Why I Changed My Mind About Consultants (And You Should Too)

Let's be honest—consultants get a bad rap.

"They're expensive." "They just tell you what you already know." "Why pay someone when you can figure it out yourself?"

I used to think the same way. Hell, I probably said those exact words at some point.

But here's the thing: I was completely wrong. And it cost me—big time.

Let me tell you two stories that completely changed how I think about buying expertise.

Story #1: The $3,000 Mistake That Cost Me Years

Back when I was building Feat in the early DTC days, everything felt like uncharted territory. We were figuring out Facebook ads, influencer partnerships, supply chain logistics—all while bootstrapping and burning through cash.

Then something incredible happened. The CEO of one of the leading brands in our space reached out. He'd been watching what we were doing and offered to consult for us. Show us the ropes. Share the playbook that had taken him from zero to eight figures.

His rate? $3,000 per month.

I remember staring at that number on my screen. Three grand felt massive. We were scrappy, lean, watching every dollar. That was rent money. That was runway.

So I passed.

"We'll figure it out," I told myself. "How hard can it be?"

Guess what happened? We did figure it out. Eventually.

It just took us 10 times longer than it should have.

We made every mistake in the book. Burned through ad spend on campaigns that never should have seen the light of day. Wasted months on partnerships that went nowhere. Spent countless hours reinventing wheels that had already been perfected.

Looking back, that $3,000 would have been the best money we ever spent. The time we lost was worth exponentially more than what we "saved."

Story #2: The $600/Hour Investment That Changed Everything

Fast forward to this year. I'm working on a new big project—something completely outside my wheelhouse. I know enough to know that I don't know enough.

Through my network, I found someone incredible. A consultant with 30+ years of domain expertise. The kind of person who's been there, done that, and has the battle scars to prove it.

His rate? $600 per hour.

Six hundred dollars. For one hour.

The old me would have balked. "I can learn this stuff myself. I'll watch YouTube videos, read case studies, figure it out."

But I've learned my lesson.

So I pay it. Happily.

And you know what? Our hourly calls have become my favorite calls of the week.

This guy doesn't just answer my questions—he anticipates the questions I should be asking but don't even know to ask yet. He spots the landmines before I step on them. He's compressing decades of experience into digestible insights that would have taken me years to figure out on my own.

I'm a sponge in these conversations. Every minute is gold.

The Real Cost of "Figuring It Out Yourself"

Here's what I learned the hard way: Time is your most expensive resource.

When you're building something—whether it's a business, a career, or a new skill—the clock is always ticking. Markets change. Opportunities disappear. Competitors move faster.

The question isn't whether you can figure it out yourself. Of course you can. Most of us are smart enough to eventually crack the code on whatever we're working on.

The question is: How much time are you willing to sacrifice to avoid paying for expertise?

When Good Consultants Are Worth Every Penny

Not all consultants are created equal. The good ones—the ones worth paying for—have three things:

1. Domain expertise you can't Google They've been in the trenches. They know what works, what doesn't, and why. Their knowledge comes from experience, not textbooks.

2. Pattern recognition They've seen your situation before. They can spot the early warning signs, the common pitfalls, the shortcuts that actually work.

3. A track record of results They're not just talking theory. They've actually done the thing you're trying to do, multiple times, successfully.

The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

The breakthrough moment for me was realizing that hiring a consultant isn't an expense—it's an investment in speed.

You're not just buying their time. You're buying their mistakes, their learnings, their refined processes. You're buying years of trial and error, compressed into actionable advice.

The $3,000 I didn't spend early on? That decision probably cost me $300,000 in lost time and missed opportunities.

The $600 per hour I'm spending now? It's already paid for itself many times over in avoided mistakes and accelerated progress.

The Bottom Line

If you're trying to build something important—something that matters—your time is precious. Every month you spend wandering in the wilderness is a month your competitors are moving ahead.

The right consultant doesn't just give you answers. They give you speed. They give you confidence. They give you the pattern recognition that only comes from experience.

That's not an expense. That's leverage.

So the next time you find yourself saying "I can figure this out myself," ask yourself: What's the real cost of that approach?

Sometimes the most expensive decision is the one that seems cheapest upfront.

Talk soon,
Parker

P.S. - Have you ever had a consultant completely change your trajectory? Or made the mistake of passing on expertise you should have bought? I'd love to hear your stories.