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

​

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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416.830.2507

"Ask John Anything": why did I start Social Focus Consulting?

"Ask John Anything" is an opportunity for our team members, the Social Folks, to ask our Founder/Managing Director, John Paul de Silva, pretty much anything with the goal of increasing transparency, communication, and collaboration.

"Would be interested in why you started SFC from completing your MBA. Why not get industry experience first? Would love to hear your career path." - anonymous

Fresh out of the MBA, I was looking for marketing roles and while doing so, took the opportunity to participate in a case competition involving a non-profit. Although I thought it would be a great networking opportunity and resume builder, more than anything, I felt it would be fun to finally work with non-Queen's MBA people again.

In working with this team, and eventually getting 2nd place out of 12 teams, I recognized how effective it was to apply a business approach and strategies to a non-profit problem. Solving a non-profit problem really is no different from solving a corporate problem - simply, there are revenue issues and there are resource issues. What was great about solving this case is that due to the resource constraints of this non-profit, as it is in most non-profits, we had to be very creative in the solutions that we developed. That was very exciting to me as I highly value creativity.

After the case competition, I followed up with the case competition client and approached the organization to do a full consulting project. I formed a team consisting of my Queen's MBA classmates and we developed an innovative monthly giving program that featured exclusive on-line volunteer opportunities for members.

Eager for more, I began work on a corporate sponsorship valuation and acquisition strategy project. While working on all these projects, I was still looking for full-time work and felt that it would be best to group all these projects under one banner, so I formed Social Focus Consulting in December 2011.

Why I stopped looking for work and concentrate on SFC is best saved for another time :)

I'll end off all "Ask John Anything" entries with a song that best reflects how I feel about the above:

Naughty by Nature - Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Dylan Browne: Portrait of a Community Volunteer

"I began volunteering for the Jays Care Foundation in 2008, and continued to help lead training camps for young athletes in the Greater Toronto Area. In my first year at Western University I was heavily involved in Habitat for Humanity, participating in local London builds and in a select trip to New Orleans where we rebuilt homes devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Since then, I have contributed to the United Way through numerous events sponsored by Western and Ivey. In two days, a team of four students and I raised $500 for the United Way by selling lemonade"

- Dylan Browne, Ivey 2014, and Social Focus Marketing Consultant

Failures and Learnings: #2

Finally! Another failure. Why am I so excited? Read on, ladies and gents...

Failure #2: No plan B

In transitioning from our summer 2012 market research projects into fall (school time) operations, I set very clear goals for the organization leading up to and including summer 2013. Stage 1 would be prototyping operations at Queen's with one team to see how that would play out over a semester. Check. Stage 2 would be expanding operations at Queen's (to a total of 3 teams) and starting at team at Ivey. Check.

All of this was suppose to lead into Stage 3: profitability in summer 2013 via paid projects. umm...not even close to "Check."

Like the first failure, Failure #deuce was another under-estimation. I sorely underestimated how long the sales cycle would take. As we approached May 2013, and it was becoming increasingly clear that we wouldn't secure a paid client in time (to allow for a full project cycle from May to August), I realized I didn't have a backup plan.

My MBA butt got into gear and did create a high level backup plan which took less than a day, but such last minute planning shouldn't be happening. The lack of quick decision making can make or break an organization especially as its growing.

Although the summer is far from over, we need to secure a paid client "yesterday" to ensure the project cycle completes its course before the students return to school in fall.

Learning and Changes #2: Plan for failures

While 'not becoming profitable' was a failure in terms of the outcome, I think the bigger failure here is not creating a backup plan in the event we don't secure a paid client(s) for the summer.

When setting big, mission-critical, goals for SFC as we move forward, I will be sure to plan for failure. Even if it's a high level treatment, knowing my options whenever we hit a crossroads is surely better than standing idle where days or weeks of indecision can mean everything in the land of fast-paced business.

Update on Changes #1: Facilitating a "fun" company culture and increasing engagement

While I don't have time to create a spreadsheet and crunch actual numbers, I assure you that engagement is increasing. How do I know? Well, one measure of engagement is tracking how many team members leave an organization (or churn rate). From summer 2012 to fall 2012, the vast majority of team members didn't return. From winter 2013 to fall 2013, it's expected our team will consist of approximately 80-85% of past team members.

Social Focus Founder is a finalist for Top 60 Under 60 award!

In just over a year, Social Focus has had many great small "wins" especially with respect to brand building. From being featured on TrendHunter.com list of socially-conscious consultancies, to running a workshop on innovation at DECA Queen's, to moderating the social innovation panel at the Queen's School of Business Innovation Summit, to being featured in a GetInvolved.ca video that aired on TV across Ontario, things are coming along nicely.

Things are about to get even nicer. I'm proud to announce that I'm a finalist for the "Top 60 Under 60" award in Canada. The judges, comprised of Canada's corporate elite, will be making final decisions on April 8th. 

Keep your fingers crossed and "like" Social Focus Consulting on Facebook for, hopefully, really good news soon! Thanks to everyone, especially the Social Focus Consulting team, for your continued support and general awesomeness.