Recently, in a spurt of ‘abundance thinking’, where I was convinced that 2010 is going to be a MUCH better year than 2009 (I can’t afford to think otherwise, can you?!), I decided to do an inventory of people/resources I can turn to when my workload is too heavy to do it all myself.

Like many fellow consultants, I can perform every function needed to support most client projects myself, but have found it very wise to outsource certain portions of my research projects when I have a heavy client load in order to ensure that my time is spent on the things that are: 1) high value activities, worthy of my $100+ hourly rate and 2) things that only I can do based on my unique talents or the client relationship.

In an effort to streamline the process when I need to turn to other resources, I created a spreadsheet that provides me with a quick glance at the resources I’ve qualified and established relationships with over the past 10 years.  Some of the features of the spreadsheet:

• Every row is a different person/resource
• The first few columns include contact information, notes about the resource and their specialty
• The rest of the columns are categories of resources such as Interviewing, Analysis, Recruiting, Panels/Lists, etc.
• I put an X in each column/category that a given resource can help with

Having this quick reference allows me to rapidly scan a given column when I have the need for support in any given area.  When I meet/qualify new resources, I add them to the spreadsheet, which ensures that I think of them when the need arises.  This saves me a LOT of time and helps me make sure I make the right choice for each project, which helps ensure high quality results for my clients.

Let’s all think ‘abundance’ for 2010 and do a similar inventory of our resources…and if you don’t HAVE back-up resources, be sure to find some…WIC is a great source of qualified people who can partner with you to help in almost any element of your work.

It seems that the recession is finally ending. But if you’re like me, my business took a beating and I have some major planning to do to be poised for opportunities in 2010. However, it seems so overwhelming to do it all by myself.

Luckily, WIC has a workshop on December 1^st that can help me – and you – be ready to take advantage of the business upswing. Seven experts are available to explore all aspects of our businesses, in a one-to-one setting, and help develop the best strategic approach.

We’ll walk away with:

• A blueprint for our businesses
• Valuable tips from the experts on sales, marketing, resourcing, process improvement, competition, client/market assessment, and branding
• Action items to kick-start our success in 2010

So carve out some time to concentrate on your success and join us at the WIC December  “Jumpstart Your Business for 2010” Workshop:

December 1, 2009, 8:00am – 12:00pm

Network Meeting Center

5201 Great America Parkway, Suite 122, Santa Clara, CA 95054

(408) 562-6091

www.networkmeetingcenter.com

Learn more and register at www.womeninconsulting.org

I must confess — I don’t like networking. Going to meetings where I know no one just to get my name out is hard work for me. That’s probably why I like WIC. The meetings are fun and the people warm and inviting, so it’s less painful.

But this isn’t a pitch for WIC — even though it’s an organization that’s very near and dear to my heart. Rather, it’s a call to go beyond traditional networking and really get involved in your organizations, at least one of them. It’s truly the best way to build a solid network that will survive the roller-coaster ride that is our economy.

Seventy-Five Percent of My Current Revenue Is Directly Related to My Involvement in WIC

When the .dot com bubble burst, it took a couple of years before my business was impacted. I had a solid network; but after a while that network shrunk due to layoffs, people moving out of the area, and natural corporate changes.

When business started to slow, I figured I needed a better way to get new people to notice me. Relying solely on word of mouth and handing my card out at monthly networking meetings wasn’t going to cut it. I needed to get involved!

I started small, donating my services as an auction item at WIC’s silent auction (the business that bought my services still use me today) and volunteering to be WIC’s newsletter editor. After a while, I was asked to join WIC’s board as secretary; now I’m WIC’s director of PR & marketing. And it is absolutely, unequivocally the best move I’ve ever made.

Seventy-five percent of my current revenue is directly related to my involvement with WIC. Volunteering on WIC projects and committees and listing my services in WIC’s silent auction helped me cultivate relationships with other consultants who now use my services directly or recommend me to their clients. And I know these relationships will sustain me even when the economy is in a downturn.

When You Volunteer, People Get to Know You, Your Work Ethic, and Your Product…

…and that’s powerful stuff. Sure, volunteering takes time. But any worthwhile marketing effort does. But the return on investment is amazing and worth the energy. I’m living testament to that — and I’m serious about the 75 percent. My business is still primarily word of mouth, but that mouth is much bigger and stronger than before.

There are other tangible benefits to volunteering beyond the business gain, especially with an organization like WIC.

Being a solopreneur can be a lonely job sometimes. Volunteering gives you a great support system. I have the pleasure of working with an amazing group of women at WIC and count myself very lucky to call them my colleagues and friends.

As Karilee Wirthlin, one of my favorite WICsters, wrote in WIC’s 10^th anniversary program, “I gained a great set of colleagues who pump me up when things don’t go well and cheer me on when they do.” I can also bounce ideas off my WIC colleagues; and I have access to best practices used by some of the Bay Area’s top consultants. These “extras” are invaluable.

Don’t Forgo Networking, Do Both

All this isn’t to say networking isn’t important. You never know who you’ll meet and what you’ll learn. In fact, I can attribute another 15 percent of my annual revenue to following the best practices advocated at WIC meetings. The key is to find the organization that best fits you and participate on all levels: attend meetings, participate in workshops/webinars, and volunteer. I’m living proof that you learn more, earn more, and make great friends!

Aaron Strout’s # 1 top lesson learned in social media is actually a top lesson we should apply to the overall running of our consulting and small businesses: Keep It in a Box.

Essentially, this means keep what you do on a daily basis:

• Closely aligned with your business goals
• Prescriptive vs. descriptive, so that others can take action
• Easy to understand (could I explain what I do to my grandfather?)

