How I Grew My Nonprofit Consulting Biz to 7 Figures with Shavonn Richardson
"You can all be consultants in a nonprofit world. But what nobody else has is you. And you are the differentiator in your industry. There's only one you who makes your business." - Kara Alicia
Balancing Hospitality and Numbers with Kara Alicia
Running a 7-figure nonprofit consultancy is a dream for so many consultants, but we’re often held back by the fear of being overworked or overwhelmed. Find out how this business owner achieves success while maintaining balance and flexibility.
This is Shavonn's story:
Shavonn Richardson, the visionary behind Think and Ink Grant Consulting, was inspired to start her nonprofit consulting business after facing the intricacies of grant writing firsthand as a nonprofit leader and a funder. Her unique perspective led her to establish Think and Ink Grant Consulting, with a mission to empower nonprofits by providing strategic consulting, comprehensive research, and efficient grant management services. Shavonn's journey is characterized by her unwavering faith and a deep sense of purpose, further fueled by the revelation of her family's multi-generational involvement in this impactful work.
Key Highlights:
Discover the essential steps for starting a nonprofit consulting business and making a positive impact in the community.
Master the art of building a successful consulting team to expand your impact and create a thriving nonprofit consultancy.
Uncover powerful marketing strategies specifically tailored for consulting firms in the nonprofit sector, and elevate your visibility and influence.
Explore practical tips for balancing entrepreneurship and personal life, ensuring sustainable success while maintaining a fulfilling lifestyle.
Timestamped summary of this episode:
00:00:00 - Introducing Thinking Inc. Grant Consulting
Siobhan Richardson, founder and CEO of Thinking Inc. Grant Consulting, shares her unique approach to helping nonprofit organizations with strategy before grant applications. With eight years in business, she provides a one-stop shop for consulting, research, writing, grant management, and evaluation services.
00:07:10 - Finding Purpose in Grant Consulting
Siobhan reveals her journey from a prestigious corporate job to grant consulting, driven by a sense of purpose and faith. She shares her family's multi-generational involvement in this work, aligning her career with her calling.
00:10:52 - RFP Process and Business Development
Siobhan discusses the competitive nature of the RFP process and the importance of word-of-mouth referrals in winning contracts. She emphasizes the significance of annual retainers for planning cash flow and shares insights on balancing working in the business and working on the business.
00:14:35 - Strategic Bidding and Competitive Edge
Siobhan elaborates on the strategic approach to submitting RFPs, focusing on aligning past track records with the project's requirements. She highlights the surprise element in the competitive process and the importance of submitting the most competitive bid to secure contracts.
00:15:16 - CEO's Role in Sales and Marketing
Siobhan emphasizes the CEO's role in being the voice of the brand and driving sales. She discusses the balance between working in the business and working on the business, highlighting the importance
00:15:53 - The Role of Sales Conversations and Negotiations
Shavonn discusses the challenges of outsourcing sales conversations and negotiations, emphasizing the importance of being personally involved in securing large contracts and hunting for clients. She also talks about creating a process for submitting bids during peak seasons.
00:17:18 - Scoping Projects and Client Consultations
Shavonn explains her process for scoping projects, which involves a detailed client survey and a 15-minute consultation to understand both the stated and unstated needs. She then creates a customized proposal for the entire year, divided over twelve months.
00:19:28 - Client Intake and Sales Calls
Shavonn shares her approach to client intake, explaining how she uses a pre-call survey to gather important information and conducts 15-minute sales calls to assess client fit. She also discusses the recent extension of her sales calls to 30 minutes to provide more background and context about the organization.
00:23:16 - Overcoming Fears and Work-Life Balance
Shavonn talks about operating with bravery in her business and shares her fear of letting her team or clients down. She also shares her boundary of stopping calls at 4 pm and not taking calls on Fridays to balance her work and family life.
00:26:28 - Outbound Marketing and Business Growth
Shavonn discusses the transition to outbound marketing as the business grows and the need to be intentional about marketing efforts. She shares her experience with using LinkedIn to publish articles and
00:30:45 - Testing Strategies for Success
Shavonn discusses the importance of testing strategies, comparing it to an A/B campaign. She mentions the rollout of "Get Grants Better" for emerging nonprofit organizations and the challenges of managing subsidiaries and the main business.
