Succeeding As A Non-Profit Consultant with Elizabeth Woolfe
In today’s episode, I’m joined by Elizabeth Woolfe, a passionate consultant with a focus on nonprofit organizations in the healthcare industry. There is a common misconception in the consulting world that working with nonprofit organizations means that there are no profits to be had for consultants. Many consultants avoid working with nonprofits for this very reason, and you may be one of them. Elizabeth has joined me today to explain how you can create a thriving, successful consulting business in the nonprofit market. We discuss the importance of using your network, trusting yourself, and overcoming business anxiety. She shares examples of how to effectively ask for referrals and how to grow your business to the point that you can choose the clients you are working for. It’s all in this episode of the The Consulting Success Podcast with Elizabeth Woolfe. Does Non-Profit Equal No Profit For Consultants?We start out with Elizabeth sharing the story of how she got connected with nonprofit organizations. She has actually dedicated her career to working with nonprofit organizations once she recognized how greatly nonprofits would benefit from working with a consultant but are often the organizations that are the least able to afford to hire one.Elizabeth has always been interested in the healthcare industry. While her fear of chemistry did keep her from becoming a doctor, she stayed focused in the healthcare field and has had no regrets about her career path. After earning her Master’s in Public Health from UCLA, she began working with health education in New York. Once she was connected with those involved in the breast cancer movement, her work as a consultant began. She saw a need for more support in the movement and started linking organizations with companies that wanted to help with breast cancer awareness. Elizabeth, like so many other successful consultants, identified a gap in her industry and developed a way to fill it.There is a common misconception in the consulting world that working with non-profit organizations means that there are no profits to be had for consultants, and you may feel the same way. Perhaps you have seen an opportunity to fill a need in your industry but are hesitant because it doesn’t seem possible to get the value you are seeking. Too many consultants avoid working for this very reason, but I think my conversation with Elizabeth will change your mind.She shares four essential ideas on how you, too, can create a thriving, successful consulting business, either in the nonprofit or for-profit market, in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast. Working Your NetworkThe first essential step to finding success in any industry is to build a network that is filled with people that you can rely on. When Elizabeth decided to start her consulting business, she told everyone she knew about her plan. The trust that people already had in her character and her ability to deliver results brought in some of her first jobs. Even today, almost all of her clients come to her via word of mouth. Her reputation precedes her in all that she does, and the result has always meant more opportunities for work.By actively working her network, Elizabeth has been able to grow her business and continually entertain project requests. She maintains that by being generous with her time and helping other people find solutions to their problems, she is benefitting as well from the strengthened network. There is plenty of room in the consulting world for more than one person to approach a problem, so she doesn’t consider sharing ideas and working through problems with other consultants as competition. Instead, she has been given even more opportunities and referrals as a result of her willingness to work alongside...