Thriving Through Podcast | With AJ Riedel
Hosted by Independent Consultants
A veteran consultant interviews fellow independent consultants about the tactical struggles of building a six-figure practice.
This is a workshop in podcast form, where a veteran consultant dissects the business mechanics of other solo consultants. Each episode is framed around a specific, real-world challenge a guest is facing—like a dry pipeline, an undefined niche, or launching a new service. The conversations are less about celebrating success and more about a tactical, honest look at the systems, mindset, and marketing required to run a stable six-figure consultancy.
“Unlike many business podcasts, this show avoids glossy success stories, instead focusing on the messy middle of building a practice. The host's 35+ years of experience and coaching framework provide a strong, diagnostic lens, making each interview feel like a public coaching session focused on a single, critical business problem.”
Who hosts this show
AJ Riedel is a coach for consultants who previously ran her own market research firm for over 35 years. After a decade in marketing at Fortune 500 companies like General Mills and Reebok, she founded a successful consultancy in the housewares industry, earning over $2 million in her career. Now, she uses her podcast and coaching business to help other self-employed consultants overcome the feast-or-famine cycle and build a profitable, sustainable practice.
Credentials & credits
- MBA from UCLA
- 35+ years as a self-employed consultant
- Former Product Manager for brands like Wheaties and Grey Poupon
- Former marketing roles at General Mills, Nabisco, Reebok, and Phillips
- Founder, market research consultancy for the housewares industry
- Coach for self-employed consultants
Other ventures
- AJ Riedel Coaching
- Riedel Marketing Group (RMG)
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01
- 02E115 How to Manage the Mental Game of Independent Consulting | Lindsey SimmonsJun 16, 2026 · 33 min
- 03
- 04E113 Stop Writing Content That Disappears | Erica HolthausenJun 9, 2026 · 1h 00m
- 05
- 06E111 Why Being Good at Everything Makes It Harder to Get Clients | Katy FlattJun 2, 2026 · 53 min
- 07E110 How Crystal Harrison Scaled Beyond Her Bookkeeping BusinessMay 28, 2026 · 1h 00m
- 08
Notable episodes
- 01E115 How to Manage the Mental Game of Independent Consulting | Lindsey Simmons
A clear case study of a consultant who built a referral-only business and the mindset required, plus the interesting angle of launching a second, passion-based venture.
- 02E116 Building a Consulting Practice That Doesn't Burn You Out or Dry Up | Alison Keutgen
This episode is a perfect example of the show's core premise: a successful six-figure consultant reveals the hard lesson of not having a sales pipeline when long-term contracts end.
- 03E114 Building a Platform That Connects Companies With Fractional Talent | Michele Cook
Tackles the timely topic of AI's impact on the executive job market and the practicalities of building a two-sided marketplace for fractional talent.
What you'll be asked on this show
AJ Riedel's style is that of a coach diagnosing a problem. She opens by providing a detailed, scripted summary of the guest's backstory and the central challenge of the conversation, establishing the stakes immediately. She probes with a mix of direct process questions ('How do you find them on LinkedIn?') and empathetic mindset questions ('What did it actually feel like?'). A signature technique is to paraphrase a guest's point to confirm her understanding before asking a follow-up, ensuring the conversation stays focused and clear. She consistently pushes past surface-level answers to uncover the 'real toll' of a business problem or the 'hardest part' of a particular journey.
The host, AJ Riedel, begins each episode with a detailed narrative summary of the guest's business and the specific problem they're solving, often referencing details from off-air pre-conversations. The format is a one-on-one interview, released weekly, that feels like a strategic case study. The podcast itself serves as a primary marketing channel for the host's coaching practice.
Questions Independent Consultants keeps coming back to
12 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Independent Consultants reaches for it.
origin
1- Q.01
“What problem are you seeing in the market right now?”
This is often her opening question, used to establish the market context and the 'why' behind the guest's business.
mindset
4- Q.01
“What did it actually feel like to be in that uncertain moment?”