00:31:28 - Serving the Community
Shavonn explains the motivation behind offering a program for smaller nonprofit organizations, emphasizing the desire to give back to the community. She mentions the 12-week grant writing course and the intention to support organizations in their journey to becoming clients of Thinking Grants.
00:32:48 - Business Mission and Impact
Shavonn clarifies that serving smaller organizations is not their main focus and shares the company's mission to impact the community beyond financial gains. The discussion shifts to their aspirations of becoming a B Corp and measuring success based on community impact.
00:37:04 - Team Culture and Structure
Shavonn talks about the company's team, emphasizing the supportive and flexible work environment. She shares how the organizational chart prioritizes clients and team members, and highlights the importance of work-life balance and personal time off for her employees.
00:40:00 - Employee-based Model and Strategic Hiring
Shavonn discusses the company's employee-based model, focusing on quality over quantity. She shares her experience with hiring employees, emphasizing the importance of evaluating workload and financial considerations before making hiring decisions.
00:45:25 - Personalized Approach to Business Hiring
Shavonn emphasizes the need for a personalized approach to hiring in business, highlighting the importance of considering individual cash flow and circumstances.
00:46:13 - Factors Affecting Hiring and Grant Success Rates
The conversation touches on the various factors that affect hiring, paralleling the discussion with grant success rates, emphasizing the need for careful consideration.
00:46:37 - The Reality of Being a Business Owner
Shavonn shares a candid confession about the reality of being a business owner, debunking the myth of an easier, more flexible life and highlighting the hard work and dedication required.
00:47:34 - Work-Life Balance and Achieving Business Milestones
Shavonn discusses the balance of being a business owner, sharing personal experiences of working while on vacation and striving for a point where the business can operate independently.
00:49:37 - Where to Find Shavonn Online
The episode wraps up with information on where listeners can find and connect with Shavonn online, promoting further engagement with the guest.
Find Us Online: https://www.confessionswithjessandcindy.com
Connect with Kara:
Connect with Shavonn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shavonnrichardson/
Website: https://www.thinkandinkgrants.com/
Connect with Cindy:
Cindy Wagman Coaching https://cindywagman.com
Fractional Fundraising Network https://www.fractionalfundraising.co/
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/cindywagman
Connect with Jess:
Out In the Boons: https://www.outintheboons.me
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-campbell-outintheboons/
Transcript:
00:00:00
Welcome to the Confessions podcast. I'm Cindy Wagman Wagman. And I'm Jess Campbell. Where two former in house nonprofit pros turn coaches and consultants to purpose driven organizations. After years of building up our separate six figure businesses from scratch, we've thrown a lot of spaghetti at the wall.
00:00:17
And lived to see what sticks. We're on a mission to help other nonprofit coaches and consultants looking to start or scale their own businesses past the six figure mark by pulling back the curtain. Whether you're still working in sudden on profit and thinking of one day going out on your own, or you've been running your consulting business for years, you understand that working with nonprofits is just different. We're giving you access to the business leaders who serve nonprofits as their clients. You know, the people who truly get it.
00:00:51
No more gatekeeping, no more secrets. This podcast is going to give you an inside look at what running a successful, successful nonprofit coaching and consulting business looks like. Basically, we're asking people how much money they make, how they get paid, and what has and hasn't worked in their businesses. Listen in as these leaders share their insights, their numbers, and the good, the bad, and the ugly. When it comes to building a nonprofit coaching or consulting business, we're going to empower you to make the power moves that give you the income and freedom you set out to create from day one.
00:01:28
You ready? Let's go. Hey, Jess. Hi, Cindy Wagman. We are recording this just a week before make it happen live.
00:01:39
I'm so excited. But of course this will air long after, so if you didn't catch us in person this year, I don't know, maybe by the time this airs, Jess will know if she's hosting another one. So you'll see. We will see. Yeah, yeah.
00:01:55
Stress levels are at an all time high, but it's going to be great. So, yeah, I feel I was just like, story share. I am not the bride that, like, loved my wedding and planning my wedding and all the things, and I, like, quite literally developed an ulcer in my wedding planning process. It was just like, in hindsight, I just should have gone to a courthouse and just not listened to all the outside voices, you know? And so I was like, what is going on?
00:02:30
And I re identified that, like, I have a similar feeling only because, you know, I have high expectations. I am a high achiever. I want to deliver, like, a stellar experience that, and they put pressure on myself to make it, like, no conference, anyone has ever been due. And by definition, it will already be that because there are no other conferences for nonprofit consultants, but it's just a lot. It's a lot.
