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Re: Early morning epiphanies

Owen Gordon Today at 8:30 AM
To:Jerry King
First of all, thanks for the pick-me-upper by sharing that particular vocational anecdote from the Agenda first thing in the a.m.:-)

I know that you're getting more reflective, pondering one's own mortality, etc. as your big milestone approaches. But what you're saying below as your strategy to combat less than rosy prospects is nothing we haven't already discussed. And as I continue to believe, it (website, etc.) becomes more acute for you seeing as – by your own admission – what you do, where you excel, etc. and concisely being able to tell everyone/anyone in a sentence that'd fit on a T-shirt seems to be more amorphous/nebulous than most.

The reason that this (the messaging) is so important is that it might/will actually inadvertently, unwittingly lead you to your expertise/specialty that ends up being your "pay day" and eventually pave the way to your retirement. In other words, this first level stage of branding (which should have happened by now) might simply be the building block that leads you to where the true "jackpot" is.

e.g.'s

"Once word got out and everybody understood that I was a solid data set number cruncher ala "Nate Silver", I got a call from/I approached one Ag grower/producer w. a problem and I provided a particular solution and the next thing you know, word spread and I was perceived as the Ag "go to" guy w. many of them agreeing to keep me on retainer because of the ongoing value they perceived. I then morphed it into some kind of subscription-based SaaS platform that expanded my market exponentially."

"Once I realized that I had a true knack for writing go-to-market Marketing plans for nascent technology companies and conveyed that to the world and had a couple of early wins/successes that I could point to as named case studies with the client's permission, Rob Antionadas, John Albright and ABC VC firm all quietly put me on speed dial as their "go to" guy and I now I've always got more than enough work in the hopper to keep me busy, keep the lights on, pay the bills and sock away some extra scratch for a long overdue vacation, retirement, etc."

"Once I was able to prove my bona fides [in possessing all of the necessary building blocks of knowledge for launching a successful online merchant business], I hung out my flag proclaiming this to the world. Next thing you know, I started getting an increasing number of leads from people trying to sell into/procure from [China, Brazil, India, etc.]. Before you know it, after doing the heavier gumshoe legwork for the first and 2nd assignment, I had a whole network of people/experts (duty/customs people, a transfer pricing tax person, a lawyer to do incorporations, people stationed at the Cdn and Ontario consulates in those locales, etc.) that I could call on because I fed them business. I am now in a position to hand clients an "online export/import business-in-a-box" turnkey solution that I can charge handsomely for because – while they might have initial sticker shock – what would take them six months of phone calls and dead ends, I can get them up and running in 30 days based on the network of connections I've made. In fact, the process is so cookie cutter for me now that I have automated it internally, paying an assistant a couple of days/week or days/month to handle the more administrative minutiae and charge $XX,XXX per assignment for essentially being "ring master". At this point, it's almost pure margin for me and I barely have to lift a finger. In fact, I'm spending most of my time speaking at Strategy Institute/Insight conferences as an "expert" on the panels trying to generate more business and land ever larger, more complex clients who won't flinch an eye at paying even more."

I realize that you keep balking – no make that kicking and screaming – against specialty(s) but you're not going to sufficiently differentiate yourself from other consultants and start demanding premium rates (options, success-based balloon bonuses, board seats,etc.) until all of the intellectually lazy people (including yours truly) who are in your constellation who can inadvertently make you successful, all start having a Pavlovian, knee-jerk, "word-association exercise on the psychologist's couch" response of "Why shit, that is right in Jerry King's wheelhouse!" whenever they have or hear of the problem of X, come across it in conversation, see something in the media, etc.

The sooner you can pivot away from:

"Mr/s. Entrepreneur, I'm an MBA "strategy" consultant. Tell me what your problem is, then hire me where I will spend the initial segment getting up the learning curve of your industry by spending the first phase researching in the library, Proquest, etc. effectively giving myself a crash course, then provide you with a well written McKinsey-esque report with recommendations that – while specific – don't necessarily include the actual tactical implementation steps that only a seasoned industry veteran would be able to provide, that you – being as shorthanded as you are already – truly need."

to:

"Mr/s. Entrepreneur, I know [X] cold, (unspoken: or at least much better than you do having spent time immersed in it). I started by doing [something demonstrating requisite skill sets] and over time started to hone in on [X] as it grew in importance as part of the economy/more people started to make inquiries, etc. I'm now in a position to literally hold your hand, walk you through this process and in so doing [demonstrably save you a shit load of time and money/accelerate your business plan by six months, generate sales leads you never would have dreamed of] that easily provides a payback/ROI on what I'm charging you. It's $X per month, with a minimum of Y months or $Y, with $Z paid upfront to commence the assignment. No negotiating."

the better.

This "small S" specialization might very well be inevitable to survive and avoid commoditization. You want to get in front of it, own it and shape your own destiny vs. being forced to do this as a defensive measure down the road.

O

From: Jerry King <jerry-king@rogers.com>
Reply-To: Jerry King <jerry-king@rogers.com>
Date: Thursday, 18 September, 2014 5:55 AM
To: Owen Gordon <o.gordon@rogers.com>
Subject: Early morning epiphanies

Watching the rebroadcast of Agenda's Wednesday evening program (http://theagenda.tvo.org/blog/agenda-blogs/reader-stories-paint-complicated-portrait-retirement) while in the gym, I am struck by how many busy 65 year old seniors are so unprepared for retirement that they actually become clinically depressed--literally.

The show opened with a 67 year old CA who was let go by his firm at age 58 and now drives a car, etc.

I have come to the realization that this present state of itinerant consulting could very well be it. Seriously. The faster I get a website up, the better for me because that website might very well be my only marketing vehicle from now til age 75 or until the day I die.

Kind Regards,

Jerry King
Principal, J.C. King & Associates
M: 416.876.0117
E: jerry-king@rogers.com