One of the things I love most about consulting is the variety of industries and the work I do. Fitness, pets, finances, manufacturing, you name it. I’ve worked with more than 35 clients over the last 5 years and often it’s a brand new industry for me. It’s a lot of fun – keeps me challenged and learning something new. My perspective is that if you’re an expert in an industry – say travel – you’ve worked in travel for the last 30 years, well you likely know everything there is to know about travel, or at least you think you do. It’s much harder to come in with a fresh set of eyes if you assume you’ve seen it all. Every company is unique, even if they’re part of the same industry. By coming in and learning a new industry and a new company, I have absolutely no bias and can make recommendations based on research, conversations and what I’ve seen has worked before. Marketing is an art and a science. There are some aspects of marketing that are tried and true, regardless of the industry (brand building, for example) and there are other areas which depend on the industry and company (channel marketing, like Facebook ads, for example). I’m not shy to say I don’t everything…I don’t know exactly what the silver bullet is to make it work. But, I have my instincts based on experience, and that combined with exploration is the winning combo. Thus, an art and a science.

All of this being said, there’s something really special about working with a client a second time. It’s only happened a couple of times in my consulting career. Sometimes clients have (sadly) moved on to a new venture, others have grown so tremendously that they’ll only consider full-time hires. But on the rare occasion I’m able to work with the same client again many years later, that’s exciting for me. Relationships are everything in life…and that includes work. I really enjoy staying in-touch with former clients, and if the opportunity arises to work together again, it’s a great opportunity to see all that has changed. I’m in the midst of this now, and couldn’t be happier to be a part of the growth story…twice!