behind and have built an equity that
is no longer personal, but an equity
that belongs to a savvy and senior
team of 89. Every one of my Senior
Consultants is a partner in the
business and the current equity of
Harish Bijoor Consults Inc., is a
shared equity of each of these
consulting gems. The name of the
company is only incidental today. It
alludes to me, but that’s all it does.
Zero-consulting practice is a USP I
put together for the business when
this was a business of one person.
Just I, me and myself. I had been in
corporate environments all my life,
and have always been a client. As a
client, I have had salivating business
consultants queuing up at my offices,
all wanting a piece of the business we
used to offer—beer-lunches, extrafriendly
folk at the evening parties
and networking angels who
introduced one to another was the
norm. I could never imaginemyself to
be one of this tribe. I therefore
decided that I would be in the
business of business strategy and
brand consulting, but would not ask
anyone for business. Business had to
come to me—by word of mouth—by
a process of satisfaction that one
client exuded and cascaded down
voluntarily, without being asked by
me, to other prospective clients.
This meant a strict discipline. This
meant sacrifices. This meant losing
big accounts just because I was
attempting to be different. This also
meant that I would not ever employ a
single business development
Manager. I still don’t. This meant no
brochures, no web-site (I now have a
3-page window presence on the web,
which is more personal about me
than my work), no acceptance to
attend a client pitch call. This meant
that my company would do no
speculative work. Every bit of work
needed to be paid for from start.
This meant very different things. If a
client wanted to meet any of us, just
to check out our credentials, he had to
pay for our flights and we would offer
two hours of our time. This was
billed on an hourly basis as well. No
free lunches at all. Not for anybody.
This meant we would not talk
business to anyone when we met at
parties. We would just stay personal
and enjoy ourselves. A card could be
exchanged, but that’s it. Therefore
nobody has ever heard me talk
business at a cocktail party ever.
This also meant a slow growth of
business. In the first two years, we
grew from a one-man business to
three people with a total of five
clients. The third year had us ramp
up to nine clients. And then, just as I
was wondering if my USP was right,
things started happening. We grew
exponentially. Today we touch a total
of 97 clients with diverse sets of work
involvements. In total we have done
work thus far for a total of 139 clients.
132 very satisfied clients who refer us
on and on. And seven unhappy
ones. Business life is a mix of both.
And failure is a part of self-growth.
Makes one all the more down to earth
and humble.
My vision for the company: Distance
itself fromthe personal equity that the
name itself packs in it. Add on a
manageable set of clients in terms of
numbers and not get into the greed of
taking more and more. Never
outsource any work. Nurture and
maintain the three USPs of my
business. Zero-solicit. Build-operatetransfer.
Unique Thought leadership.
Do really unique work that adds
value that is distinct to the client
company. And that’s a lot to do.
