Hi! I'm Laura Dallas Burford
I’m a consultant, trusted advisor, and educator.
My focus is on helping independent business and management consultants connect with the right clients and build profitable, scalable businesses so that they can live life on their terms. I’m known for the creation of the Consultant’s Blueprint©, a seven step consulting framework for building a sustainable business, as well as my signature online program, Consulting Mastery: A Path to a Sustainable Business©.
As a consultant and advisor, I help consultants leverage their expertise and experience by focusing on what they want to be known for and creating the connections that lead to clients. My approach follows a “less is more” philosophy, keeping things simple and implementing realistic, repeatable processes so that you, the consultant, don't become overwhelmed, frustrated, and feel you need to give up. My aim is to help you succeed and achieve the results you want to achieve so that you can live the life you want to live.
As an author, YouTube video creator, and storytelling speaker, my focus is on educating consultants on what it takes to succeed and be seen as the “go to” consultant. My book, Project Management for Flat Organizations, published by J. Ross Publishing, received a 2013 Small Business Book of the Year award. Yes, I’m a certified project management professional.
Ok, enough of the standard “Who Am I?”
My Story
I began my own management consulting business, LAD Enterprizes, Inc, in 2002 after 9/11 forced the closing of a start-up international consulting operation. Over the years my consulting business has changed from Information Technology Management Consulting to Project Management and Project Management Office (PMO) advising to where it is today, a business that leverages my thirty plus years of consulting experience by helping consultants and business leaders establish and improve their own consulting businesses.
But I didn’t start out as a consultant.
I say I was lucky when I graduated from college. It was during an economic downturn and jobs, of any kind, were hard to come by so I was elated to be offered a management training position with a company that today is a shadow of itself, Sears, Roebuck, and Company. However, I didn’t last long, not because of them, but because of me. I was simply bored. After two years I moved on to General Electric, Inc. (GE) and their Financial Management Program (FMP).
The two programs were very different with one program being very tactical and the other program focused on the importance of understanding strategy. These two programs provided three valuable life lessons which have influenced my career actions and thought processes on management, leadership, and even how I help consultants.
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The three valuable life lessons?
Understand the strategy (the why) behind a tactic (the how) so that you can adapt the tactic to fit the situation and the people. As I design the Consulting Mastery program, every strategy and tactic discussed is linked together. By understanding the "why" a consultant is position to modified the "how" so that they understand the impact and how it fits them and their business.
No one culture is the same and no one culture is better than another culture. What is important is ensuring an organization’s culture is the right culture for you enabling you to be authentic and remain true to you. When it comes to consultants that means working with clients you want to work with and who want to work with you.
Listen to a person’s words and observe their actions. Then break down the silos and intertwine people, processes, and technology for the good of others. This requires being innovative and creative with your ideas so that you can create realistic and relevant solutions.
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I left GE for Coopers & Lybrand as I watched engineers being laid off and after turning down a relocation move. Over the next several years I moved between consulting and the corporate world. In 1998, I was recruited from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by the CEO of a Fortune 100 company for a start-up international consulting operation. All was going well until 9/11, a terrible day which resulted in the closing of the consulting start-up and me turning down an offer to relocate.
After speaking with several people, I realized my heart wasn’t into working for another company.
I decided to live my college dream and start my own business, a business focused supporting smaller businesses and nonprofits. I had solid experience and spent 10 years with PwC. I had led large multi-million-dollar business and technology related initiatives, established new businesses and consulting organizations, and worked with or consulted to multiple Fortune 50 companies.
How hard could it be to start my own business? Boy, was I surprised by the number of wrong moves I made.
What I discovered is that all though I had experience and expertise and quite a bit of consulting and sales training, it was easy to make mistakes. I struggled to find someone who could help me because many of the advisors with whom I spoke had no consulting experience and some of their suggestions lead to mistakes that could have been avoided.
Why I Do What I Do
I do what I do because I know how easy it is to make mistakes when building a business and I don’t want to see others make similar mistakes, mistakes that can be avoided.
I know what it is like to be laid off and faced with what is the right next move. I know what it is like to start an IT management consulting business, be innovative and create a software product, Computer Census, which received great reviews, but didn’t sell enough. I realized not everything works out but I wish it had.
I know what it is like to go through an economic down turn that results in clients pulling back on services because the money simply isn’t there. I know how personal injuries and family illnesses can impact that same business. I know what it means to face reality and shift my business’ focus, ideal client, and services.
My journey and setbacks resulted in life lesson number four…
the importance of patience. Life happens! Life throws you curve balls. This means going with the flow, being kind to yourself, and picking yourself up and moving on but also remembering other people are thrown curve balls as well. Be patient and kind to them as well as to you.
What I Do
I help entrepreneurial women and men, professionals with experience and expertise or what I refer to as their magic, create and scale their own successful consulting businesses and live life on their terms.
I do what I do because I’m tired of seeing business professionals with top notch experience and expertise who want to become their own boss, struggle, become frustrated, and give up when all they need is
- a strategic consultative framework that is built on a “less is more” philosophy, the Consultant’s Blueprint,
- a tactical program to help them implement the framework, the Consulting Mastery program,
- and someone to guide, assist, and support them so that they are not going it alone.
If I can help a few people succeed, I’ve made a positive impact.
Getting Back to My Four Valuable Life Lessons.
They are never to be forgotten. Aspects of each can be seen in every article I write, video I create, speech I give, educational program I design, and client with whom I work.
For additional profile information, check out my LinkedIn profile.
Contact Me
If you are interested in speaking to me about your consulting business, email me at [email protected] or better yet, schedule a 30 minute conversation.