00:03:01
It's a lot. No ulcers, though. I don't think I have an ulcer this time. Thank goodness. Let's avoid that.
00:03:07
Anyways, anyone can relate to a business. That exactly comes with a lot of moving parts. It's our guest today. Yeah. I'm so excited to welcome Kara from KC creative.
00:03:19
And Kara, you're kind of what I think we would call, like a multi passionate or you have, like, different parts of your business. You do different things. So start by telling us a little bit about yourself and what you do. Yeah, I just have my hands in everything, it seems like. And do I sleep?
00:03:38
I don't know. I think I went to bed at midnight working on another project after working on another project. So, yeah, I'm Kara. I am the founder of KC Creative. A little bit of my background.
00:03:49
I worked 16 years in hospitality sales and marketing. A little operation side before realizing my passion was marketing and sales like everyone else in 2020, had to transition as nobody was traveling or staying in hotels or having events anymore. And I created KC creative and really started on a high level marketing when I first started. So marketing, plan development and strategy, and then quickly realized during 2020 and 2021, the digital world, everybody needed to be online, especially restaurants and any sort of brick and mortar that needed people in their doors, they needed that larger presence. So I rolled out my social media marketing services to include management, coaching, and then now we also do content creation.
00:04:45
And then, yeah, then to add on to that, in November 21, purchased a co working space, making me, what is that, like a serial entrepreneur now at this point, or a small business owner? But it's actually very complementary to my marketing business. And that's the journey. I have a couple kids, a high schooler and an elementary school student. We are just living the life.
00:05:16
Amazing. Yeah, it sounds like a handful. Now, I want to ask you, because from time to time, I get people asking questions like, you know, a lot of people coming from the nonprofit sector, consulting in the nonprofit sector, and thinking, oh, should I also work with for profit businesses? And your journey is a little bit of the opposite where you're coming from, the for profit sector, and you do now work with both for profit and nonprofits. So how do you balance that?
00:05:47
How did that happen even? Was it intentional or accidental? And what are ways that you kind of make that work for your business? Yeah, well, working in event venues and hotels, I've actually worked with a lot of nonprofits, so I know the budget constraints and I know, that they, you know, individuals wear many hats. I saw that.
00:06:09
And Salem, Oregon, that's where I am at, is like the capital of nonprofits. It just seems like it. There's so many around here, and they're all amazing. And what they do, really. When I first started my.
00:06:24
My business, whether it was consulting or hands on, like social media management, I didn't really think there were budgets for nonprofits, but there are, because there's opportunities for grants and. Or collaborations or partnerships or just partnering in other ways. And I didn't do any external outreach to work with nonprofits. However, definitely just with my connections and my involvement in my community, I have had the opportunity with them reaching out, whether it was, hey, we just received this grant, or we have private funding, and we need help. We need you to help train our team for marketing strategy or campaigns we have coming up.
00:07:10
And we try to be creative with how we fund the partnerships. There's also nonprofits. I sit on the board of a major, a global nonprofit, but for the local chapter, and do some work on that end, where it's my time that I'm giving. Yeah, that's so. Okay.
00:07:32
That's super helpful. It sounds like. Are most of your clients, would you say local to Salem, Oregon, or are they spread out? They started that way. And in order for me to grow, I needed to go outside of our community and even state.
00:07:46
So right now, I'm mostly pacific Northwest. Okay. Yeah. Cool. So one of the things Cindy Wagman, I know, is a big fan of, a big teacher of, is going out and asking for business.
00:07:58
And a lot of people, some people start that way, and others start by building an audience first and then asking. And I'm curious, Kara, what did you. Do when you first started in person? Networking. That is the number one way to build a community of cheerleaders, is what I say.
00:08:19
They might not be the person that you're going to work directly with, but they may know somebody. So it's the referrals that will keep your business going. As long as you're doing, you're doing it right, and you're passionate about what you do, and that passion shows. So I grew my following later. Through my past life, I had, or career, I should say.
00:08:42
I attended every networking event. I was actively involved in, our local chamber of commerce. I sat on nonprofit boards or volunteered with nonprofits, and I still do because that's still just a part of who I am. And it was almost like a personal branding. I built that name for myself.
