Encouragement
On Moving to Arizona…
In 1996, I mentioned to a client that I was toying with a move to Arizona.
He commented, “My Dad always wanted to do that. Every year he and Mom would go to Arizona, and look for just the right place to eventually retire.”
Excited, I asked, “Wow! Did he finally do it?”
My client sadly replied, “No, he died before he got the chance.”
With that “encouragement,” I decided to make my move a few months later!
© 2011 – 2019, https:. All rights reserved.
Geezer Alert… Age Can Be Your Friend
Like it or not, age often matters in marketing a consulting practice. Age also matters in customer perceptions, as evidenced by the following examples.
Real Life Story # 1 – Floyd, a fellow engineer, was going to law school at night. At the time, he was in his mid 40s, and I was in my late 20s. As he approached his graduation, I asked if he planned to hang out his lawyer’s shingle. His reply surprised me, but also set me thinking about my future.
“No,” he replied, “not unless I have to. I really enjoy what I do here, but law school is my insurance policy.” I should add that Floyd had been in a car accident many years earlier that had left him partially paralyzed.
“Look at me,” he said. “I’m over 40 and a cripple. Who would hire me if I lost my job?” I started to mumble an apology, but he continued. “No, don’t be embarrassed by your question — it was a good one. But even if I had no handicap, finding another engineering job would still be a problem because of my age.”
He then added, “The irony is that, as an older attorney, age is an asset, not the liability it can be in corporate world. Everyone will just assume I have many years of experience. Like fine wine, my value will increase — not decrease — with age.”
Wow! That set me thinking about my life after 40. Within two years, I hung out my shingle as a part time consultant.
Real Life Story # 2 – A dozen years later, now a full-time consultant over 40 myself, I was called in to help a small company with a serious design problem. I was also now completely bald and starting to show some gray in the beard. Oh, the ravages of time…
After solving the problem, I was wrapping things up with the equally bald VP of Engineering. He thanked me, and then added with a twinkle in his eye, “You don’t know how happy I was to see a bald guy walking in here. I knew I needed some old rooster that had been around the barn a few times… ”
That’s when I realized Floyd was right — as a consultant, age can be your friend!
Real Life Story #3 – For those of you who are younger, you may want to consider this approach. A consulting colleague has sported old fashioned “mutton chop” sideburns from a young age. As he explained, when he started out he looked even younger than he was, and it was hindering his ability to be taken seriously.
Incidentally, it worked (although like many of us, he no longer needs to add years…)
The bottom line — while age should not matter, perception does. And in the mind of the customer, that perception is their reality.
PS – Don’t miss the “Special Welcome for Geezers”
© 2011 – 2012, https:. All rights reserved.
Are you a quitter, or a starter?
When I left my last corporate job at Intel (the day the market crashed in 1987), I stopped by the division General Manager’s office to say goodbye. The GM, known as “Rocky”, was a good guy with a sometimes wicked sense of humor. We chatted a bit, and he wished me well in the new consulting venture.
As I headed out the door, though, Rocky threw in a barb. “Quitter”, he muttered. Without thinking, I spun around and quickly replied, “I’m not a quitter — I’m a starter…”
As I recall, he smiled, and said “Good answer.”
So how about you? Are you a quitter, or a starter? The reason I started this blog was to help those who wanted to start consulting … not necessarily those who just wanted to quit something else.
Please make sure you are considering consulting – or any other business venture – for the right reasons.
© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.
Don’t wake up at 60 wishing…
Adding a new category to this blog — Encouragement. The original intent of this blog was to provide “nuts and bolts” information for those considering making the JumpToConsulting. You know — if you just knew how to do it (or how others had done it), the rest would be a piece of cake.
But recently it hit me that fear and uncertainty were even bigger issues. Not that I’ve never been afraid, but I don’t recall being paralyzed by fear either. Particularly in business situations — after all, as Bob Parsons (founder and CEO of GoDaddy) says in his Rule #4 , “…if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you…”
The epiphany occurred at a recent one day workshop by Alan Weiss, the Million Dollar Consultant (TM.) It was part of his Friday Wrap (TM) program, which I enjoy as a thought provoking weekly tonic on the consulting business. When he brought up the importance of self-esteem, however, the floodgates opened.
I sat there amazed as several very successful and intelligent attendees confided their irrational fears. Some were concerned about achieving success (Can I do it?), and some were concerned about handling success (Do I really deserve it?) One even confessed fears about losing it (What if I can’t repeat it?)
Thus, the new category — Encouragement. No, this won’t be rah-rah stuff, but I’ll occasionally share some ideas, along with some helpful references.
To kick this off, here is a reply to a recent posting by Chris Gullibeau at the Art of Non Conformity (a favorite blog of mine.)
Chris tells of Rachel, his young seat mate on a recent international flight. She was very successful, but quite discontented with her job. The problem — it was a “good job” and thus hard to leave. If nothing else, what would people think? After all, she had spent years to get two financial degrees, and was now jetting around the world for her employer. She was a “success,” but clearly unhappy.
Judging by the numerous replies, many others felt the same. So, to offer some encouragement, I submitted the following:
- It seems like only yesterday I pondered these questions. One guiding principle for me – “I didn’t want to wake up at 60 and regret not even trying…”
- So I made changes. Scary at times, but most worked out fine.
- At age 30, left a comfortable job as an engineer to try sales. Scary at first, but had fun. Made some new friends. Learned a lot.
- At age 34, left to join a startup. Fun a first, less fun later, lost money. (Even got fired one day.) Learned a lot.
- At age 36, started a consulting firm. Failed. Crawled back into a corporate job. Learned a lot.
- At age 38, went back into field sales. Great fun, made good money, made more friends. Learned a lot.
- At age 41, started consulting company again. Market crashed the first day in business. Succeeded anyway. Been a blast. Made more friends. Learned a lot.
- Age 64, still consulting. No regrets. Financially secure. Also raised two sons, married 43 years. Still learning, still having fun. But where has the time gone?
- Big lesson to share — Life is way too short to waste doing something you no longer enjoy! Don’t wake up at 60 wishing…
In short, I did it, and you can too. No horn tooting here — just offering some encouragement.
So let me know if you found this helpful. And remember what Franklin Roosevelt said on his first inauguration — “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” True in 1933, and still true today!
© 2011 – 2022, https:. All rights reserved.
