But what do you actually do?

Every consultant’s *favorite* question

And no, the answer isn’t “whatever you want.” Nor is it “whatever I want” (more on that in a later post, maybe).

“Consultant” is a bit of a catch-all term for professional services, so I thought I’d drop this here should anyone care to know what this consultant actually does. And why you might want to subscribe to this Substack. Full disclosure: my paid tier isn’t for everyone—the casual reader who happens to like my random musings will be more than happy with the free subscription, which will never be going away!

What I Do

Grants/Funding:

I work with UK and US researchers and small businesses looking to secure funding through Innovate UK, NIH, NSF, NIHR, Ministry of Defence, EIC, and other funding agencies. This involves three separate service levels:

1. 1-1 Strategy Sessions: 60-minute Zoom calls to talk through ideas, assess funding fit, and map out project plans.

2. Grant review and copyediting: Full copyedit + pre-submission review with reviewer-style notes and a second read after your final tweaks.

3. Premium full service: You tell me your idea, I write your application

Editing:

Just last week, I spoke with a company that is spending $40K a MONTH outsourcing copyediting. Wild.

I help teams stop doing that by:

1. Building custom copyediting courses for groups and companies looking to bring their editing in-house and get their team trained quickly—either online or in person.

2. Acting as your dedicated copyeditor for up to 20K words/week—if you’d rather outsource to one human who knows your style and won’t tie you up in retainer fees.

Academic:

I work with academics to help with project management, project design, team building, communication, and conflict resolution. This involves the following:

1. 1-1 brainstorming meetings: 60-minute sessions to untangle your issue and find a clear way forward.

2. Tailored Workshops: Project strategy, communication, team-building… Online or in-person, depending on your needs.

3. Digital resources. This is where this Substack comes in! I am creating a library of carefully crafted resources to help undergraduate and faculty-level researchers develop skills in scientific communication, soft skills, team management, study design, and other important career development aspects that are often not directly taught. These materials will be available on my website for individual purchase. OR, you can pay $8/month for this Substack to get access to all of them. There are currently 3 available; by the end of the summer, there will be 30. So, if you want these resources, the paid option is for you! Just want to read? I’m so glad you’re here!

I mainly wrote this to stop getting asked, “But what do you actually do?” and not to pitch anything.

(But if you do want to work with me, now you know how.)