Aaron writes that it’s easy to creep out of the box in the social media world. However, I think it’s easy to creep out of the box — period — especially if you’re a small business owner or consultant being pulled in a gazillion directions.

The article is a bit lengthy, but every bit worth the read, as he walks you through the process of how to keep what you do in a box; using his own work at Mzinga as an example.

Read “Keeping It in a Box”

As I mentioned in my October 17 post (Secrets to a Successful Consulting Business: Know Your Strengths), I followed Elaine Starling’s suggestion and ordered StrengthFinder 2.0. I did so, because 1) I thought it would be interesting; 2) Kim Fulcher said the first step in finding your passion is knowing your strengths; and 3) I think a consultant’s success depends on knowing — and playing to — your strengths.

Taking the StrengthFinder 2.0 Test

Well, book in hand, I entered my secret code and took the StrengthFinder 2.0 assessment (it took me about 35 minutes, just like they said). It was an interesting test. If forces you to choose between two different concepts or beliefs; and you only have 20 seconds to make a decision.

Sometimes I chose “neutral” because I was neither; and sometimes I choose it because I honestly couldn’t decide which one was more “me.”  Most of the time, though, I could choose one or the other-even though often a little bit of the alternate choice still resonated with me. The interesting part is being forced to choose quickly, as it doesn’t really allow time for analysis. You simply have to go with your gut.

At the end, the website displays what your five themes, ranked in the order revealed by your responses. Taking the test is only the first step. There are guides and other tools to walk you through what to do next. As I experience each component, I’ll share my findings/opinions.

Results of the StrengthFinder 2.0 Test

For those of you who know me, you might find it interesting to read what my themes are, so I’ll paste them here. Do they fit me? Will my fellow consultants and my clients and my friends see different connections between me and these themes? The former communication major in me just eats this stuff up. Meanwhile, I’ll use this information and the other tools to further strengthen my consulting business and find my passion.

Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people-in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends-but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends. You are comfortable with intimacy. Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship. You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours. You know that this kind of closeness implies a certain amount of risk-you might be taken advantage of-but you are willing to accept that risk. For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine. And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person. The more you share with each other, the more you risk together. The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine. These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly.

Developer: you see the potential in others. Very often, in fact, potential is all you see. In your view no individual is fully formed. On the contrary, each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. And you are drawn toward people for this very reason. When you interact with others, your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them grow. And all the while you are on the lookout for the signs of growth-a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, a glimpse of excellence or of “flow” where previously there were only halting steps. For you these small increments-invisible to some-are clear signs of potential being realized. These signs of growth in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.

The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path-your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.

Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help-and they soon will-you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.

Empathy: you can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament-this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings-to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.

Okay, I was so jazzed about this evening’s meeting celebrating WIC’s 10^th anniversary that I had to write one more post tonight. Building on the “Secrets to a Successful Consulting Business: Know Your Strengths” in my last post, I thought I’d “chat” a bit about Kim Fulcher’s (mylifecompass.com) keynote address on Three Keys for Entrepreneurial Success: Passion, Strengths, and Purpose (see a theme starting here).

Three Ingredients for Passion

I loved Kim’s presentation, because she distilled down a lot of great information into a succinct, easy-to-digest-and-remember message (paraphrased by me here):

There are three ingredients for passion: strengths, values, and skills.

• Strengths: do what you’re innately born to do
• Values: find the things that light you up
• Skills: identify the abilities that you’ve acquired

She equated our belief in ourselves to a chair. And to hold up a chair, you need legs. The legs are your strengths, values, and skills. You create a new belief about yourself using these three legs. And you use this new belief to develop a level of confidence in the part of your business that you despise.

We all have something about our business that we don’t like; and what we don’t like, we avoid. To push through (and create passion), you also need leverage to motivate you. Ask yourself, what you would loose if you fail? Who that you care about would also loose if you failed?

The Power of Collaboration

Kim also reminded us that we don’t have to do this alone. The creativity of a group of women or a woman connecting with herself can achieve great things. But you know what? This part wasn’t news to me. I know first hand the power of working with a great group of women. WIC taught me that.

The success of WIC and the individuals who make up our organization is a living testament to this fact. Even tonight’s event is proof of the power of collaboration. An amazing group of women-Karilee Wirthlin, Angi Roberts, Gabriella Martinez, Erin Ferree, Melissa Stacey, Deborah Plumley, Jennifer Berkley, Susan Monroe, Kim Le, Sherry Prescott, and so many, many more-worked together to make it possible. I’m proud to be a part of this dynamic and talented team!

Now, I’m off to find my passion!

WOW! What a group of Wildly Outrageous Women (outrageously intelligent and insightful) we have at Women in Consulting, a.k.a. WIC! Having just arrived home from WIC’s 10^th Anniversary Celebration, I find my mind spinning from the ideas and energy that flowed throughout that room. I’m sure this will be the first of many posts on what I learned.

The first juicy tidbit came during the fireside chat (minus the fire) with WIC’s past presidents. Kate Purmal, WIC’s fourth president, shared how picking a focus for your business vs. being a Jack-of-all-trades, was key to success, especially in today’s economic climate.

Elaine Starling, the recipient of WIC’s first “Spirit of WIC” award (more on that in my next post) and WIC’s second president, seconded that advice, and told us all about a great resource for determining what our strengths are: “StrengthsFinder 2.0.” If you buy the newest version of the book, you also get access to the online assessment, which helps identify and measure your talents. I was so inspired that I bought the book on Amazon tonight. I’ll let you know next week what I find out.

If any of you have taken this test — or, like me, have ordered the book and plan on taking the test — I’d love to hear what you discovered and have to say.