00:09:00
And then, you know, the part that came later was building my, my follower count on social media or just becoming an authoritative figure on the subject matter of marketing and social media coaching and consulting and management. So the biggest thing, and I still do it now with my business, is having trade show booths, attending networking events that are industry specific or just business in general. A lot of nonprofits, our Salem Chamber of commerce here in our city and state is very active. And what I see other nonprofit professionals do well is attend these events. So as consultants who are working with nonprofits, you got to be where the people are.
00:09:44
So just be involved and never stop. Even when you have a waitlist, never stop. Okay, great. Super helpful. I see Cindy Wagman, just, like, nodding with pride over there.
00:09:58
She's so happy. I want to say, told you so. Yeah, she does want to say that. She did say that. So I'm thinking of the folks listening, and I don't know what's in the water, but I feel like there's quite a few people that have been on the cusp of going out and starting their nonprofit consulting business.
00:10:18
They've been in house for a few years thinking about this jump, but they're, like, at the point where they want to make the jump. And I'm thinking that they're listening to this podcast, right? And maybe they sit more in my seat where, like, I've joked about this, like, I would rather clean toilets. I would rather, like, do almost anything than ask someone for help. And that's what, it's not logical, but that's what asking for business feels like for me.
00:10:44
It's something I'm working on. So I'm curious if you could even offer us, like, a script or what you would say to people to whether it's plant the seed or let people know that you're open for business, or this is how you're starting to work people, or how you ask for referrals. I just feel like people like me, we need, like, the roadmap, like, the actual language so that it is a possibility. Yeah, I love that. I wish I had, like, now I'm going to go back after this and write down a script and make a lead magnet.
00:11:21
No, that's my marketing brain. No, really. It starts with your relationship building, because then it makes the ask much more comfortable. And I'm not meaning, like, get to know a person for months, but at least take the time and ask questions about the business. Do not solicit yourself in any way.
00:11:46
So make it seem like you, which you should be, truly be interested. So if you're trying to reach out to a nonprofit as a consultant, truly interested. Research the nonprofit that you're wanting to work with and then ask the questions. Let them brag to. Let the nonprofit brag to you.
00:12:05
That should be your first meeting. And then your second could be the ask saying, I see so much potential. Don't show them what they're doing wrong, but show them how you can help grow their existing amazing efforts. And that should be maybe your second step. Then your third step would be quite literally, I want to work with you.
00:12:35
And that's what I say. If you find that it's a good fit, I want to work with you. Are you open to me sending you my pricing and we can hop on a call or meet in person and to talk about how I can help you with these XYZ packages. I always recommend having, like, three options because people are more than likely to pick, like, the middle option, like it's their choice and going from there. And then when you go to, let's say they approve the proposal and they approve the package, then make it like, here's when is your deadline to sign the contract by?
00:13:21
Or you have seven days to sign this contract or else the pricing might go up or I might not have availability. So you need to sound like or add a little fomo to your sales process. But it always should start. One, with relationship building. Two, saying how if you find that it's a good fit, how well you think that you would work together.
00:13:44
And here's how you can see yourself helping them grow their nonprofit or their membership or their donations, whatever they need help with fundraising. And then three, literally giving the proposal and telling them, I want to work with you. I'm glad this is recorded because I'm. Going to come back to it. Yeah.
00:14:10
You are probably the first person we've had on the podcast who actually has a physical location, like has a business location with your co working space. I would love for you to talk a little bit more about how did you get into that? How does that work? I've actually, like, personally even felt like there's such a huge market, specifically in the nonprofit space for more co working spaces. But I.
00:14:38
All I see are, like, the weworks and the things like that that seem to be hemorrhaging money. So tell us, like, how. How is working as like, a small, independent co working business? Here's. Okay, I'm going to get juicy here.
00:14:56
These big conglomerates like WeWork are, they are in the real estate industry. They are not in the hospitality industry. And co working is about community and if you know my background, I worked 16 years in hotels. Hospitality just comes naturally. Co working owners, operators and managers should have a hospitality first mindset, community first mindset.
00:15:24
I stay true to my prices here with WeWork you see all sorts of specials and promos and we know how that goes. Right? Look at JC Penney's. I feel like they just kind of went under because of all their sales and gimmicks. And we as consultants should know that we need, we value our offer and our service and our product and we should stick to our pricing.
