Member Roadmap / Quiz Result / The Aspiring Consultant
Your PHC Persona

You are

The Aspiring Consultant

W2 today, dreams of going solo — but hasn't landed a paid contract yet.

12-step roadmap 9 included workshops
Your destination · Step 12

Subcontracting to 6 Figures — the cohort you're working toward.

S26F is Dr. Des's signature 5-week cohort. Over five weeks you'll lock in your niche, set up your business structure, build your brand, find contracts, write winning proposals, and earn referrals. Alumni land their first paid contract during the course. The roadmap below gets you cohort-ready — join the waitlist now so you don't miss the next start date.

JOIN THE S26F WAITLIST Next cohort fills fast
Before you start · Orientation

First, get oriented.

Every PHC member begins here. These onboarding pieces show you how to navigate the Club and hand you a curated, track-specific roadmap before you take Step 1. Click any button below to open that resource inside the Club — you'll need to be signed in.

Tip: Bookmark each workshop in your Club dashboard as you open it — you'll come back to most of these more than once. Use the bookmark icon in the top-right of every Circle post.

Watch first
New Member Orientation Dr. Des's 26-minute walkthrough of the Club.
Open in Club
Then read
Consulting Roadmap for PHC Members Your track-specific roadmap — a companion to this page.
Open in Club
Also read · 0–3 yrs
Student & Early Career Roadmap Foundational early-career content still applies — even if your end-state isn't strictly emerging professional.
Open in Club
Career Coach
Vanessa Da Costa Specializes in consulting strategy and resume / LinkedIn positioning. RSVP in the Live Workshops & Events space.
RSVP in Club
Earn points
Gamification & live leaderboard See how points work and what's currently on the leaderboard.
How it works
Monthly free
This month's free resource PHC drops a new free resource each month — sent via DM and posted in-community. Download before month-end or you'll need to purchase it.
Open the Club
Where you are right now

The starting line.

  • Currently in a government, nonprofit, academic, or clinical PH role — has been for 2–10 years.
  • Convinced consulting is possible — but the path isn't clear yet.
  • Has the expertise, but not yet the language, brand, or pricing to monetize it.
Your full vision · the broader picture

Where you'll be.

  • Define a consulting niche tied to your actual transferable skills — strategic planning, evaluation, comms, training, data, PM, facilitation, DEI.
  • Build the foundational stack: LLC, capabilities statement, LinkedIn brand, rate card, AI fluency.
  • Land your first paid contract — even a small one — to prove the model.
  • Decide if and when to leave the W2.
⚡Your first 90 days · If you're on an urgent timeline

A quarter to first‑contract ready.

For federal / state exits and other tight timelines — here's what you do this quarter, specifically.

Your goals above are the broader vision. If you picked a 90‑day timeline (or you're navigating a federal / state exit), this is what you do in the next 90 days specifically:

Commit to the S26F waitlist and finish Steps 1–4 of your roadmap this quarter — the 6‑Figure Consultant Quiz, Consulting 101, Building Your PH Consulting Business, and Public Health Side Hustles. By end of 90 days you'll have a niche, a working LinkedIn brand, and clarity on whether to apply for S26F's next cohort.

Commit · S26F Waitlist Step 01 · Quiz Step 02 · Consulting 101 Step 03 · Building the Business Step 04 · Side Hustles
Your sequenced PHC roadmap

Twelve steps,
in order.

Items are sequenced — earlier steps unlock later ones. Click any title to open it inside Circle (you'll need to be logged in as a PHC member). Check each one off as you go.

0 / 12
Begin with Step 01
  1. 01
    Quiz Free

    Could You Be A 6-Figure Public Health Consultant? Quiz

    PHC's revamped consulting-readiness diagnostic — start here. Shareable with peers who might also belong in the Club.

    Open in the Club
  2. 02
    Workshop Included

    Public Health Consulting 101

    Foundational workshop that explains what consulting actually IS in public health — including how Dr. Des landed her first $40K contract.

    Open in the Club
  3. 03
    Workshop Included

    Building Your Public Health Consulting Business

    Practical follow-on to Consulting 101 — where to find contracts, how to position yourself, and the most common mistakes to avoid.

    Open in the Club
  4. 04
    Workshop Included

    Public Health Side Hustles

    If consulting will start as a side hustle alongside your W2, this workshop covers how to actually build it on the side without burning out.

    Open in the Club
  5. 05
    Guide Paid · add-on

    Public Health Entrepreneurship Guide + 101 Business Ideas

    Brainstorm niches and see what 100+ other PH professionals have actually built. Helps you choose where to specialize.

    Open in the Club
  6. 06
    Workshop Included

    Strategic Planning 101

    An example of going deep on ONE niche. Strategic planning is one of PHC's highest-demand consulting niches — if it fits your strengths, the paid Strategic Planning Lab is your deeper dive.

    Open in the Club
  7. 07
    Course Included

    AI Basics for Public Health Entrepreneurs

    Build AI fluency from day one. The 7-lesson foundation course covers what AI actually is, the major tools, data privacy / HIPAA, and the 5-level AI ladder.

    Open in the Club
  8. 08
    Workshop Paid

    Building Your LinkedIn Brand

    LinkedIn is where first contracts come from. Build this BEFORE you start applying. Dr. Des grew her LinkedIn following to 17K+ using this exact playbook.

    Open in the Club
  9. 09
    Workshop Included

    Building a Public Health Consulting Resume

    Translates your W2 resume into a project-based, RFP-aligned consulting CV.

    Open in the Club
  10. 10
    Workshops Included Pair with Pricing Guide

    RFPs 101 + Best Practices in Applying to RFPs

    Before responding to your first RFP, understand how scoring works (RFPs 101) and what real winners did (Best Practices). Pair with the Pricing Guide before you bid.

    Open in the Club
  11. 11
    Workshop Included

    Digital Portfolio Workshop

    A real differentiator. Use Canva or past project artifacts to build a digital portfolio that proves credibility before you have testimonials. Most aspiring consultants skip this step and lose to those who didn't.

    Open in the Club
  12. 12
    Cohort · Waitlist

    Subcontracting to 6 Figures (S26F)

    When you're ready to commit, S26F is Dr. Des's signature 5-week cohort. Alumni land first contracts during the course. The waitlist is the entry point — the next cohort fills fast.

    Join the waitlist
Four PHC members wearing The Public Health Club and Public Health Hustler sweatshirts.
You're not doing this alone

900+ ambitious public health hustlers.

PHC is a working community — not a content library. Other Aspiring Consultants are inside the Club this week, comparing rate cards, swapping RFPs, and trading wins. Find them in the Consulting space.

  • 900+ Public Health Hustlers
  • 110+ Workshops on Demand
  • 88 /mo RFPs posted each month
Even more inside the Club

Keep exploring.

After you've finished these steps, browse the Workshops on Demand space anytime to dig deeper by interest. A few directions worth considering:

Every week

RSVP to Live Workshops & Events.

New workshops, career clinics, and Awareness in 30 sessions drop every week. You may find something that lines up exactly with where you are.

See this week's calendar
Your next move

Subcontracting to 6 Figures

Dr. Des's signature 5-week cohort — known inside the Club as S26F.

Niche. Business structure. Branding. Finding contracts. Writing winning proposals. Earning referrals. Alumni land first contracts during the course. Join the waitlist for the next cohort.

JOIN THE S26F WAITLIST
No risk · Cancel anytime · Built with Dr. Des and the PHC team