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Katcher’s tips for being a successful consultant
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By Dave Bassett, RPCN President
April was quite a month for us. We pulled off our Small Business Success Conference, along with a dinner with our keynote speaker, Dr. Bruce Katcher, the night before.
At
the conference, Katcher spoke about what a successful consultant is and
gave us all some inspirational words and ideas. He began his talk with a
description of how he made the decision to start his consultancy. He’d
come around to that decision when he’d found himself laid off; he hated
not having control of his future and decided to do something about it.
That is the way many consultants begin their practices; they want to
have the control and freedom that come from being the boss.
Katcher went on to talk about defining success
and how to determine whether consulting is the right path for you. He
spoke of the focus that successful consultants require and gave some
suggestions on how to improve your focus. He also gave us several ways
to overcome the challenges consultants face every day.
He then armed us with a To-Do list to hit the
conference running. Many of the presenters spoke afterward of how much
his keynote address fed directly into their particular talk.
Keynote speaker Bruce Katcher at RPCN's Small Business Success Conference (photo: Barbara Moore). View more photos from the conference on the RPCN Facebook page.
In April, we also held our first Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala,
which drew a huge crowd and was very well received by the local
business community. We were very fortunate to have General John Batiste
(of Desert Storm and Level 5 Associates) as our keynote speaker and
Rachel Barnhart (of Channel 8) as our emcee.
As many of you know, because many of you were
there, we presented five awards at the Gala and the winners were:
- Luz Flores Lee of All of You Consulting – Consultant’s Consultant;
- Mary Sperr of Blue Dog Marketing & the Town of Chili – Community Champion;
- Tom Frisk of the NYS Department of Labor – Linda Halliburton Friend of RPCN;
- Steve Royal of Royal Associates – Dave Young Dedicated Service; and
- Jon Schull of e-Nable – Entrepreneur of the Year.
What a great list of deserving colleagues we were able to honor!
We are looking into having an event this
summer – probably a canal cruise. Watch the website and newsletter for
more details.
We are making progress on revamping the RPCN
website. Michael Van der Gaag and Sandy Glanton have developed a request
for proposals and we are hoping to get bids back and begin work on this
project before the fiscal year is out.
The new fiscal year begins on July 1 and our current VP, David Powe,
will be taking over as president. This means we will be electing a new
VP, who will be the president in 2016–17. In addition, we will be
filling open committee leader roles and adding a few new board members.
Your input into this process is welcomed and encouraged. We hope to
finalize the VP ballot by mid-May and hold the election in early June.
If you would like to nominate yourself or another member for VP, a board
position or committee position, please contact David Powe.
Thanks again for all you do to keep RPCN
strong, relevant and useful; and thank you for letting me and our
leadership team run this fine organization.
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RPCN’s only two-time president values service and networking
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Interview by David Powe, write-up by Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
 As
part of RPCN's 25th anniversary celebration, we have been talking with
charter members and past presidents of RPCN to find out more about the
organization's growth.
Mary Anne Shew – the only person to serve twice as RPCN president – was urged to join RPCN by Ruth Balkin,
whom she had met through the Rochester chapter of the National
Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). “Joining RPCN in 2001 was
one of the best decisions I made in the early days of my business,” said
Shew. “In RPCN, I found a community of caring people with great
knowledge and the willingness to share it.”
Shew decided to serve as RPCN’s vice president
to build the program schedule and get more familiar with the leaders of
the organization and how it was run. “I was very pleased with how well
it was organized, thanks to David Young, Bob Penty, Bob Lurz, Steve Royal
and many others,” she said. Serving as president was a logical next
step: “I was willing to step up to being president because there was a
great team in place.”
One of Shew’s favorite outcomes during her
first term as president was the first RPCN conference. “The board and I
set some milestones and criteria for success and delegated the
responsibility to the conference committee, who did a beautiful job,”
she recalled. “The first conference went off without a hitch, to rave
reviews.”
Nowadays, Shew continues to run the business
she started in 2000. It began as ShewTech Associates, offering website
design, development and maintenance. In 2005, she added business
coaching and consulting services and rebranded the company as Business Vitality LLC, which is its name today.
Shew credits RPCN with helping her continue to
grow and develop as a leader. Leading efforts to raise awareness in the
Rochester business community about RPCN gave her the opportunity to
reach out to others on behalf of RCPN, “raising awareness of my business
at the same time,” she said.
The organization also enhanced her networking
resources: “RPCN gave me access to high-quality consultants whom I feel
completely confident about referring my clients to when they have needs
that I don’t provide. My clients are impressed that I have relationships
with such good people.”
To read the rest of the article, including Shew’s advice for other consultants, visit this page on the RPCN website.
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Where were you 25 years ago?
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By Janice Hanson
As RPCN celebrates its 25th anniversary, we
will be including stories from RPCN members about where they were and
what they were doing in 1990, when RPCN first started.
