I recently hit the one-year mark since launching my LLC. Over the past year, I’ve experienced milestones worth celebrating, lessons that reshaped my perspective, and challenges that tested my resilience. Like any business journey, it’s been a balancing act of growth, adaptation, and reflection.
I believe reflection is key to success. I don’t think weever truly arrive at a point where we've learned everything, grown enough, or no longer need to evolve. In this article, I'll take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of my journey as I reflect on key moments from the past year and how they've shaped the direction of my business.
From Freelancer to LLC
While this marks one year as an LLC, my independent business journey began four years ago. I started as a freelancer, but from day one, my focus was on delivering strategic learning solutions as a consultant.
The work I was doing in the first part of the year aligned with this vision. I had enough high-quality, repeating work to comfortably turndown piecemeal projects that didn’t fit my business model. I was securing larger contracts, partnering with organizations to build meaningful learning programs, and delivering exactly the kind of projects I wanted to be doing. In fact, I had companies requesting that I form an LLC so they could work with me more easily within their procurement structures.
Despite this success, certain perceptions persisted. My decision to refer to myself as a freelancer started to deviate from how I wanted to position myself to potential clients. The terms freelancer and consultant are often used interchangeably, but they reflect different ways of working. A freelancer is typically seen as someone who takes on individual projects, often working independently on specific tasks within a larger initiative. A consultant, on the other hand, is brought in to provide strategic guidance, shape solutions, and work closely with organizations to address business challenges.
I take on project tasks and execution, but my work extends beyond that. I shape strategy, align solutions with my clients' needs, and operate in a consulting capacity as a full-service studio.
Having my business under my name made it easier for people to default to the freelancer label, which didn’t reflect the kind of work I was doing or the long-term relationships I was building with clients. While these misconceptions didn’t hold me back at first, they became more challenging to navigate as my business grew and I positioned myself for larger contracts.
Some companies I worked with wanted to expand what we were doing but couldn’t contract directly with a sole proprietor. Becoming an independent vendor instead of a subcontractor created more opportunities to engage with clients directly. Expanding my services meant preparing to scale for larger projects that required more than just my individual capacity. I needed a way to bring on additional help when necessary while ensuring clients felt confident working with my team—not just me. In short, I realized that by not having an LLC in place, I was leaving money on the table and potentially limiting my ability to meet contract demands.
At the end of 2023, I made the decision to transition from Nicole Stephens, DBA, to iNStep Consulting, LLC, to shift these perceptions and increase operational flexibility. Shifting to iNStep reinforced that while I remain the face of the company, the business itself is designed to be sustainable, adaptable, and scalable. It allowed me to bring in support as needed without disrupting client relationships. And it helped reframe how clients view my work—not as someone to simply hand work off to, but as a trusted consulting partner in strategic learning design.
The business was growing, and I was on the cusp of hiring additional help. Then, halfway through the year, everything changed.
Navigating Uncertainty
As the United States prepared for a new election year, uncertainty over program longevity and continued funding led to a steep economic shift. As the economy shifted, companies started tightening their purse strings and eliminating anything viewed as ‘non-essential’. This led to cut training budgets, canceled projects, and scaled back investments in learning and development. Like many professionals, I had to rethink what was next.
As more talent entered the market due to mass layoffs, competition intensified, making it harder to stand out—even for those with deep expertise. I found myself competing against freelancers, many of whom were newly entering the field, offering services at entry-level rates. Many hiring managers, who viewed freelancers and consultants as the same, struggled to recognize the difference in value. Without a clear understanding of how strategic training drives long-term business outcomes and higher ROI, companies often evaluated services purely on immediate cost.
Because of this, I was faced with a decision: reassess my positioning to demonstrate the ROI of strategic learning solutions or compete on the lowest cost alone.
Establishing My Vision
As I assessed the challenges organizations were facing and the financial constraints that came with them, I knew I couldn’t just sit around and wait for the market to shift in my favor. I needed to position my work in a way that highlighted the long-term value of strategic learning—helping organizations see training as a business driver, not just an expense. That meant rethinking how I structured my services. I knew some of this was a systemic issue that could only be aided through established relationships over time, but there were some things within my control.
