IC TIG Week: Braving Season Changes as an Independent Consultant by Alicia Kiremire

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Hi, I’m Alicia Kiremire, and I’ve been a business owner for over a decade. While I planned to find the perfect business plan and put it on autopilot, I have since learned that business has seasons. I’d love to share a few wise thoughts that can help us brave new seasons as independents.

Lesson Learned: A big unexpected change means we “absorb, process, grieve, and pivot all at the same time.“

Wow, when I heard this from a new friend who had worked for a large Federal contractor, I held onto it. She put into words what I had not. While I love workforce development programs and reskilling initiatives (and have been part of them), there are moments when we have no energy to reskill. This lesson is useful because it gives us more understanding both for ourselves and for others in this situation. A new season is a lot to process, and that takes time.

Hot Tip: “It’s not personal.”

This one came from a real estate agent friend. Real estate had an amazing couple years… then nothing. I asked if the slowness shook her identity (because my slowness was shaking mine!). She said no, because it’s not personal. There were big factors outside her control. Nobody wanted to buy a house with high interest rates and high house prices. She had seen the ups and downs before and knew that it wasn’t all dependent on her. This tip is useful because it can help us see the bigger picture and shake the imposter feelings when we enter a slow business season.

Rad Resource: The four seasons: A new way to look at the U.S. economy

This blog article rocked my world. I’m no economist, but I love a good pattern. This resource is useful because it implicitly guides us through what to do in each season of our businesses. When I shared the article with my financial advisor during my business “winter,” he encouraged me to yes, “buy a straw hat in winter.” Get ready for my business “spring” because it would come again. And if I wasn’t prepared, I’d lose some prime growing season. So I tried to do what farmers do during winter – rest, survive on past harvests, regroup, and then plant new seeds. Now, thankfully, I think I’ve made it to spring.

A Final Hot Tip: Look for trends in your own business and industry.

This tip is useful to help us spot opportunities early on, and to each make decisions about what work to pursue and when. For example, in my industry of STEM Research/Education/Workforce Development, I am seeing:

• Some businesses actually thrive during recessions because funding is pushed toward skilling/reskilling the STEM workforce.
• During some years basic scientific research is prioritized for funding, and at other times the priority is more applied or translational research that gets technology to market.
• At times pure education research is prioritized, while other years are more focused on workforce development and industry connection.

Whatever your evaluation field, I hope you can spot trends that help you understand and brave the season changes of independent consulting!

The American Evaluation Association is hosting IC TIG Week with our colleagues in the Independent Consulting Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from our IC TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.