 Here’s one from Michael Van der Gaag of Beyond the Interface, also RPCN’s past president and program chair:
“In 1990, I was in the middle of a promising
career in my own consultancy, User Interface Consultants. I had three
large clients and a few smaller ones. I was conducting competitive
benchmarking; testing software usability; and designing interactive
dialogues for copiers, printers and blood analyzers. On my desk was a
computer with a 20 MB hard drive and an 8088 processor with a separate
12-inch LCD monitor. Advertising was a Yellow Pages ad. Networking was
attending local trade shows. Most clients came via word of mouth.
“Who knew that by 2015, I would have two
laptops, a tablet and a smartphone? Advertising requires a website,
LinkedIn page, Twitter and a blog, and I split my time between volunteer
activities and networking for clients of all types. What a ride!”
To share your story (125 words or less), please email editor@rochesterconsultants.org.
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Speed Networking:
Don’t let the idea of networking intimidate you. Speed networking
offers a twist on the typical meet-and-greet, an organized succession of
brief conversations among participants that allows you to talk briefly
with 20 or more people. Participants must be present at the entire
event. Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 - 9:30 AM; Rochester Business Alliance
(RBA), 150 State Street, Room 301, Rochester. For more information, click here.
Selling Skills for a Small Business:
This workshop will help small business owners learn how to effectively
sell their products and/or services by better understanding their
buyers.
Thursday, May 21, 8:45 AM - 12:30 PM;
Rochester Business Alliance (RBA), 150 State Street, Room 301,
Rochester. For more information, click here.
Using Digital Analytics to Measure Business Objectives:
A panel of experts will discuss translating digital analytics into
specific marketing and business goals. We’ll hear from different
perspectives – the marketer, the agency and the publisher – to better
understand the many ways digital analytics are used to measure
performance and achieve optimal results. Thursday, May 28, 7:30 - 9:00
AM; Bausch Auditorium, Rochester Museum and Science Center, 657 East
Avenue, Rochester. For more information, click here.
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25 years ago...
In
1990, RPCN has its first meeting as an organization of consultants.
That’s also the year America’s largest art theft – at Boston’s Isabella
Stewart Gardner Museum – takes place. The case remains unsolved.
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We want you!
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The
RPCN newsletter welcomes news, success stories, tips, resources, events
and other items that would be of broad interest to consultants. Submit a
newsletter item by email to the Communication Committee. RPCN members also may write articles for our website; submit articles here. In the newsletter, we'll highlight submitted articles aimed at helping consultants make their businesses better.
If you have newsletter questions or
suggestions, or ideas for how RPCN could improve communications, contact
the Newsletter Committee:
Janice Hanson, Chair
Barbara Moore
Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
Steve Royal
Sheryl Rhodes
Please send articles for the June newsletter by May 15.
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Upcoming events
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Technical Forum
Facilitated by Steve Royal
Friday, May 1, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
* Note change in location *
An
informal, facilitated roundtable discussion of any technical issues
that consultants encounter in running their businesses, including
computers, the Internet and phones. Wondering what kind of questions
people are asking? For a list from recent forums, click here.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Intellectual Property But Were Afraid to Ask
Presented by Howard J. Greenwald and Peter J. Mikesell
Friday, May 8, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
Learn how to readily create copyright property
and patent property of substantial value, and how to leverage the
intellectual property rights created to maximum value with clients and
prospective clients. A brief overview of the relevant law will be
presented, followed by a question-and-answer period.
Here is a video introduction to their presentation:
Business Forum
Facilitated by Bob Lurz
Friday, May 15, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
* Note change in location *
An
informal, facilitated roundtable discussion of issues regarding
starting or running a consulting business. Wondering what kind of
questions people are asking? For a list from recent forums, click here.
RPCN Board Meeting
Friday, May 15, 2015
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
* Note change in location *
RPCN’s
monthly board meeting begins at approximately 10:00 AM, after the
Business Forum. Everyone is welcome to attend, but only board members
may vote.
Cyber Security: Critical IT Security Protections Every Business Must Have
Presented by Kevin Kirby
Friday, May 22, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
Learn the #1 security threat to your business
that antivirus, firewalls and other security protocols can’t protect
against. You’ll also learn why firewalls and antivirus software aren’t
enough any more and what you need to do to protect yourself. Here is a video introduction to his presentation:
RPCN “Surprise Thursday” Social
Thursday, May 28, 2015
6:00 PM
Location TBD
There is no RPCN meeting on Friday, May 29,
the fifth Friday of the month, so if you are beside yourself for what to
do, or want to get to know your RPCN colleagues in a more informal
setting, come to this social gathering (location TBD). Cost is $5, with
appetizers provided; cash bar. Bring friends, colleagues or clients.
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Making your business better
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“In
order to run an organization efficiently, communication needs to be the
thread which ties everything together, and it all starts with
leadership,” stated RWN member Beth Sears in her Democrat and Chronicle Nextpert column, Communication is the Missing Link. Sears goes on to list three areas which will help create a foundation for a strong culture with engaged employees.
In his weekly Democrat and Chronicle column, Patrick Burke
wrote, “The entrepreneur has an obligation to act on conscience for
victims of social injustice and for citizens with special needs.” He
addresses the question of how faith and ethics enter into the world of
business in Entrepreneurship More than Just Making Money.
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