She asks this to explore the emotional and mental side of a business challenge, like a layoff or a failed launch.
- Q.02
“What was the one thing you were most unsure about when you started?”
This question probes for early vulnerabilities and imposter syndrome, setting a baseline for the guest's growth.
- Q.03
“What was the hardest part of 'building the plane as you're flying it'?”
She uses this to get beyond platitudes and into the specific, gritty challenges of starting a new venture.
- Q.04
“What's keeping you up at night about your business right now?”
This question quickly surfaces the guest's most pressing current challenges and anxieties.
process
4- Q.01
“How did you ultimately decide on your niche and ideal client?”
A core question used to understand how a consultant focused their business development efforts.
- Q.02
“How do you position your services to companies that are in cost-cutting mode?”
This is a tactical question to understand how the guest communicates their value proposition during economic uncertainty.
- Q.03
“What have you tried to reach clients who are [hard to find]?”
She asks this to get into the specifics of a guest's marketing and networking strategies for a difficult target market.
- Q.04
“What's the biggest challenge you're navigating right now with this new venture?”
A go-to question for guests launching a new service or business line to understand current obstacles.
money
2- Q.01
“What is the real toll of having unpredictable revenue in your business?”
She asks this to uncover the non-financial costs of the 'feast or famine' cycle, like stress and burnout.
- Q.02
“What kind of revenue is your goal?”
A direct question to understand the guest's specific financial targets for their practice.
future
1- Q.01
“If [your biggest problem] wasn't in the way, what would your practice look like?”
A vision-setting question designed to clarify the guest's ultimate goal and the stakes of solving their problem.
Signature segments
- · Host's intro: 'This is Thriving Through, the podcast where each week I have real conversations with self-employed consultants...'
- · Detailed narrative framing of the guest's specific business problem at the start of the episode.
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are self-employed, fractional, or solo consultants, typically in B2B fields like marketing, HR, and tech. They are actively building their practice, have achieved some success, but are facing a tangible growth obstacle they are willing to discuss openly.
- Alison Keutgenon E116 Building a Consulting Practice That Doesn't Burn You Out or Dry Up | Alison Keutgen
- Lindsey Simmonson E115 How to Manage the Mental Game of Independent Consulting | Lindsey Simmons
- Michele Cookon E114 Building a Platform That Connects Companies With Fractional Talent | Michele Cook
- Erica Holthausenon E113 Stop Writing Content That Disappears | Erica Holthausen
- Hemalatha Chandrasekaranon E112 How Ancient Sanskrit Principles Can Transform Customer Experience and Business Growth | Hema
- Katy Flatton E111 Why Being Good at Everything Makes It Harder to Get Clients | Katy Flatt
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
Estimated: The podcast has no external sponsors and appears to function as a content marketing engine for AJ Riedel's own coaching services, which are aimed at the same consultant audience.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch Independent Consultants
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People also ask
- Who is the host of Thriving Through?
- The host is AJ Riedel, a coach for consultants who previously ran her own successful market research consultancy for over 35 years.
- What is the format of the podcast?
- It is a weekly, one-on-one interview show where AJ Riedel talks with other independent consultants about the specific challenges they face in building their businesses.
- Who is the podcast for?
- It's for self-employed consultants, especially those earning under six figures who struggle with inconsistent client flow and want to learn practical marketing and sales strategies.
- Is this podcast still active?
- Yes, based on the recent episode dates, the podcast releases new episodes weekly.
- How can I be a guest on the podcast?
- The podcast description provides an email address, [email — gated], for guest inquiries.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]About AJ - AJ Riedel Coachingajriedel.com
- [02]Thriving Through Podcast - AJ Riedel Coachingajriedel.com
- [03]AJ Riedel Coaching Homeajriedel.com
- [04]Riedel Marketing Groupriedelmarketinggroup.com
- [05]Thriving Through Podcast | With AJ Riedel - YouTube Channelyoutube.com
- [06]Thriving Through on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
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