FOCUS | ORGANIZE | GROW
You started your business
to make the world a better place.
Some days that feels hard, but
You’ve Got This!
Helping Focus your Vision, Organize Your Operations, & Grow Your Organization
Greater Columbus Consulting specializes in Social Enterprises, Non-profits that want to Capitalize on their Strengths, and For-profit businesses that are working towards a Higher Purpose
FOCUS
Every small business owner’s to do list is longer than what could be accomplished today, this week, or even this month. Sometimes, choosing what to work on any given day can feel more like guessing and luck than intentional progress.
We’ll help you determine what to focus on today, to make progress toward your long term goals.
ORGANIZE
The one thing more valuable to a business than money, is time. Whether it’s something small, like your desk, or something larger, like a presentation to potential investors, organization is the key to accomplishing more with what you have.
We’ll help you free up time, to reinvest in your core business.
GROW
Long term, sustainable growth is the goal, but how can you tell if you’re on track? Measuring progress, analyzing what’s working and what’s not, and deciding whether to course correct can be daunting, and can distract from your day to day business.
We can help you use the data you already have, to tell if you’re on track to hit your goals, and to help you set new goals as you reach each milestone.
"Rachyl eased my mind about the organizational state of my small business. She approaches with ease the daily problems that drive some of us more creative types crazy. I have met very few people with her ability to size up a situation and provide perspective with seemingly minimal effort. It's because she's beaten you to it. For years. If you are tearing your hair out trying to manage your tasks, track your expenses, keep a grip on your goals - contact her. No need to shop around."
-Ruth S. on August 2, 2018
"If anyone is on top of things, it's Rachyl Kershaw. Ms. Kershaw has been working with our not-for-profit organization for approximately 6 months, and has made a huge impact in keeping us and our finances organized, in addition to her work in assisting with our business planning and grant writing. I honestly don't know how we'd have made it through our recent efforts without her."
-Amee BW. on Oct 23, 2017
"Rachyl is an analytic thinker and a strategic leader. She has been key in providing advice for starting new businesses as well as performing due diligence for the acquisition of existing businesses. I would trust her as a partner for any business endeavor."
-Warner M. on May 1, 2017
"Rachyl's knowledge and consulting have been a valuable asset to this venture. I would not be as confident to my future success without her help. I would highly recommend Rachyl for any consulting needs you may have."
-Jen K. on Jan 31, 2017
"I met at a Meetup networking event and she agreed to meet with me on her own time to discuss some future steps. She has been very helpful in directing my attention to the important things about my business."
"She is driven to make sure I succeed as I'm sure she is with all her clients. She takes initiatives and moves on projects without prompting. She is a great consultant to work with."
-Chef Kuukua on Oct 16, 2017
Non-profits, B-Corps and other benefit businesses please inquire directly about discounts and pro-bono availability.
Apply Today!
Not sure if you would benefit from some help? Use my confidence checklist to get some perspective on how running your business feels today.
5 Mistakes Even the Best Businesses Make
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Free Legal Resources
Dublin Entrepreneurial Center offers free Professional Small Business Advice (including legal advice) every Thursday, as well as ad hoc events on specific topics.
The Ohio State Bar Association offers a “Legal Basics for Small Business” handbook, here: https://www.ohiobar.org/ForPublic/Pages/StaticPage-86.aspx
Of course, if your legal concerns have nothing to do with starting a business, the list of available resources is much longer. Here are several good resource lists that are far broader than business concerns, some resources they post to are free, some depend upon income to qualify for free or sliding scale fees:
https://www.columbuslegalaid.org/ (see also http://www.ohiolegalaid.org/pro-bono/ for state-wide listings)
http://www.wright-llc.com/Free-Legal-Services.shtml
http://cap4kids.org/columbus/legal-services/general-legal-help/
Photo Resources
If you’re a photographer, you probably want to use your own images & know all about model release forms, etc. But if not, how do you get great photos it’s ok to use on your website, without spending a ton of money?
There are a ton of online resources, and a lot of them have used the word FREE so that they’ll come up in your search, but the actual terms are actually often a bit more complex.
For this website, I used Pixabay. I found a photo I liked quickly, and it didn’t require me to signup or pay – it simply let me download, in the size I chose.
All the images on Pixabay are released under Creative Commons CC0. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
They offer even more information about what that means, here: https://pixabay.com/en/blog/posts/public-domain-images-what-is-allowed-and-what-is-4/
Side note: The Pixabay explanation of “what that means” is great reading if you are an amateur photographer not familiar with model releases, etc. & want to use your own photos.
Additional Photo Resource Websites
Here’s a very brief partial list of some of the other sites I’ve looked at. There are many, many more out there.
It appears each image is licensed differently, so you’ll need to check if its ok to use commercially (they have nice simple interface to make that easy), and some require attribution, but it did let me download an image in one of 2 sizes with no signup & 100% free
I found their license confusing. I think it means that the photos are meant to be altered before you use them, or else require attribution. it did let me download an image (no size options) with no signup & 100% free, after I agreed to their Terms. If you ARE a photographer, this one has some neat aspects, like #Quest, a daily photo challenge. http://morguefile.com/quest/1
This site says “Stock Photos & Video Footage for as low as $0.20USD/download or free” what does that mean? Why is it worded that way? All the photos I looked at were listed as “Royalty Free License”, when I hit download, it wanted me to signup, so I moved on.
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
The free version of the photo I looked at was small size & required attribution, “no attribution required” started at $3 for small (400 x 266px) and went up to $10 for Hi Res (5600 x 3721px) and $75 for “Extended License” Hi Res. An explanation of the “Extended License” can be found here: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/terms-popup.php
The first few images I looked at were all CC0 license & downloaded with no registration or fee. A little strange thing to me is that each picture lists a different photo website as the source (they don’t all list the same one). Also, the downloads have no sizes, and just open in the browser as a .jpg.
This site has much more than just photos (icons, vectors, etc.) but their are “plans” you need to join & choose from, as well as 2 different licenses. Read more here: http://www.shutterstock.com/subscribe
The first few images that caught my eye were all listed as “Premium Collection” $499.99. Again, there are multiple plans: https://stock.adobe.com/plans and some specifics to their licensing: https://stock.adobe.com/license-terms
This site has a credits system, so pictures are priced in credits (many I looked at were 3 credits, for example, and had an option to add an “extended license”) If you only want 1 photo, the minimum plan was $33 for 3 credits, but if you needed multiple images and would have more needs every month, there was a $99/year subscription with 10 images/month, so the pricing varies wildly. Read more here: http://www.istockphoto.com/plans-and-pricing
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Disclosure & Disclaimer
I am not a lawyer, accountant, or tax expert. All posts on this site are just my experiences and opinions from doing business, and setting up businesses.