This is all so helpful. I’m now on my 3rd pass through the workbook for FBAs and still haven’t gotten it quite right but each time I get a little closer and reading all of your takes is going to send me right back in so thank you. PS Susanne- your illustrations were especially helpful!

Hi Dana! Thank you for sharing your story about starting not on purpose. I took on my first large consulting project out of necessity after getting knocked down to part time a few months after returning from maternity leave. I had to spend a long time (almost a year) working through feelings from that and from other related things to finally work up to quitting my job. As you can see from this board I’m the resident website creeper but it comes from a place of being so excited to meet so many exceptional people. I really liked the way you put “You will be valued” next to “You will be challenged”

Hi Michelle! “I help nonprofits use data” was also where I got stuck for a while. This class has helped me narrow stuff down a lot. At my last job, my coworker and I created a couple of readiness rubrics to think about what kinds of orgs would be a good fit for this program we were doing. We wanted orgs to be able to learn from each other so we wanted a mix of strengths but we wanted everyone to be in a place where they knew enough to be ready to commit but also still needed the support. Would love to hear more of your thinking on this. Also, I wanted to pop in and say that I love the videos you made on your site and would be really interested in hearing more about how you got started and what you’d advise for someone thinking about something like this but feeling a little intimidated/overwhelmed by anything more involved than writing.

This is so cool, Anne. If some of my previous employers had hired a consultant like you I would have been so grateful.

It sounds like the garden is physically challenging and mentally absorbing in a way that lets some of the parts of your brain that you use a lot get rest. It also sounds like a rich sensory experience, and, I think, most importantly the point you make about clearly seeing success. That’s such a gratifying feeling. I have been fixing a bunch of stuff at home and also knocking out small but essential things I’ve put off for a long time and I feel so good and productive. The class has definitely made me look at some of my non business related activities with new eyes and I’m enjoying that too.

Also…share pictures when you finish!

Hi Dave! I went on an incredible vacation to Mississauga about eight years ago. Probably didn’t need to share that but I got excited. It’s so beautiful there.

Let’s do it! Sending you an email right now 🙂

CONGRATULATIONS ON SAYING “MY BUSINESS”

It’s a big deal