultancy responsive to client needs and market dynamics.
The stronger each stage is, the smoother the next one becomes. Over time, this creates natural momentum helping your consulting business grow in a structured and predictable way.
But while this model works, it doesn’t always move as fast as you’d like. This is where Ecosystem-Led Growth (ELG) comes in.
Ecosystem Led Growth
This approach involves collaborating with partner organisations to deliver value to clients when a requirement falls outside your expertise or capacity, rather than attempting to cover all areas yourself. This is particularly powerful for independent consultants and boutique consultancies.
Rather than trying to grow your business in isolation, ELG taps into networks, and partnerships to accelerate each stage of the flywheel.\
For example, Instead of developing services in isolation based on internal expertise, ELG enables you to co-create solutions with partners who bring complementary skills and perspectives. This in turn enhances your value proposition.
As another example you can benefit from a massive increase in network size. Traditional marketing builds an audience slowly. ELG gives instant access to a much larger and more engaged network. Marketing can become considerably more wide reaching.
The table below outlines a range of ways in which ELG can be effective in driving in extra energy to the flywheel mechanism
Conclusion
The basic flywheel helps maintain momentum, preventing the frequent stops and starts that many consultancies face when trying to build a business from scratch. By continuously refining your services, marketing, and sales efforts, you create a self-sustaining cycle where success leads to more success. This is essential—but it’s not enough on its own.
Ecosystem-Led Growth (ELG) acts as an accelerator, amplifying the impact of your efforts across multiple dimensions. It enhances your value proposition, expands your reach, de-risks delivery, and unlocks new revenue streams that wouldn’t be possible in a siloed approach. However, it’s important to note that ELG is not an all-or-nothing strategy—you don’t need to implement every aspect at once. The key is to identify where collaboration will bring the greatest return and gradually integrate ecosystem thinking into your business model.
That said, ELG is not a passive process. It requires effort, trust, and a collaborative spirit. If you approach it with a defensive mindset, guarding your territory instead of seeking shared value you’ll struggle to unlock full potential.
The most successful partners don’t just consume value from an ecosystem; they contribute to it, actively strengthening relationships and reinforcing the flywheel effect for themselves and their partners.
By adopting an ELG mindset, you position your consultancy for sustainable, accelerated growth and a step up from your current performance.
Team Leader, Business Analysis
6moI think this applies in several different circumstances, nice to see the consulting path laid out like this.
I build and unleash the capability in teams to significantly improve performance and customer experience. | Helping good people do good things, better. | Author of: Unleashing The Improvement Mindset
6moThis is really good stuff Dan 👏
Manager | Team Leader | Innovation Expert | R&D Commercialisation Expert | Helping NZ Companies Unlock Innovation Through Smarter Funding
6moLike the concept…
The attached article, contains a lot of the thinking behind the NZBCA - In particular how developing an Ecosystem of Partners can accelerate your growth by adding energy and value at multiple stages - Creating a Value Proposition, Marketing, Sales, Delivery and Knowledge collection. Knowledge then feeds back into the Value Proposition and the cycle continues.