Resilient Careers and Organizations - I/O Advisory Services

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in professional development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Helen Ofosu, founder of I/O Advisory Services Inc., located in Ottawa, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I offer career coaching, executive coaching, and HR consulting using my PhD in Work and Business Psychology and loads of professional experience. My clients are people who have done the right things - they have solid educations and work experience - but they aspire for more. They are often busy and could use some help getting to the next level. My HR clients seek me out to help them hire senior leaders and deliver customized training.

Tell us about yourself

I have always been interested in business, and that drove me to pursue my MA and PhD in Work and Business Psychology (aka Industrial and Organizational Psychology). I started my business in 2012 after already acquiring 15+ years of relevant work experience. As an employee, I noticed that there were few HR consultants, career coaches, or executive coaches who had the breadth or depth of experience that I had in all three domains.

I love that my versatility really helps my clients. My lived experience as a racialized person means that I have nuanced insights to offer to my racialized clients. I have always been motivated to create the kind of services that I wish I could have found when I was an employee looking for coaching or a consultant.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

When starting out, I understood the odds were against me since so many businesses fail during the first 2 - 5 years. As I approach my 10-year business anniversary, I am proud to have created something sustainable. I am also thrilled to have a book (How to be Resilient in Your Career: Facing Up to Barriers at Work) coming out in early 2023. It will be published by Routledge.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

In the early days, I found it difficult to do ongoing business development so that I could consistently generate enough revenue. I was great at delivering solid services, but the business aspects were challenging at first.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Focus on your strengths - provide high-quality products or services within your area of competence and skill.
  2. Give yourself a long runway - if possible, create a side-hustle that grows over time while you're still generating money from employment, and scale your part-time enterprise up
  3. Invest in developing a strong network in the early days, ideally before you are in business on a full-time basis.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://ioadvisory.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IOAdvisoryServices/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drheleno_ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drheleno_ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenofosu/

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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