Years ago, I was a young entrepreneur building a small firm from the ground up. Like many of you, I was hungry for growth, learning, and community. So I joined EO—the Entrepreneurs’ Organization—and it made a real difference in my life. The people I met, the forums I joined, and the events I attended helped me grow personally and professionally.
For professional services leaders who want to win more respect, reputation, and revenue, the worst thing you can be is forgettable. Look around. Your field has plenty of smart, capable, hard-working leaders, but only a few truly stand out. Even fewer have earned genuine trust.
The bottom line: Just because someone refers business to you doesn’t mean you should take it. The wrong project can derail your momentum, burn out your team, and cost far more than the revenue it brings in.
Ask a founder if they have their Ideal Client Profile figured out, and most will say yes without hesitation. Ask their team, and you’ll hear a dozen different versions. That’s the problem. A vague or outdated ICP can’t guide decisions. It doesn’t scale. And it doesn’t protect the firm when the pipeline dries up.
“Once you have demonstrated you can help a company solve problems, they never run out of problems they want you to help them solve. ”You have a great business, and you know it. You know that you could double it if only…and then the list starts:• We had the right people• We could get in the right meetings with the right buyers• The economy would improve
One of our core beliefs at Tenzing is that deep, authentic conversations have the power to drive business forward. Over the years, we’ve found that sharing stories—especially those of fellow Experts, Operators, and Practitioners—has not only enriched our community but also helped strengthen our brand and attract new clients.
Every founder experiences the exhilarating rush of building something new. However, this initial energy often gives way to overwhelm as daily operations become overbearing. This article shares the journey of a Collective 54 member who met this juncture and found a path forward. Names and specific details are omitted to focus on universal lessons that echo the struggles many others face.
The Professional Services Owner’s Dilemma. “That’s a great idea! How do I act on that? And then that one, and that one…”Sound familiar? As a professional services firm owner, you’re caught in a perpetual whirlwind. You’ve mastered your technical expertise and now you’re expected to simultaneously become an expert in every facet of business operations.
A few winters ago, I was driving down I-29 in a brutal Midwest blizzard.
The kind where you can’t see more than a few feet and you’re just praying you can make it to the next exit before you slide off the road, or worse.
In those moments, you don’t look around — you look for the white line. That single white line on the edge of the road becomes your focus.
Many firms craft value statements, put them in a slide deck, and hope the words sink in. The unfortunate reality is that values that live only on paper rarely have any gravitational pull. They have to show up in hiring, onboarding, daily routines, and feedback.