I focused on scalable, flexible solutions that support long-term development, helping organizations get the most from their learning initiatives without requiring large upfront commitments. I also thought about how to leverage the full scope of my expertise. Instructional design was at the core of my work, but my experience extended into project management, coaching, strategic communications, multimedia development, and facilitation. When integrated, these skills formed a more holistic approach to learning and development than any single one could on its own.
That realization led me to rethink how I applied this expertise beyond the training event itself. Coaching and facilitation had always played a role in my work, but I had positioned them as separate services rather than as part of my instructional design process. Viewing them as interconnected rather than standalone opened new possibilities for how I positioned my work.
✔ Coaching & Leadership Support – Training alone isn’t always enough—leaders need support in applying what they’ve learned and ensuring their teams continue to grow. I started exploring how coaching and leadership development initiatives could reinforce learning. This didn’t mean embedding coaching into every training, but rather equipping leaders with tools, programs, and structured guidance that help them recognize when training is needed, assess its effectiveness, and adapt when necessary. This could take the form of 1:1 coaching with leaders, designing shadowing or onboarding programs for supervisors, or helping organizations build sustainable learning and mentorship structures.
✔ Facilitation-Driven Training –As I strengthened my facilitation skills, I saw its potential to address another pressing challenge—the disruption caused by return-to-office policies.
Whether companies were mandating in-office work or implementing hybrid models, the shift was creating team morale issues, fractured dynamics, and inconsistent collaboration. Employees weren’t always familiar with their team members, some remained remote while others returned in person, and many leaders—especially new ones—were navigating these complexities for the first time. Teams needed structured ways to work together effectively, and leaders needed guidance on how to manage people in an environment that no longer functioned the way it once did.
Integrating facilitation core principles into my training design provided the structure to help teams and leaders work through these challenges together. I focused on interactive, problem-solving-driven learning experiences that not only reinforced key skills but also gave teams the opportunity to build stronger working relationships in the process.
Coaching as an Enhancement to Learning
Coaching frameworks gave me better tools for working with subject matter experts (SMEs), conducting research, and designing training that leads to deeper engagement and stronger application.
Utilizing coaching techniques have helped me:
✔ Craft effective user research – Coaching skills allow me to develop thoughtful interview guides when doing user research. Since I often only get one opportunity to speak with key stakeholders, these skills ensure my questions elicit meaningful insights that inform the learning strategy.
✔ Conduct usability studies– During usability testing, coaching has helped me practice being an active listener and observer, making it easier to guide users through a process. This approach leads to authentic user feedback and more accurate data about how learners interact with training materials.
✔ Facilitate SME knowledge extraction – Through questioning and inquiry techniques from coaching, I can draw out tacit knowledge from subject matter experts who often don't realize the valuable insights they possess. By asking powerful questions and creating a comfortable space for exploration, I uncover critical information that might otherwise remain hidden.
✔ Create psychological safety– Coaching has strengthened my ability to create environments where learners feel safe to experiment, make mistakes, and voice concerns. This translates directly to designing learning experiences that encourage risk-taking and genuine engagement.
✔ Guide self-reflection –Coaching techniques have enhanced my ability to design reflection activities within training programs that promote deeper learning and application. By incorporating structured reflection points, learners develop greater metacognitive awareness and are more likely to transfer knowledge to their daily work.
✔ Develop action-oriented learning – The goal-setting frameworks from coaching influence how I design implementation plans within training programs. Rather than ending with concepts, my training designs now include clearer action planning components that help participants map exactly how they'll apply new knowledge in their specific context.
Facilitation as a Tool for Stronger Training Design
Viewing facilitation as a collaborative framework has also influenced the way I design training, shaping not just how sessions are structured, but how learning is introduced, discussed, and applied. Seeing how teams interact with new knowledge has reinforced the importance of well-designed learning experiences, and facilitation has given me more ways to support that process.
Maximizing facilitation principles in training design has helped me:
✔ Recognize Team Dynamics– Every group brings a unique set of dynamics that influence collaboration and decision-making. Facilitation has helped me recognize how communication styles, hierarchy, and unspoken norms affect engagement. These insights have strengthened how I design training that meets teams where they are and helps them work more effectively.