00:15:46
And so I rarely offer any discounts or giveaways, but anyways, that's how I stay in business, but also just part of my community. We are a very boutique co working space, so I have just under 5000 sqft, but I have almost every offering that a large co working space would have. So I have a conference room, I have an event space. The event space also doubles as like open shared space when it's not being used. I have private offices, which I'm in one right now, and this also I can rent as a day rental, which is wonderful.
00:16:20
Some people just need like an office per day to do things like this. And if you know how to market with search engine optimization, I actually, you know, don't specialize in that kind of stuff. So I actually hire another marketing guru to help me with my Google. And she coworks here for another. She works remotely for a large marketing agency out of state and does this as like some side gig.
00:16:49
I try to keep everything internal here, but you have to. Yes, you have to have a business mindset, but in co working, you have to have a hospitality first mindset. I want to come back to hospitality because I see that as a through line, through like all of your businesses. And I think that that's something that business general owners in general might not have at the forefront of their program delivery or like their onboarding or anything. So I want to come back to hospitality just in general.
00:17:20
But I'm curious how you've kind of straddled having these two businesses. I mean, essentially they're very different products. They could have crossover as far as the audience goes. But, you know, I'm just. How have you marketed both?
00:17:36
Like, do you have separate email lists? Do you have, you know, on LinkedIn, you post that on Instagram, you post that. Like, how are you making it work? And, and honestly, how's it going? Yeah, sometimes, you know, operationally, what you don't, what the day to day, what you don't see on social media and stuff.
00:17:55
I'm. I can get over my head, hence late nights or whatnot. But as far as marketing, everything is separate. I maybe cross promote on my marketing channels like twice a year. A lot of times the co working members here don't even know that I own a marketing agency and vice versa, and I keep it that way.
00:18:21
Actually, I don't show my face a lot on the marketing spaces. Social media, I do try to keep those business separate. Yes, I have two completely separate email lists and I have different social media channels. I have different events at each. Yeah, I don't know.
00:18:42
Some people have asked how I do that and for co working space, since it's brick and mortar, most of my lead gen comes from Google. So I pay for ads and a Google strategist to manage my keywords and, and whatnot. Whereas my marketing business, KC Creative, a lot of my large clients actually come from LinkedIn. Even though I have so much fun in email marketing and my Instagram and Facebook, my actual, like, paying clients are from LinkedIn, who probably a lot of them will never, you know, for the light of day, get on Instagram.
00:19:27
There's not a lot of Google. Yeah, Google calendar. It keeps me sane. That's how I organize my life. I have everything.
00:19:35
I don't have separate calendars for personal and professional. It is all in the same one. Even for tours of the co working space, it goes to my same Google Drive. That way it time blocks. I don't.
00:19:47
I have two part time assistants at the co working space. We trade for membership. I don't have to pay anything out. One helps with the mail program, the other does things like wiping tables and watering my plants and making sure inventory is great. And then as far as just operationally, I also trade for a janitor service.
00:20:12
He's a handyman company small business owner. So he has a membership for his business and does our janitorial. This place. I can run this entire co working space off of my cell phone. Even though we're open 24 hours a day, they have digital access to the building.
00:20:27
So. Yeah, that's incredible. I'm curious if you've thought, long term, 510, 20 years down the road, is your vision to pour into one side of the business more than the other? Or, you know, you started the interview saying you're multi passionate, so, you know, maybe it's to run them both successfully alongside one another. Like, what have you thought about as far as the direction these businesses might go in?
00:20:57
As far as them, like, occupying your time? Yeah, the co working space maybe occupies like 2 hours a week of my time. I just really pop in to check in, say hello. I hardly co work out of here unless I have a call like this. Yes, I work from home a lot of the days, even though I have a co working space.
00:21:20
But when you're an owner, you come in and everybody wants to chat with you, which is totally fine. So I allot my time when I come in here physically to say hello to people and make sure everyone's doing okay. And as far as KC creative, there's a lot of growth opportunities. So I actually, the only hands on work that I personally do is business development and the consulting part. I have an actual team that does my social media management, management and some of the content creation.
00:21:55
I love being behind the camera, but I do have a couple team members that are also amazing behind the camera. And if I can't make a shoot, then they do it for me. Yeah. I rolled out one new service this week, which will definitely take a lot more of my time, but I pivoted my workload to where I can do that to make sure I have a full team in place. And that is my fractional chief marketing officer service.
