Grant CEO: Where Experienced Grant Writers Become CEOs

What if the reason you feel stretched thin in your grant writing business isn’t your team, but how you’re paying yourself?

In this People-focused episode of Grant CEO, we’re talking about a quiet pattern many experienced grant consultants fall into: paying subcontractors, VAs, and team members consistently and generously while underpaying themselves as the CEO.

It feels noble. Responsible. Even leadership-driven.

But it’s not.

If you want to scale your grant writing business and eventually build a true grant writing agency, CEO compensation is not optional; it’s foundati...

In this episode of Grant CEO, we’re diving into the People part of a grant writing business. Eighteen months into her business, Isatou wasn’t struggling with how to get grant-writing clients. She was struggling with delegation, boundaries, pricing, and trusting her team with work that carries her name.

Meet our guest, Isatou Bittaye-Jobe, founder of Amikha Consulting. In this conversation, she shares what shifted when she stopped operating like a freelance grant writer and started building a true grant writing agency.

If you're earning consistent revenue but still stuck in the weeds of deli...

Are you still charging hourly in your grant writing business? In today’s AI-powered world, that pricing model could be the very thing limiting your revenue, growth, and ability to scale.

As AI speeds up research, drafting, prospecting, and even SMART goal development, charging by the hour penalizes you for being efficient. The faster and more skilled you become, the less you make. That’s not a scalable grant writer business model.

In this episode of Grant CEO, we’re diving deep into grant writer pricing and why hourly rates no longer serve experienced grant profes...

When you care deeply about a nonprofit’s mission, it can feel wrong to question whether you should keep working with them. 

But mission alignment alone does not make a sustainable grant writing business.

In this episode of Grant CEO, I’m breaking down how experienced grant writers can evaluate client renewals like a CEO, not from guilt or emotion, but from clarity, data, and business logic. This episode focuses on Pull - how the right clients are attracted, retained, and released as your business evolves.

You’ll learn how to step out of reac...

Just two years ago, Victoria Lamar didn’t even consider herself a grant writer. 

Today, she leads a team of seven, supports 12 charter schools, and has recently secured a nearly $1 million federal grant for one of her clients.

In this episode of Grant CEO, we dive deep into two of the most misunderstood pillars of scaling a grant writing business: Pull and Pricing.

Victoria shares how she moved away from being advised to charge $25–$30 an hour, clarified her niche, and positioned herself so clients now come to her—ready to pay retainers, respect her pro...

If you have ever thought that there are too many grant writers for you to be successful, this episode of Grant CEO will shift how you see (and do) business.

Today, I’m unpacking a concept that stood out to one of my coaching clients: “You can’t compare what doesn’t compete.”

I break down why comparison is a sign of unclear Positioning, and how owning your unique expertise allows you to stop competing and start leading. Using the idea of fingerprint positioning, I explain how your background, niche, and experience become assets when claimed wi...

What happens when a skilled grant writer finally owns her expertise? In this episode of Grant CEO, I sit down with Daphney Jean, founder of SMJ Consulting, to talk about what it really looks like to step into your power as a grant writing business owner. 

After years of underestimating her impact and saying things like “I only got them $500K,” Daphney shifted how she positioned her expertise and services. 

The result? Higher retainers, stronger renewals, and better-aligned clients.

You’ll hear how Power and Positioning allowed her to stop wasting so much time onb...

Let me guess, when you dreamed about starting your own grant-writing business, you did not dream about working long hours, answering emails late at night, or saying yes to every little thing that client asks you. Am I right?

Grant CEO is the podcast for experienced grant-writers and grant consultants who have mastered their craft (and even reached the big 10K months) but are now struggling to run a grant-writing business that feels true to their values, goals, and dreams. 

I’m DeaRonda Harrison, founder of June First Firm and creator of the You Are the...

Welcome to Grant CEO, the podcast for experienced grant writers earning consistent income but tired of doing everything themselves. If you’re negotiating your rates, customizing pricing for every client, sending proposals that get ghosted, or working more hours than you did in-house, you’re in the right place.

In this first episode, I introduce the five pillars of the Grant CEO framework—power, positioning, pull, pricing, and people—and how they work together to help you scale a sustainable grant writing business. 

You’ll learn how to move from overworked freelance grant writer to confident G...