✔ Keep Discussions Focused and Productive – Sessions are most effective when they provide space for discussion without losing momentum. A well-structured conversation moves participants toward a shared goal, whether they are learning a new skill, working through a challenge, or aligning on strategy. This approach carries over into live training experiences where engagement and pacing affect retention.
✔ Design Activities That Drive Better Learning – Activities should support the goals of a session, whether that's problem-solving, knowledge sharing, or leadership development. Through facilitation, I've refined how I structure workshops, instructor-led training, and virtual sessions to help participants connect new ideas to their work in practical ways.
✔ Improve Feedback Loops– Training is most effective when participants can reflect, apply new knowledge, and reinforce what they've learned. Facilitated debrief sessions can help teams learn from each other, and bridge the gap between learning and real-world application.
✔ Foster Social Learning– Beyond structured training, facilitation skills have enhanced my ability to help clients build communities of practice and peer collaboration spaces. These social learning environments extend the learning experience, allowing participants to share challenges, celebrate successes, and continue learning from each other long after formal training ends.
Looking Ahead
After the election, the new administration indeed made dramatic changes companies had been bracing for, shutting down government agencies and cutting funding for both upcoming and active project initiatives. These changes, for better or worse, meant small businesses like mine, which relied –at least in part -- on federal contracts, faced more disruptions, leaving many navigating an unpredictable landscape heading into 2025.
As a business owner, I expected a certain level of economic turbulence. The only real choice I had was to react to uncertainty or prepare for it. I focused on what I could control—leveraging my business size as a strength. Being small allowed me to be agile. Expanding my skill set made me more resilient. Having experience across multiple industries helped me adapt when the market slowed in one area.
If the past year has shown me anything, it’s that clarity comes through intentional reflection and a proactive response to change. By understanding the challenges I’ve faced, I can make more informed decisions about the future—not just in how I grow my business, but in how I grow my own expertise.
Some of the areas I'm focusing on in the year ahead:
✔ Earning my Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential with the ICF – Strengthening my ability to guide leaders in applying what they learn.
✔ Completing my Workshopper Master certification with AJ&Smart – Continuing to refine how I design and lead structured, results-driven collaboration sessions.
✔ Expanding my portfolio – This year, I’ll focus on finding new ways to demonstrate the impact of my work while respecting client confidentiality. Much of my work in strategy, learning design, and leadership development happens behind the scenes, making it difficult to showcase or quantify. Even when deliverables like interactive eLearning or facilitator guides are created, NDAs and proprietary content often limit what can be shared. I’ll be exploring ways to highlight the outcomes of my work while maintaining the necessary discretion.
What's Next for iNStep Consulting?
Alongside my personal development goals, I’m focusing on expanding iNStep Consulting’s core services to provide organizations with structured learning and leadership development programs that address the very challenges I’ve explored over the past year.
My current service offerings are:
✔ The Team Collaboration Accelerator ™ – A program designed to help UX, product, and creative teams improve alignment and influence through structured facilitation and strategic collaboration.
✔ The Leadership StepUp Program™ – Training and coaching to support new and emerging leaders as they navigate the complexities of stepping into management roles.
✔ Organizational Training & Development – Custom corporate training and onboarding solutions designed to strengthen leadership growth and workforce skills.
These programs and services were built around the real challenges I’ve seen in teams and organizations—strengthening collaboration, supporting new leaders through transition, and helping companies move beyond one-off training events toward sustainable learning strategies.
I’m currently working with teams, leaders, and organizations to validate and refine these offerings, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of the workplace as they adapt to the ongoing challenges of the past year’s changes. If any of these topics resonate with you, or if you’d like to discuss how organizations can approach learning differently, I’d love to connect!
Reflecting on the journey
As I look back on this first year as iNStep Consulting, I'm reminded that business growth isn't linear. There are moments of acceleration and moments where you need to pause and reassess. The path forward isn't always clear, but that's part of the adventure.
I’m grateful for the clients who have trusted me with their learning challenges, the colleagues who have shared their insights and support, and even the obstacles that have shaped the way I approach my work. Every challenge has shaped the way I work, pushing me to refine, adapt, and grow. Uncertainty will always be part of the journey, but so is progress—and I’m ready for what comes next.