00:22:22
And then I will be rolling out. It's kind of already rolled out, but I haven't pushed it. Event management and on site event coordination, that will take probably one and a half employees. So really I just oversee the project, the vision, and then pass that on to the team. Wow, that's a lot.
00:22:50
All right, Kara, we are back for another round of our rapid fire questions. You ready to play? I am ready. Nervous, but ready. You got this.
00:23:00
Okay. So you mentioned doing some of your best networking in person. I'm curious if you have any in person networking tips, hacks, opening lines that you like to start a conversation using. Absolutely. My biggest piece of advice is to ask them what their name is, their business, and what they do.
00:23:23
Don't. Biggest networking tip is don't talk about yourself at all. Totally. All right. You mentioned that you are a local to Salem, Oregon.
00:23:34
Do I have that right? Yep. Okay. What is a must do, like local job? Is it a lunch spot?
00:23:42
Is it a hiking trail? Like, if we're going to Salem, Oregon, what are we doing? Absolutely. Rain or shine, take a walk at our riverfront park. We have a beautiful, brand new amphitheater and this gorgeous, brand new walking bridge that connects our riverfront park to Cindy Wagman park, which it is an island.
00:24:01
And it's just absolutely stunning. Lots of wildlife. And I love the outdoors. So that would be my number one. Awesome.
00:24:09
And then my last question is, you have two kids, one in high school, one in elementary school. You run two businesses. You've got a lot going on. What's your best hack for managing it all and keeping it all straight? Especially since I am a single slash co parenting.
00:24:26
I hated doing this before, and we briefly talked about it on the podcast. Is asking for help. So if I can't do it, find a community of friends or loved ones that you can lean into. I love that. Such a good way to close out these questions.
00:24:45
Thanks for playing. Yeah, thank you.
00:24:54
I'd love to have a talk about sort of profitability. Right. You've two very different business models, but both with seemingly high overhead. Right. Staffing is a high overhead cost, and obviously a physical space is very high overhead.
00:25:13
Um, how do they compare? How do you think about new, like, how do you just think about profitability overall with these different businesses and new ideas that you come up with? Yeah, it's so funny because I have a physical building, right? So when people just think physical building and they think automatically it's the money maker. And I'm like, oh, I wish.
00:25:34
Because it has so much more overhead and usage and utilities. Um, you know, when I first purchased the co working business, we were barely, like, netting 500 a month, like, literally, which is okay. I mean, this place has never been in the red, so I can give it that. And membership hadn't increased in a couple years. Like, the pricing, nothing had been increased, which is okay.
00:26:02
I kind of came off the pandemic and whatnot. So I think four months into ownership, I increased rates not by much. It was maybe nine to 11% across the board, depending on the level of membership or the conference room. But I was able to increase revenue 40% year over year, that first year of ownership, and then we're still increasing by about 10% year over year from 22 to 23. I have not increased my rates in two years.
00:26:38
So this year will be the year I'm a little nervous just because I love supporting our small business owners and entrepreneurs. But everything else has gone up for me. You know, lease on the building and utilities and just product paper, Inc. Like, everything has gone up. So that's always a fun, challenging, difficult conversation that I'll have to have with our members.
00:27:04
But KC creative, that is my moneymaker. To be honest, I went through, like a hard time in the fall. Everybody was really holding tight. Fall of 23 tight to their budgets. It was just an odd time with, you know, the real estate world and just the market in general.
00:27:23
Nobody was wanting to spend money. I'm like, over here, do I get a corporate job? I'm not sure. You know, and I just held steady help study, because most of my clients are on that retainer, which I'm so glad I ended up switching to that in the long run. That way I know my financial stability.
00:27:46
It was a game changer. Yes. Labor is like 70%, I would say close to it, of my expenses. I don't have a ton of overhead for KC creative, but a lot of software, and we use sprout social. It's a great program for agencies.
00:28:11
It's expensive, but you get what you pay for. And I'm going to need this year, probably a new laptop and some new camera gear. So it'll be fun. But we're expecting a really amazing second quarter. And I'm for KC creative, and I'm looking forward to that.
00:28:31
Love it so much. And I commend you, because as someone that has a lot of ideas swirling in her head, it's hard to keep track of both things. Right? Yeah. And so.
00:28:41
But I think what you've kind of set up, I would imagine that the co working space is in some ways, like, recurring revenue people that have kind of ongoing spots, which is a little bit more steady, and then the project based work that comes along with your KC Cruz creative side. So I can see how you can do it both. But I know you also are a mom, and you've got a lot to juggle. Before we talk about maybe that journey. A little bit, I would love to.
