Build Your Consultancy Around Your Life (Founder Market Fit) With Deri Hughes
03/18/25 • 45 min
Summary
Most consultancy founders are told to chase product-market fit. But what if the real key to long-term success is founder-market fit? In this episode, Craig Herd and Clive Griffiths speak with Derry Hughes, founder of Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training, about how he reshaped his business to fit his strengths, his life, and his long-term vision.
Derry shares how he pivoted through three different businesses before focusing on training, where he found both growth and fulfilment. He opens up about the hard lessons learned from running two businesses at once, why focus is everything, and how building the right leadership team helped him scale sustainably, all while raising four children.
If you’re a consultancy founder wondering what’s next or how to build a business that works for you, not against you this episode is for you.
Episode Highlights and Insights
- Founder-Market Fit: The Overlooked Growth Strategy
Derry explains why aligning your business with your personal strengths, interests, and ambitions is the real key to sustainable growth.
- The Power of Focus
Why trying to run two businesses at once nearly derailed Derry—and how narrowing his focus to training unlocked real momentum.
- Pivoting with Purpose
How Derry moved from outsourced operations to recruitment, and ultimately to training consultancy teams, driven by market demand and his own interests.
- Building the Right Leadership Team
The importance of bringing in partners who complement your weaknesses, not mirror your strengths—and how this decision accelerated Honeycomb’s growth.
- Sustainable Growth vs Hypergrowth
Derry shares why he chose to build a business designed for long-term sustainability, rather than chasing rapid scale and exit strategies.
Why Listen
If you’re a consultancy founder asking, Is this the right business for me?, this episode will show you how to align your consultancy with your strengths, ambitions, and life outside the business—so you can scale on your own terms.
Subscribe to The Consultancy Growth Podcast for more conversations with experts who are helping consultancy founders build sustainable, scalable businesses.
Deri Hughes Linkedin
Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training
Summary
Most consultancy founders are told to chase product-market fit. But what if the real key to long-term success is founder-market fit? In this episode, Craig Herd and Clive Griffiths speak with Derry Hughes, founder of Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training, about how he reshaped his business to fit his strengths, his life, and his long-term vision.
Derry shares how he pivoted through three different businesses before focusing on training, where he found both growth and fulfilment. He opens up about the hard lessons learned from running two businesses at once, why focus is everything, and how building the right leadership team helped him scale sustainably, all while raising four children.
If you’re a consultancy founder wondering what’s next or how to build a business that works for you, not against you this episode is for you.
Episode Highlights and Insights
- Founder-Market Fit: The Overlooked Growth Strategy
Derry explains why aligning your business with your personal strengths, interests, and ambitions is the real key to sustainable growth.
- The Power of Focus
Why trying to run two businesses at once nearly derailed Derry—and how narrowing his focus to training unlocked real momentum.
- Pivoting with Purpose
How Derry moved from outsourced operations to recruitment, and ultimately to training consultancy teams, driven by market demand and his own interests.
- Building the Right Leadership Team
The importance of bringing in partners who complement your weaknesses, not mirror your strengths—and how this decision accelerated Honeycomb’s growth.
- Sustainable Growth vs Hypergrowth
Derry shares why he chose to build a business designed for long-term sustainability, rather than chasing rapid scale and exit strategies.
Why Listen
If you’re a consultancy founder asking, Is this the right business for me?, this episode will show you how to align your consultancy with your strengths, ambitions, and life outside the business—so you can scale on your own terms.
Subscribe to The Consultancy Growth Podcast for more conversations with experts who are helping consultancy founders build sustainable, scalable businesses.
Deri Hughes Linkedin
Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training
Previous Episode
Why Your 'Unique Value Proposition' Is Holding You Back ( + The Fix )
Summary
Most consultants are told their Value Proposition is everything. But is that really true? In this episode, Craig Herd and Clive Griffiths break down why the usual advice around value propositions often misses the mark—and what actually matters if you want to grow your consultancy.
Craig and Clive explore why many consultancy founders get stuck obsessing over a one-liner, while the real challenge is getting in front of the right clients and having deeper conversations. They discuss the difference between a value proposition and positioning, why your team needs clarity to avoid butchering your message, and how clients often stay with you for different reasons than why they first signed up.
If you’ve ever wrestled with articulating your consultancy’s value—or felt pressured to come up with a “unique” value proposition that sets you apart—this episode is for you.
...
Episode Highlights and Insights
- Value Proposition vs Positioning
Craig and Clive discuss why consultants often confuse these two ideas—and why separating them can help clarify what you really offer.
- Why Your Team Needs your Value Prop More Than Your Clients
When associates and consultants are tasked with business development, a clear message becomes critical. Without it, they’ll likely dilute your proposition.
- Why ‘Unique’ Misses The Point
Most consultancies aren’t unique—and that’s okay. What matters more is trust, reliability, and credibility in the eyes of your clients.
- The Role of Your Value Proposition
Think of it as the fishing line—not the entire strategy. It’s there to open the conversation, not close the deal.
- Who You Should Listen To
Craig shares how reviewing client feedback uncovered the real value they deliver—something they hadn’t identified themselves.
- Productise or Expand?
A candid chat on how consultancies can scale—whether through productising services or carefully expanding their offer—without becoming “all things to all people.”
...
If you’re a consultancy founder who’s ever felt stuck explaining what you do—or worried your team can’t articulate your value without you—this episode will help you rethink your value proposition and positioning in a more practical way.
Subscribe to The Consultancy Growth Podcast for candid conversations with experts helping consultancy founders build sustainable, scalable businesses.
Next Episode
How to Grow 2X Faster While Outsmarting Your Competition With Matt Hodkinson
In this episode of the Consultancy Growth Podcast, Matt Hodkinson, CEO of Total Growth Ownership, joins me to break down why differentiation and market positioning are make-or-break for consultancies.
We explore the common traps consultancy founders fall into—like mirroring competitors, struggling to communicate their value, and the knock-on effect weak positioning has on pricing and client engagement. Through real-world examples, we unpack how small shifts in messaging can lead to major growth.
If you’ve ever questioned what truly sets your consultancy apart—or worried that your positioning isn’t landing—this episode is for you.
00:00 – Introduction to the Consultancy Growth Podcast
01:16 – Why differentiation is non-negotiable for consultancies
03:10 – The real challenge: communicating your value clearly
06:29 – Signs your positioning isn’t working
10:24 – The power of saying no: how it strengthens your brand
12:53 – Making room for the clients you actually want
15:21 – Why sales is a positioning problem (not just a numbers game)
17:16 – Get this right before you promote
19:15 – Breaking down a real-world positioning shift
20:55 – Pricing pushback
22:01 –Reposition your consultancy without confusing your market
25:40 – Why positioning isn’t one-and-done
28:26 – Should your positioning be controversial?
31:15 – How positioning directly impacts your pricing power
35:19 – The 4 P’s of Positioning: A framework for getting it right
37:25 – Final thoughts & how to apply this to your consultancy
Connect with Matt on Linkedin:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/matthodkinson
Connect with me on Linkedin:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/craigherd
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