All Things Consulting
I went on a road trip with a friend recently, and even though I was “on vacation”, branding lessons kept jumping out at me. Here are the 3 most valuable lessons we learned about branding on our summer vacation: 1. The first lesson is about using your headshot in your marketing. At Mount Rushmore, we overheard a little boy talking to his mom: “Those guys on the outside are on money. But who are the other two?” Of course, he recognized Washington and Lincoln. Their faces … [Read more...]
Groupon has been in the news for announcing its IPO. However, this blog focuses on comments that arose prior to the IPO announcement. Groupon prided itself for being a Chicago based company that survived its startup stage without being a Silicon Valley Company. CEO Andrew Mason proudly bragged that Groupon was “not made in Silicon Valley.” However, it is hard to ignore the fact that they have a fast growing office in Palo Alto. Did Mason watch the movie Social Network? In the … [Read more...]
On August 16, Women in Consulting (WIC) will launch its 10th Annual Best Practices Survey. Hundreds of consultants share what they do from pricing to closing deals to increasing productivity and more. There are lots of reasons why you should take the survey, which runs August 16 – September 9, including results are shared with survey participants in a comprehensive report. But here are a few reasons not to participate in the survey and thus ignore blog posts and emails from us telling … [Read more...]
Very frequently I get people asking me clarification on IRS rules that they heard from a friend, neighbor or colleague. Usually some part of the statement is true, but there is always more to the story or it may not apply to that person’s specific situation. How many of you heard the statement, “You can’t deduct a loss from business if it is more than 3 out of 5 years.”? Well, this is not the entire truth. A person that conducts an activity for profit is allowed to deduct the … [Read more...]
Quiz.. Which social media does Women In Consulting have a presence on? A) Blog B) Facebook C) LinkedIn D) Twitter E) YouTube F) All of the above If you answered “all of the above” you are correct. In case you are not sure how to access our social media or what type of content you will find, here are some details: Blog The Women In Consulting blog publishes articles to help you run your consultancy or small … [Read more...]
As consultants, it’s not unusual for us to push through lunch when working on a deadline until we can no longer ignore the pains and we break for a bite. But imagine being a hungry child, knowing that it’s not time but simply lack of food keeping you from eating. Quite frankly, it breaks my heart. No child should go hungry—especially when it’s so easy to help feed them. That’s why Women in Consulting (WIC) is partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo … [Read more...]
One of the biggest challenges to getting organized is, not knowing where to start. Big organizing projects like "organize my office" can feel overwhelming...even hopeless. Breaking down organizing projects into "bite-size" projects will help reduce those feelings of stress and overwhelm. When you focus on the smaller, more manageable tasks, it is easier to take that first step. Here are 10 small organizing project ideas to help you get started on your organizing mission: Clear off … [Read more...]
Whether you’re a consultant or you work for a company, it’s not uncommon to outgrow an organization that suited you well early in your career. At Women in Consulting (WIC) that’s not the case – and it’s one of the things I love about WIC. Roughly five years ago the WIC board decided it wanted to ensure senior consultants had a place in the organization that helped then strategize and wrestle with the challenges related to running a mature business. And thus the germ of an idea was … [Read more...]
Every year, WIC sends out 120+ holiday cards to the people who contributed their time to helping make WIC a success. Half of those people have regular, ongoing jobs with WIC — 63 to be exact. Yes, it takes that many people to make things happen, because no one on the team, save our association manager, gets paid to do the jobs they hold. So, we need to share the wealth, so to speak. But it also takes this many people, because the team does in incredible amount of work. I never cease to be … [Read more...]
For more years than I can remember, WIC has partnered with some great organizations and companies in order to offer our members additional benefits. Every year since we formed our partnership team, those involved always did a fantastic job. This past year was extraordinary both in terms of the number of new partnerships and overall program — and the fact that we had an itty bitty team of people doing all that work. The Scoop The first half of 2010 was a transition time in partnerships, as … [Read more...]