00:29:06
Come back to this idea around hospitality. I love that word. And I was actually listening to a podcast last week when I was walking my dog, and it was saying how I think it's the four seasons, you know, they're competing against Ritz and, like, you know, all these fancy schmancy hotels. And the way that they decided to differentiate themselves was by hiring people who wanted a career in hospitality. And so you can just tell the difference in service from the Ritz Carltons of the world to the four seasons of the world because of, like, they all have the same fancy bedsheets and whatevers, but you can tell on the level of service.
00:29:50
And I think that the same can. Be applied for all of our small businesses. Right. People remember how you make them feel. And if you're hospitable towards your clients, it's a game changer.
00:30:00
And so I'm just curious how you've woven in hospitality into either your customer journey, the buying experience, the program delivery experience, maybe it's even, you go hog. Wild at the end of the year. With some sort of, like, gift. I don't know. But just like anything you can provide the listeners might be super helpful.
00:30:20
Yeah. In the hospitality world, we would joke, this is funny. We sell hospitality, not hostility. I don't know. This is something hilarious that I've always held on to, but really, hospitality is something you cannot teach.
00:30:34
It comes from within. So if you are not hospitable and you want to operate a business, you better find somebody to hire on your team, that is, or else you will go downhill. Because the number one thing that sets your business apart, and I just did a reel on instagram either yesterday or the day before, the number one thing that sets your business apart, because everybody can be a real estate agent. You can all be in an italian restaurant. You can all be consultants in a nonprofit world.
00:31:06
But what nobody else has is you. And you are the differentiator in your industry. There's only one you who makes your business. And if it's not you, then you need to find that person that is a representative of your business that can sell hospitality. So my team, it's funny enough, because I didn't plan it this way, but my one employee and my two contractors all come from the coffee industry, like, working at coffee shops.
00:31:39
And what do coffee shop like baristas have? And is hospitality, is that fun, inviting, warm atmosphere? And two of them come from Dutch Bros, which I don't know if you're familiar with Dutch Bros, but they're like, hey, like, you know, hip hop, rap music, whatever, going on in the stands and just vibing and having fun. And the other one, similar. But it's just I'm naturally drawn to that.
00:32:05
In fact, in hotels, we would always joke that we would look for front desk employees at coffee stands. We would, you know, the best people to hire are these coffee shop people. That's who you want representing you. And working for your business is somebody that's warm and inviting. So how we.
00:32:25
How my business is, both of them is. Yes. I've had to learn to set boundaries of giving too much of my time. Right. Because part of hospitality, especially in the hotel world, because you're open 24 hours a day, is the expect the unexpected.
00:32:45
Knowing what your client wants before they even ask, knowing what your guest is going to come down to the front desk for before they even open their mouth. And that could mean a little bit more long hours or more communication with your clients. So how my customer journey through hospitality starts is usually the first month. And I tell my clients, maybe even the first couple months is we're going to over communicate. You might hear from me every day.
00:33:12
You might hear from me every other day as we first get started, because we need to get to know each other. And that's. I am hands on. Anybody can work with, for example, marketing agency and just grab a bunch of content off of Unsplash and Clipart's not the right word anymore, but. And post it in just random graphic designs.
00:33:34
But we are. We are hands on. We are making things more intimate, more personal, and then after we really get to know somebody in their voice and their brand and themselves as an individual or their team, whomever on their team that we're working with, then we can kind of push cut back on that communication. But because we had so much of that one on one, we've built a rapport with each other. And some of my clients have become great friends because of that, because we treat each other as humans and not dollar signs.
00:34:07
Hmm. I think both Jess and I are here, like, yes, we are. So, for all of this and treating our clients like, special and amazing and all of that, are there any specific little things that you do that you have found, like, in the hospitality theme, that stand out or that really surprise and delight your clients? Like we in our injustice? Slack channel.
00:34:38
Oftentimes, people ask for, like, good gift ideas and things like that. But I'm curious if there's anything that you do that most people haven't thought of that you can share. Yeah. So not everybody is, like, not everybody's love language is gift giving. I did give some of my top clients some really fun gifts.
00:34:58
A couple, like, I've done the cookies and I've done last year. Year I did blankets. They're through a company called Sackcloth and Ashes. They were founded here in Salem. They're like italian wool blankets.
