Your GRADUATION Story
COVID severely impacted our consulting practice virtually drying up or mostly F2F consulting practice. We knew we needed an new approach to delivering our proven consulting experience and knowledge of 25+ years. We joined EPM with the hope of leveraging our 1 x 4 business acumen approach to reigniting small business owner's mindset in growing their business.
Your MISSION ACCOMPLISHED Story
With COVID turning our collective primarily F2F consulting practices on their heads with virtually no projects in the pipeline, we realized that taking each of our 25+years collective expertise and knowledge to share with future clients necessitated a whole new approach and way of thinking. Rebuilding our joint consulting practice with its value proposition for the virtual reality was a whole new challenge with no apparent formula. Our current client base either canceled or postponed every project on our books primarily due to the uncertainty of COVID. Just when we thought we were not ready for the new virtual consulting reality, we nonetheless used our past experience in working with businesses of all sizes and soon discovered a potential new approach to engaging with small businesses. Taking advantage of an invitation to participate in the Stanford University Rebuild Program, we analyzed over 42 areas of prior consulting expertise and experiences distilling these into 4 key areas of consultative focus. We created a 1 x 4 business acumen framework based on our collective consulting experience of 25+ years. We also realized that our consulting practice itself was in need of applying our new entrepreneurship framework model. The EPM program, tools, and ""secret sauce"" has helped us immensely to bring value to our story, our deliverables, and our consulting approach.
Your FIRST SALE Story
Building on a previous relationship with the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, we decided to pitch and share this innovative work designing and building a curriculum using the new framework over the Christmas holidays that led to testing our model with 3 cohorts of 15 emerging Latino small business entrepreneurs in the Atlanta area. What we discovered is that our overarching focus on the IQ of running a business needed an EQ component equally as important to balance, enrich, and empower the often struggling small business entrepreneur’s mindset. The feedback from the cohorts proved our approach does reignite a small business owner’s excitement and direction in helping them pivot forward towards a tangible strategic direction with new insights, business acumen, and the right balanced mindset. We subsequently pitched our new EPM-impacted approach to the GHCC with a proposal to refine our course and expand the EQ portion of the program. We awarded a contract in November of 2022 to deliver the upgraded program to now the 5th cohort of 15 entrepreneurs that will reap the benefit of your innovative approach.
Your PROVED MY IDEA Story
What we have since discovered in testing the framework with other small business entrepreneurs, as well as, non-profits is an overwhelming need and endorsement of the 1 x 4 framework approach. 98% of the GHCC cohort approved of the substantive, quality consulting provided with 100% agreeing to recommend the program to other entrepreneurs! Not unlike our efforts to rethink our consulting practice, small business entrepreneurs too can use this framework to redirect their investments and pivot their business towards tangible growth, profitability, and prosperity.
Your MADE A WHOLE LOT MORE Story
As outlined above, we closed a contract to support the next set of 15 Latino entrepreneurs with the course starting February 8. Our team is in the process of executing an implementation project plan developed using EPM resources.
What's been the biggest change in your business?
Understanding the nature of introducing an online course that is clear and concise about its purpose, value, its support, and its deliverables. We have the content but the renewed focus on bringing more of an EQ balance to the course has been significant.
How's EPM and your success impacted your life?
EPM has modeled for us the scope and nature of delivering the highest quality content, context, and support to ensure follow-on return business.
What's your biggest takeaway from EPM?
Progress over Perfection. We were guilty of trying to deliver the encyclopedia of our knowledge and expertise in our program. It is all about VALUE.
What's now possible for you because of your Experience Product?
The ability to translate all of our 25+ years of intellectual property to online courses is viable and realistic! This first offering is but one of 4 we want to deliver to the marketplace.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The depth, breadth, and options of EPM support is easily worth the price of admission. We take pride in being client centric whereby 86% of our clients have asked us to come back and engage in a 3rd project. We see how EPM is also so focused on the client. We are anxious to leverage this new relationship.