Happy 2nd birthday, Social Focus Consulting!

With every birthday, comes time for reflection. So like last year, let's recap with a spectacularly long letter...

Today, SFC is two years in and to think how far we've come in one year, let alone since 2011, is a complete mind blow.

52 weeks ago, we didn't even have one project in our portfolio. In a couple of months, we'll have completed 15 projects with 13 clients. Out of the full projects we've completed, clients have rated us an average of 4.7 out of 5 in satisfaction while saying that we provided either "better" or "much better" service compared to competitors (for those who have worked with other firms). One of our projects even led to 40% more profits for a client's annual fundraiser.

While building our portfolio with pro bono projects, we started to conduct business development for that elusive first customer. After months of searching and not gaining any solid traction, we pivoted and developed a workshop service to lower the barrier to purchase and offer a scaled down version of consulting. It was in marketing this new service that we, coincidentally, gained our first paying client. Finally, some cash flow!

Shortly thereafter, we worked with four more paying clients in our workshop. The results were good, but not great, with slightly lower satisfaction levels compared to that of our full projects. Since "progression" is one of our values, we've learned from the experience and will refine our workshop processes to improve our service. We also have a long way to go in building a more cohesive and effective culture that even Google would envy.

Besides working on sales, we've also managed to build our brand through great media exposure (TVO, UofT Magazine, Queen's Alumni Review), with partnerships (Queen's Conference on Philanthropy, Queen's School of Business Innovation Summit), and guest lectures in Queen's Commerce. And it's because of this strong brand building, that we're continuously getting approached by potential customers, partners, and consultants who want to work with us. I'm particularly awed and humbled with all the support Queen's alumni have given us.

These last two years were just a warm-up. This coming year, we're going full HAM - hungry to get more paying customers, bigger clients, and finally passing the break even point...and doing it all in style too. Like in the past, there will be tears mixed with laughter, but it's in pushing through the obstacles that we've made it this far.

I'm extremely lucky to be working with 28 of the most awesome Queen's students ever. It's them, and all the Social Folks that came before them, from not only Queen's but also Ivey, Schulich, and Rotman that have made this two-year anniversary as sweet as this SFC sundae. THANK YOU for everything. Now, let's make 2014 the freshest year ever - fresh like we wrapped in plastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmVnCqOhMiI

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John Paul de Silva, MBA

Founder and Managing Director

Social Focus Consulting

when it comes to your cause, we mean business
JohnPaul@SocialFocusConsulting.ca
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