00:35:10
Really nice. Or just different brands. They kind of resemble pendleton blankets. But when you buy a blanket, another blanket is given to your homeless community, like your local homeless shelter. But really, for example, I have total opposite of me.
00:35:27
Landscaping supply company. I don't even work with them anymore. But we worked for. With. For a couple years, but I got to know them and the owner, and he's a military veteran.
00:35:38
Younger, but a military veteran. I got to know what he likes, so I make sure I just send him a quick text, even though it's not a client anymore. Happy veterans day. Like, oh, it's the Marine Corps birthday. Happy birthday, marine.
00:35:51
That's huge. To somebody is just remembering those little moments. I have a client from my convention center days who I remember likes a white Russian. Like the drink. What?
00:36:07
So if I see him out in the community, which I'm not usually doing drinking events, and I always like, do you still like white Russians? And it always sparks up a conversation. That's also part of hospitality, is remembering every kiss that checks into your hotel and or just remembering the little things that your employees, or your external employees, your clients love. And it doesn't have to be a gift. I love handwritten cards.
00:36:41
We write handwritten cards probably once a year to everybody. It's just the little things. Yeah, that was my secret fundraising weapon as well. Just remembering personal things about people goes such a long way. I can't remember where I heard this.
00:36:58
But. The idea is like, the people's favorite sound is of their name, right? Someone else saying their name. And so really just remembering what people like and who they are. And that goes such a long way.
00:37:14
All right, we have gotten to the point in the conversation where we are going to ask for a confession, as per the name of the podcast. So share with us something about your business or about running a business that maybe you wouldn't have shared elsewhere or publicly in a podcast before.
00:37:38
I would have to say hire. If you are not good with numbers or finances or figuring any of that out, hire an accountant ahead of time or financial planner as you're thinking about your business. I kind of had to throw myself into owning my own business just because of the pandemic and losing my career. But I didn't hire an actual accounting team until fall of just last year. After I hit my three year mark in KC creative, I the co working space is all squared away.
00:38:15
It's good because it just operates all on its own. But KC Creative was a different beast. You know, still paid myself like a freelancer, even though I have an employee and some contractors, like, it was not good. I didn't know how much truly, like, how much money I had coming in and what was going. I just knew my business was open and operating.
00:38:34
That would be my biggest confession, is I should have hired somebody to help me with my finances. So I then I had to pay extra, right? Because then they got to fix your mistakes. So I paid extra, went back and did my whole books for 2023. Like, oh, now I know.
00:38:55
Now I know how much I'm spending in XYZ. Maybe I'm having too many coffees every week and so we can put a true budget together. I'm like, nerding out on this, even though this is a subject I absolutely despise because it will only prepare me as I will have probably my biggest quarter yet, my second quarter. And I need to have this in place. I should have had it in place, but I can't go back on the past.
00:39:26
But I would definitely say, especially if you have a full time job right now and you have the finances that are taking care of your financial stability needs, find somebody that you trust or like or an online based service that you can partner with to help you get financially ready to jump all in to owning your business. That's what I would say. Yeah. I'm actually very good with numbers, and I still outsourced my bookkeeping very early on because, yeah, that's something that's best kept for experts. Yep.
00:40:03
Absolutely. Yeah. Kara, where can our listeners connect with you and find you online? I would say I am the most active on Instagram, but just as much probably on LinkedIn, too. So on Instagram, KC underscore Creative, LLC and LinkedIn, Kara, Alicia, it's a l I c I a.
00:40:29
But you can find KC creative as well. And then you'll find me because I cross post on LinkedIn all the time. Amazing. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.
00:40:39
Thank you.
00:40:43
Thank you again for listening to the Confessions podcast for nonprofit coaches and consultants. If you enjoyed today's episode, which I sure hope you did, you can show your support in one of three ways. Number one, post a screenshot of this episode to your Instagram Stories or LinkedIn profile and Tag Cindy Wagman and I so we can repost you. Number two, share this podcast with a fellow nonprofit coach or consultant. And number three, leave a positive review on Apple Podcasts that we can continue to grow and reach new listeners.
00:41:13
And, of course, make sure you subscribe so you can get the latest and greatest interviews as they drop every Thursday. And to our fellow nonprofit coaching and consulting friends. Remember, or an open book. And here to answer your burning biz questions. See you next time.