When consulting becomes much more fulfilling than you’d ever imagined

Chloe Brown is a business strategist with over a decade of experience building and scaling established companies like Lululemon and WeWork, as well as early-stage ConTech startups. Often referred to as the ‘right-hand’ to CEOs and owners, Chloe plays a significant role in helping them launch and expand their business from pre-revenue to an impressive $10M in annual revenue.
She started Wildest Dreams in 2022 to help startups and small businesses scale. “We’re located in Texas, but we work with clients all over the U.S. We specialize in construction and real estate with particular expertise in accounting operations, hiring, and leadership development”.

What inspired you to open your own consulting agency?

I actually fell into starting my own agency by accident. My background is in building startup companies as COO. After my last startup sold our software to a Fortune 500 company, I thought I was going to take some time off. But then, I had a few friends in the industry ask about helping them think through some of their most challenging operational issues. Before I knew it, I was filing for my own LLC and building a website. Consulting has been so much more fulfilling and enriching than I ever imagined. My clients are close friends and I’m grateful to be making a positive impact on their businesses.

How did you start your consulting agency?

I feel like it was really my network that started my business for me! Someone in my network introduced me to a business they thought would benefit from my help. That led to one referral which led to another referral. So there I was consulting without a formal entity or any real structure or plan when I had a powerful meeting with a mentor of mine. I told her that I was “sort of” consulting while I figured out what I was going to do next, but that I was really enjoying it. She urged me to never “sort of” do anything with my time. She said that if I was going to do it, I might as well do it 100% so that I could assess it formally as a business opportunity. I took her advice to heart and set up my LLC the very next day. I’ve been running my business ever since.

“I feel like it was really my network that started my business for me!”

What do you wish you’d known before starting your own business?

This is such a small thing, but it really trickles down to a lot of other things. I wish I had known to check that the name I wanted was available for an LLC, a web domain, and social media. It’s really tricky when you file your LLC and then see that you can’t get a domain or social media account with the same name. Although it’s not a big deal, it’s a small annoyance that you have to live within your business forever. Every time I tell someone my business name, I have to indicate that my email and website are slightly different.

“I wish I had known to check that the name I wanted was available for an LLC, a web domain, and social media.”

Knowing what you know now, which advice would you give to your past self?

What a good question. I would have told myself that it’s just as important to network with entrepreneurs of similar business types as it is to network with potential customers. Being an entrepreneur can be lonely, and it can feel like you’re the only one with these hard problems that have no clear answers. As soon as I started meeting other agency owners, I realized that many of them had already solved the problems I was facing and could offer really valuable advice. Having a community of peers you can turn to is key.

Chloe Brown is the owner of Wildest Dreams, a consulting agency.