Final Stop
Who Works Here?
Just me. For now, and likely always.
If I can’t build FSC into something that reflects my standards, then it fails with me. I’ve seen the bar fall across consultancies in a race to keep up, not stand out.
How Many Clients Do You Have? Will I Get Priority?
Currently, FSC is a one-person shop. I plan accordingly or reject work outright. I’ve done the corporate climb, burned out, and decided to work differently.
A “consistent” work balance for me may look like one of these:
3 ad-hoc support projects (~30 hours total)
One significant, high-stakes engagement (usually legal or transformational)
A part-time arrangement to recharge
Short-term W2 work to get a break from running a business
Closing all engagements and accepting a full-time role
The point is: I don’t overbook. Every client gets real attention. I founded FSC two years ago with trademarks, a website, branding, etc.—stuff some major shops still don’t bother with. Before I even attempted to get a client. The ramp-up is intentional, and it is frustratingly slow by design.
FSC is how I reclaim autonomy over my time. I work with whom I want, how I want. I must maintain quality.
What’s the Rate?
It depends on:
My bandwidth
How urgent your need is
Whether you’ll actually let me try to fix it
General Ranges (2025):
$75/hr — Ad-hoc, expert guidance. Think: retainer-based “ask an expert” model. Billed more like a flat weekly cost. I don’t love this setup, but it works well if your team just needs a second brain in the room.
$150/hr — High-end day-to-day support.
$250/hr — Project lead-level. Think: rolling out a comp cycle, benefits implementation, global payroll switch, learning module launch, etc. I can lead or get things moving and then hand it off. Billing could be a flat rate or hourly arrangement (if I do great work for you in only 2 weeks, great! But I do want value for the deliverable).
$300+/hr — Executive-level, high-leverage consulting. You’re sitting with lawyers. You need someone competent, unflinching, and discreet. These are long-term (6+ months), high-risk, high-visibility efforts. I wind down other work to focus solely here.
Advisory Work
Variable – This is a pure hourly rate for enterprise architecture, strategy, and executive-level guidance.
How Have I Failed? What Have I Learned?
Bad faith works both ways.
I used to undercharge, underbill, and under pitch – thinking that business systems consulting was for scamming customers. That led clients to assume leverage they didn’t have, collaboration eroded, and I ended up leaving.
My calmness under pressure and adaptability to pressure are assets, but I’ve burned out giving short-term wins with no boundaries on scope. I’ve lived both sides — client and consultant — and I know how this game goes.
So, my boundary is that you can take advantage once. Then I’m gone.
I’ve learned to speak freely and take my consequences upfront. In the age of corporate influencers on LinkedIn, I engage in what people would deem lunacy: transparency.
This is the Final Stop. Not a side quest.
I’d prefer to keep business, business. Not sure where this trend of making it personal came from, but FSC is not on board with it.
What Can You Expect?
You want a playbook? I can write one. You want boilerplate strategy? AI can give you that. I’m here for the nuance:
How you talk
How your team interacts
Whether your team has productive meetings or if you simply conduct a roll call
If your culture is built on buzzwords and not action
I build a live playbook in my head and execute it with your people in mind.
If your systems team is solid but your benefits team has churn, we’ll work with that.
If your strategy is sharp but HRIS is new territory, we’ll bridge the gap.
If you just want ticket takers, I can do that.
But if you want a consultant, don’t expect a contractor rate. They are not the same thing.
What Is FSC Supposed to Be?
It’s the last call before you admit you need real help.
It’s where you go when you’ve burned time and money with everyone else.
I’m here to end whatever that cycle is — not keep it going.
What Do People Complain About?
I don’t stay long enough. Fair. But I always leave at the right time in retrospect. When I sense dependency forming, I leave. The money is tempting, but my time is expensive, and those situations live rent-free in my head.
I’m too blunt. I have more than enough corporate tact to remain neutral, but I address things directly. Expect your tone to be mirrored.
Cost. Either too much or too little — depending on your budget optics (cheap and efficient consultants set a precedent for compensation expectations). I’ve tried value pricing, but the market punished it. Collaboration died. Leverage was exploited. Dependency seeped in. I don’t play that anymore. Scope changes? Fine. Rates? Negotiable. But I’m not playing number games.
Travel/In-person presence. I’ll travel for legal, executive, or make-or-break situations. I won’t fly out just to close tickets. I prefer to operate remotely, but travel expectations are negotiable if justified. This may be a deal breaker for some.
I expose dysfunction. Some orgs don’t like that. But it’s often the only way forward.
What Do I Hate?
The theater.
The fake work.
The rise of plausible deniability over accountability.
It’s unsustainable, and it’s burning people out.
Clients come to me already burned by vendors, firms, partners, and their own leadership. I’m fine working with scrappy teams. What I won’t do is carry your load while you coast. That’s madness. Or maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places.
Final Word
Final Stop isn’t for everyone.
Sometimes I’ll recommend a direct hire. Sometimes a bigger shop. They all have pros and cons, just like I do.
But if you’re tired of the same loop, tour bus after tour bus with the same scenery, then maybe FSC is your next move.
It’s not sexy.
It’s not “white glove.”
But it will get things done.
When you’re done with the tour, you know where to meet me.