Icon Key

 

Business Development

Sierra Club Calendar
Print View  |  Comment |  Back to List |  << Previous Next >>
For many years I sent Sierra Club Wilderness Calendars to friends and clients. The photos were stunning and the calendar was substantial: 11" wide and 27" high. I sent 25 the first year, 50 the second year, and ultimately mailed 300 calendars each November.

This generated a tremendous amount of goodwill, especially since no advertising—including our company name—ever appeared on the calendar. The calendars come individually boxed, ready for mailing, and the box is folded such that you can slide a note inside.

Footnote: Mailing the calendars in November was a marketing win. They arrived just before the Colorado Human Resource Association's annual Christmas party. While HR leaders were thanking me for their calendars, competitors nearby were fuming. I like that.


December 15, 20—

Tammy Hatherly
President
Quipmed Consulting
505 North Michigan Avenue, STE 2900
Chicago, IL 60611

Dear Tammy

December is a magic time of year—the end of the old, the beginning of the new. And no matter how good yesterday was, tomorrow can be much better.

December is the time to re-think your direction, to correct your course. It's the time to make bold plans, to dream big dreams, to risk new beginnings.

Most of all—in the heart of winter—December is the month to reaffirm your belief in yourself and in your future.

 We hope you'll take us with you on your far-reaching journeys, wherever they might take you. We'd like to come along.

Your friends at CareerLab,
[Eight consultants signed here.]

P.S.—The Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar is symbolic of the bright, new year . . . full of hope and pleasant surprises. We know it'll be your best year ever.

Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar

Print View  |  Comment |  Back to List |  << Previous Next >>

Comments

William S. Frank, M.A., President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.