Starting over is never easy. When I moved to New Hampshire in 2004, I wanted to launch my own business in project management consulting after a decade at Hewlett-Packard in Boise, Idaho. 

With no connections and no reputation, I wondered “would anyone hire me?”

I spent those early years getting out in front of as many businesses as I could. I spoke at Chambers of Commerce, Project Management Institute chapters, American Society for Quality sections, and more. 

And someone took a chance on me. I remain grateful to the very first person who hired me, and that his word-of-mouth support helped me begin building a good reputation in our business community.

Of course, it was my responsibility to do good work and thus continue to get those referrals. 

Twenty years later, it’s still thrilling to watch managers and team members “see the light.” They come to understand that there’s a better way to do projects, a way that is straightforward and easily understandable, and that makes for better decisions and better project outcomes.

Here are some of the work highlights that I treasure from these past two decades:

✨ Working with several local precision manufacturing companies to use Agile thinking as they do quality improvement projects. They have seen faster results and greater team engagement.

🚜 Helping a non-profit in the agriculture sector implement Salesforce. They streamlined their membership processes and generated valuable insights from their new data.

🏥 Partnering with a health non-profit to transition them to an Agile way of working in their IT department. They improved stakeholder communication and rebuilt trust with key partners.

🎓 Serving as Program Director and Instructor for the Masters in Management at Marlboro College Graduate School. This gig started me on a happy side career as a graduate school Adjunct.

📚 Teaching Agile Project Management at Harvard Extension for 8 years, helping hundreds of smart students grasp the fundamentals of doing Agile projects well.

If you’re just starting on your own freelance consulting journey, here are my two most important lessons:

🎥 Be willing to be in the spotlight. Step up and be noticed. Accept any speaking gig that comes your way. If you are scared to speak in public, join Toastmasters!

💡 Be open to unusual opportunities. If I hadn’t said yes to teaching a course, I would have missed out on the fulfilling experience of teaching at the graduate level.

These experiences have been instrumental in shaping my path and I am deeply honored to have earned the trust of diverse organizations throughout this journey.