Some of the terminology that others are using to summarize the information [in the CARES act] may not match up perfectly with the nuances of our industry.

That said, there are a million summaries of this on the internet, most of which are written by people far more knowledgeable than me - so I’m not going to try to summarize it all.

Instead, I am going to share a few points that other IEC colleagues or I did not find to be obvious from the summaries. I hope this helps you! Our industry is so small that it’s difficult to find specialized information relating to our unique situations.

I had not even thought of using Asana externally until the 2019-2020 admissions cycle. We have always used an old fashioned status chart in google drive to track everything - and have actually had a lot of success with that approach - so I didn’t feel like I needed a new solution.

Then, one of our late start seniors applied to about a zillion schools and had about a zillion art portfolios to go along with the applications. It occurred to me that we needed something more sophisticated.. and she served as our test case! I then made a number of changes with transfer applicants, and made even more changes just recently after COVID-19, when all of our operations turned remote. I plan to introduce it to Class of 2021 students later this spring.

My approach forces students to get their head in the game and start EARLY! Procrastination is not an option. This means that parents and students aren’t fighting at home (about college stuff, anyway!), because everyone is on the same page and working on the same team! 

Spreading out the work in a seasonal manner also keeps my staff busy (and paid!) all year long, which lets our practice take on more clients - we have a steady flow of work without the peaks and valleys that prevent other practices from scaling. Maximizing our time in this way essentially doubles the clientele that we are able to serve in a given graduating class.

I picked up the BEST tip from one of my favorite podcasts.

It involved inserting some kind of very detailed hidden instruction within the job listing just to see the candidate is paying attention and has an eye for detail. Brilliant, right?

In retrospect, this was fantastic because anyone who wouldn’t catch this wouldn’t be a good fit, and I was able to weed ALL of those people out! I probably saved twenty hours of my time by putting this instruction in the posting. Maybe more.

Yay! You’ve figured out exactly what you need and you’re ready to start searching.

After ten years in business, I have spent at least one year in each of the following: a coworking space, a sole practitioner space, a shared space in a therapy office, and my own suite.

I’m currently in the process of looking for space again, myself, as we need to move to an even larger suite!

Here are some tips I picked up along the way…

So you suspect that you may have outgrown your coworking space, but the next steps aren’t as clear.

Perhaps you’re ready to scale, or you’re tired of noisy neighbors, or maybe you just want a more professional look that comes with your OWN space.

You might even be feeling confident when it comes to a larger investment because you know exactly what you can afford to spend, thanks to Profit First. On the other hand, a larger investment comes with greater risk, and you might be experiencing analysis paralysis about how to proceed.

Well, it’s not an easy decision, but you’re in the right place! Let’s consider your options.

My first office was located in a building in DC that rented out individual offices on an hourly basis, way before coworking was cool.

I am secretly jealous of all the new coworking options available today: unlimited snacks, fun music playing, lots of people around - if I were operating a smaller practice I’d be heading over to WeWork faster than you can say “collapse”!

Just kidding, but I really would seriously consider a coworking option. That said, it’s not a no-brainer, either.

How do you know if you can afford an employee? How do you know if you can afford an office? Wondering where your profit went - or concerned about a big tax bill at the end of the year?

The “Profit First” method will provide clarity for each one of these questions and many more. The security of knowing EXACTLY WHERE YOU STAND financially is priceless!

Crazy right? Even crazier: this doesn’t even represent all of my revenue. I do well on a monthly basis, but not this well!

While I’m obsessed with this tool (for obvious reasons), I don’t necessarily think it’s right for everyone. Read more about what it is, why I like it, and who should use it.

My single best tip: it’s okay to prioritize your work obligations over your parental obligations sometimes. They will live. I promise.

I know that sounds harsh - I really do. But stick with me for a minute. What would happen if you were paying an expensive [attorney, accountant, doctor, dentist.. you name it] and she constantly canceled because of kid stuff?

You’re providing a very expensive service to people that count on you. If you are constantly canceling because your kid called home from the school nurse with a hangnail and needs to be picked up (or is that just my kid? #wishiwaskidding #dramaqueen), they can’t count on you anymore.

Nobody wants to be stressing over college essays or application edits on Halloween or New Year’s Eve - not you, not the kids, not their parents.

If you set boundaries in this area and stick to them, you’re doing EVERYONE a favor. I promise.

And if you have trouble saying no? Check out #3: my no-fail secret weapon against holiday work.

Do not waste your time with the people who will cause 80% of your stress and lead to 20% of your revenue.

Friend, you do NOT have time for that AND YOU KNOW IT!

You have to identify these people at the outset before they become your clients. You can’t be afraid to set boundaries. You can’t be afraid to tell them you’re not a good fit for their needs. I promise: you will solve 80% of your problems by proactively choosing not to move forward with 20% of the people that want to work with you.

We all know that I love project management tools and that I particularly love Asana, but I’m just one person! I thought it might be useful to hear from one of my team members for another perspective on the tool within the context of our educational consulting practice and her work with students. Thanks for weighing in, Jennifer!

Have you ever actually sat down and thought about the image that you’re projecting to clients by giving them something with another company’s logo on top?

You might as well hold up a sign that says “These people do a better job than me!” or “I have more confidence in these people than I do in myself!” or “These people have more resources than I do!”

Why would anybody want to hire the guy handing out another company’s free guide to the Common App when they could just go straight to the source and hire that company directly?