Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Kahn, the founder of Elizabeth Kahn Consulting.
Elizabeth, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always wanted to start my own business. When I was little, I used to play pretend store where I would set up all of my toys in the living room on the couch and put price tags on them. I would then use toy blocks (they were life-sized, designed to look like bricks, and made of cardboard) to partition off an area to be where the cash register was (I used monopoly money mixed in with some real money from my piggy bank). My parents would go around and do some “shopping.” I always loved it when Grandma would come to visit because she would use real money and I would be able to keep (grandparents are truly the best). As I grew a bit older, I began to do yard sales at the end of my driveway for the neighbor kids. I used to sell “air fresheners” (I would use a Dixie cup from the bathroom and then stuff a tissue in there. I would then douse it in mouthwash and then wait a minute for it to dry. Then I would take it out of the cup and it would keep the shape of the cup and PRESTO, an amazing room air freshener). This was my “hot item” at all of my garage sales and the kids loved buying them for themselves and family members. I actually made some good money off of that venture. I have always had a business mindset and I have enjoyed it ever since I was a kid.
As the years went on, I obtained a Bachelor’s degree and two Masters degrees. From my academic pursuits to work experiences, I realized where my true passions were. I absolutely love to help and support people. I have always been that friend that will listen for hours on end about a problem and try to help fix it. I also have always loved to provide encouragement and support to people, regardless of who they are. It’s in my blood, it’s who I am as a person. My mom always told me, if I keep anything in my life, I should keep my big heart, and I’ve done just that. That is what led me to create my consulting agency this year.
I started planning to create my consulting business in the beginning of February before The Pandemic hit. I was getting everything squared away and then, boom, everything shutdown. I figured, if I don’t continue to move forward with launching my business now, I probably never will. I am so happy with my decision. I originally created a distinctive service when I first created my business, but when the shutdown happened, I had to reevaluate and revise it a bit. I ended up expanding my services and it turned out to be a great move that allowed me to gain traction right away. I launched my business a few months ago and right away, I started to gain clients and buildup it up. I am so excited to see where all of this continues to take me! I am also so appreciative for all of the support and love I have gotten with this venture so far, it feels amazing. Life is truly what you make it. I decided to take this year to grow, learn, and create. I’m so energized to be an entrepreneur and to move forward with something I have always dreamed of—making it a reality.
Has it been a smooth road?
Starting a business is never an easy feat. It is an exciting and challenging endeavor. It has been anything but a smooth road for me. The biggest and most obvious obstacle I have faced creating my consulting agency has been the global pandemic and the economic shutdown. I began planning to soft launch my consulting business the beginning of 2020. As the year progressed, it appeared that the world was in complete discord and chaos with a lot of unknowns. It was a very stressful time for everyone, including me. I was intimidated to create my business with everything going on around me. But I decided to persevere, keep my faith strong, and move forward regardless. I’m grateful that I was able to move from my soft-launched phase to being fully launched very quickly. I got several clients right away and that really helped to build up my confidence with growing Elizabeth Kahn Consulting. Because of the pandemic and the economic shutdown, I’ve had to adapt, adjust, and change a lot to my business many times because of the current state of the world. From services that I offer, to how I offer them, to everything in between, it has shifted and changed every step of the way so far. At first, I found it very frustrating. But I now realize that it truly helped my business to become what it is today. It has set me up for success moving forward with growing my consulting business.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My consulting business focuses on business and organizational management. I offer personalized guidance and support to businesses and non-profit/non-governmental organizations. I tailor my services to what each individual client needs help with. That is the fun part about my consulting agency, I’m always meeting new people and working on something new. Whether it’s branding (marketing tactics consisting of logo and slogan design), social media engagement, fundraising/outreach (grant writing, portfolio building, and event planning), to website design and management. Regardless of what my client needs help with, I am there to support them. I am here to provide each of my clients with customized, effective and, strategic steps and tools to move their business or organization forward. Another service I offer is matching brands with charitable causes. This consists of helping brands create partnerships and public relations opportunities with non-profit and non-governmental organizations focused on causes that are relevant to their business mission or personal interest. For example, if there is a swimsuit company that cares about marine life, I would help them partner with an organization that is focused on ocean conservation.
From this service, my regenerative business model was created. I have always volunteered and found non-profit and non-governmental organizations paramount and a backbone in our society. They do a lot of good work in our world and are rarely commended, especially the small or newly established ones. Initially, I was creating a portfolio of various non-profits and non-governmental organizations on my website for perspective clients to peruse when looking for a cause to match them with. It wasn’t quite a partnership, a collaboration, an alliance, or an affiliate network, so that is why I created my own terminology for the organizations I connected with. That is how the Connected and Awareness Orgs. were formed. Once I connected with my first few organizations, I decided I wanted to get innovative with my consulting business. I then created my consulting community. Being a proponent to regenerative capitalism that acknowledges environmental and social issues within the economic system, I wanted to incorporate that into my business model. I began to provide complimentary promotion to the Connected and Awareness Orgs. that joined my consulting community.
This was through my social media platforms and I added them to my website portfolio. The Connected Orgs. receive complimentary promotion as well as being on my website. I then connected with a couple of organizations that didn’t want to be put in my portfolio. That is why Awareness Orgs. were created. I wanted to give back to the community by providing posts and information about these organizations. It is my way of making sure that good work and causes are being recognized in the community and the world. I am still crafting my regenerative business model with the consulting community. It is always evolving. With my business model, I hope to provide a competitive advantage, innovative thinking, and a new way to look at business in our economic landscape.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My perseverance is by far the most vital quality I encompass. It has shaped me into the successful business owner that I am today. The ability to be able to never give up and work hard regardless of the circumstances has always been my most praised and prized characteristic in my life. Growing up, I was never a straight A student. Academia was a struggle for me. I always felt like I was working really hard to get an average grade at best. But, because of my perseverance I kept plugging away and kept moving forward in life. From school to work, it has always been important to me to do everything to the best to my ability and to never back down from a challenge. As the years went on, I realized that my greatest characteristic that I have encapsulated my entire life was in fact a very important quality to have in life. My perseverance has pushed me to now be a founder of my own consulting agency.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elizabethkahn.consulting
- Phone: 6514429516
- Email: elizabethkahnconsulting@gmail.com
- Instagram: @elizabethkahnconsulting
- Facebook: @elizabethkahnconsulting
- Other: LinkedIn: Elizabeth Kahn
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