One of the most amazing benefits Women In Consulting offers is the annual Best Practices Research Report. The quality of information and the insights produced really have no parallel for independent consultants. If you want to know what successful consultants are actually charging, how they’re structuring their fees, the marketing they’re doing, and the operations activities they have in place to support success, the Best Practices Research Report gives you those insights. In the … [Read more...]
Privacy and Security Using Zoom During the Pandemic
April 30, 2020 By Leave a Comment
:: By Sharyn Fitzpatrick at Marcom Gurus When virtual communication platforms like Zoom were developed, they probably didn’t think of how to safely use their platforms during a pandemic. Because of Zoom’s growing popularity with all of us, they have opened themselves up to intense scrutiny about privacy from the FBI and state Attorney Generals. Welcome to “Zoombombing,” where an uninvited attendee crashes your meeting and disrupts from its intended purpose. Now, this is a PR … [Read more...]
Learning From Each Other
May 21, 2019 By Leave a Comment
:: Who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks? A few years ago, the Women In Consulting Annual Best Practices Survey unveiled some tricks by top consultants that helped improved my business’ profitability and my work/life balance. Here’s one: I learned top consultants out-source the administration of their company so they can maximize their time on generating revenue. I added a bookkeeper and a virtual assistant to the Stage2 network and could not be happier. My clients are happier too since I … [Read more...]
WIC Lessons Learned #3 – Leslie Smith
May 22, 2018 By Leave a Comment
:: Leslie became a member of Women In Consulting nearly 20 years ago when she first took the leap to become an independent financial consultant. She had spent a number of years building a career at Bank of America rising to a V.P. of Investments for their Investment Services division working with the banks clients. Having left the bank, she was starting from a blank slate as a consultant. Another self-employed friend recommended she join the newly formed Women In Consulting group. The Value … [Read more...]
How does your consulting business stack up? Take our 16th Annual WIC Best Practices Survey (open March 14-April 7) and find out.
March 13, 2018 By 1 Comment
A comprehensive analysis of the state of consulting businesses - Yes, it’s that time again. This is the 16th year for WIC’s best practices survey. Over the years, it’s offered useful insights into the evolution of Bay Area consulting businesses, such as billing and marketing tool trends, consulting expertise and specialties, structure and operations. Also over the years, we’ve found more and more consultants implementing the best practices and seeing the positive impact on their businesses. … [Read more...]
WIC Insights #1: Lessons Learned by Deborah Henken
March 1, 2018 By Leave a Comment
:: For twenty years, WIC has been helping consultants help themselves through an exchange of ideas, best practices, and networking. In celebration of those countless conversations, this WIC Insight series hopes to share how long-term members learned lessons that applied directly to their business so new members can jumpstart theirs. Deborah Henken is a business management consultant/marketing strategist at Highland and Team and now an Encore Fellow. In all that success, Deborah joined WIC … [Read more...]
Sage Advice from Corporate Buyers of Consulting Services
January 11, 2018 By Leave a Comment
:: Recently I had the opportunity to make a presentation to a small group of consultants; a couple of them worked for Chevron-Texaco. They had just completed a screening process for a multi-million consulting project. In brief...here's what they shared: 1. First consultants eliminated were ME CENTERED...they dominated the conversation, told all about their processes, products, past clients. It was all about them. They asked few questions. 2) Second set of consultants eliminated were … [Read more...]
How Great Consultants Can Stand Up and Stand Out
November 8, 2017 By 1 Comment
:: As a strategic marketing expert, I help my clients get heard above the noise. If we think of the marketplace like a large gathering—say a cocktail reception—it seems that today everyone is trying to talk at once. They’re using old and new channels to reach us—from mass media to mobile to social to IoT. All of this chatter makes it really hard for anyone to hear—both prospective customers as well as the people who are trying to reach them. If you start to SHOUT, you just add to the … [Read more...]
It’s No Longer All About Me
October 16, 2017 By 1 Comment
:: Scale is not safe and contained. It’s worth it, but it’s also scary. My vision is the product. My reputation is in the hands of others. 30 years of scaling innovations in health, I know a few things about how to do this. But now its personal. Plus, I am making bigger claims while no longer having built in quality control. Still the process is the same. Alignment of Goals, Why’s and How’s is paramount. In the case of Act One Healthcare Mission: Make healthcare easier for people by … [Read more...]
Top Five Lessons Learned from My 16 Years as an “Interim VP Marketing”
September 7, 2017 By 1 Comment
:: Since founding my consulting company in 2001, I’ve been serving Silicon Valley CEOs as an interim VP marketing. Usually they are running smallish companies and either haven’t yet brought a full-time VP marketing on board or they just lost their VP marketing for some reason. Either way, my clients are wise enough to realize that they’re operating under a handicap – likely losing both mindshare and market share -- if this role is vacant. After serving 12 companies in the last 16 years, I took … [Read more...]
