Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ruben Lipszyc, CEO of BASE Management Consulting, located in Calgary, AB, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a management consulting firm providing a variety of services designed to make our client's processes better, cheaper, and faster. Our customers range from very large corporations which engage us for help in complex transformation projects to small businesses that just need an outsider to take a look at a specific pain point in their business. Our company has worked with clients all the way from nearly full-time for multi-year projects to doing 20 hours of consulting over a six-month period.
Tell us about yourself
I am lazy! As such, I am always looking for ways to do things better and reduce unnecessary tasks in my personal life. This spilled over to my professional career, where I was always making internal suggestions for how tasks could be automated and always questioning if certain routines were necessary. Eventually, I realized I could do this full-time and started a consulting company to be able to help a variety of businesses across different industries instead of just my employer.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The positive reputation that my company and I have. For example, I once posted on social media that we were wrapping up a project and were ready to start looking for the next one. Within a day, three different clients for which I had previously provided services contacted me, asking when we'd be available as they'd love to have me back again.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Making the separation between being a business owner and an employee. It's a completely different mindset, and you have to be vigilant of the difference. As an owner, you are responsible for your career, your training and development, how many hours you want to work, how much vacation you want to take, etc. If you leave it up to your clients, you will end up working 365 days a year. You have to learn to say "no," even if you think you may lose opportunities because of it.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
It's not enough to have the skills to do whatever your business provides (e.g., being a good chef won't help you run a restaurant, being a good mechanic won't help you to run an auto service shop, etc.) You also need to:
- Know how to run a business - administrative tasks, financial planning, marketing, etc.
- Be constantly networking to increase word-of-mouth referrals.
- Continuously improve your skills - being the best in your industry and staying stagnant is a good way to become irrelevant very quickly.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://basemanagementconsulting.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BASEManagement
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rubenlip/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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