CFD 468 – Consulting With Success

August 27th, 2018

Michael Zipursky is an author, entrepreneur, and CEO of ConsultingSuccess.com. He has consulted for organizations and advised leaders throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Middle East in over 30 industries, from service providers to billion-dollar multinational corporations including Panasonic, Dow Jones, Financial Times, Royal Bank and many others.

Michael is an in-demand speaker and gives keynotes and workshops for the Certified Management Consultants Association, Canadian Internet Marketing Conference, Chartered Management Institute UK and others. Michael’s work has appeared in MarketingProfs, Huffington Post, Financial Times, FOX Business, Maclean's, HR Executive, Business Edge, Marketing Magazine and in several other media and publications. He is the author of 5 books on consulting and marketing including his most recent bestseller The Elite Consulting Mind. Michael speaks English and Japanese and loves traveling and spending time with his family.

Podcast Highlights

 Who is Michael Zipursky?

Michael grew up feeling like an outsider. In his early years, his focus on sports combined with his perspective as an outsider gave him the foundation for his career later on. Michael has studied multiple languages and has lived in multiple countries.

Playing sports gives you the fair advantage of practicing failure, a key skill for success in consulting and business.

  • Consulting Business

At the age of 16, Michael traveled with his cousin Sam to Vietnam to start a business together. They ended up starting a web design and consulting business which opened the door to new opportunities. The places you’ve been and the things that have influenced you when you were young shape who you become as an entrepreneur.

Michael dove right into consulting by applying what he learned and knew directly to the business world.

Michael is not a big fan of education in some ways. You can always go back to school, but school is no substitute for getting things done.

  • Clarity On Your Goals

Michael knew what he wanted and pursued it. If you know what you want, how committed are you to getting it? With the right mindset, you can achieve whatever you want.

Getting clear is the foundation for achieving growth in your business. People think that they need to add more in order to grow, but in Michael’s experience, the best way to grow is to subtract. Do less, not more. The most successful businesses have a very narrow and focused set of offerings.

What are you doing now that is having the greatest impact? Not all activities have the same value to your business.

  • What’s stopping us?

A lack of knowledge is not holding you back, it’s your mindset. If you have a goal and know what you need to do to get there, why are you not doing those things?

People have fears that hold them back, get out into the marketplace and refine your offering.

You have to work on the right activities for the stage of the business you are in. What do you feel will have the greatest impact on your business right now?

Reference: The Elite Consulting Mind, Michael Zipursky

  • Michael’s Takeaway

Give some thought to your ideal client, who you think you can help the most and have had the greatest track record with. Look for a hungry market and start building a relationship right away with them wherever they are.

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