Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Katherine Lazaruk, CEO of Lazaruk Consulting Inc., located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Lazaruk Consulting is a boutique professional presence and executive coaching firm that specializes in helping professionals who aspire to executive roles to uncover their authentic and unique leadership style and matching that style to how they walk the walk, talk the talk and look the part of a credible, capable and confident leader. We typically work with small to medium-sized companies, developing strong connections with leadership teams and helping them develop their talent to create strong internal successors. To do this, we work individually with leaders who are Director level and above, coach executive teams, and offer small cohort programs for Managers and Senior Managers. We contribute to reductions in churn and increases in retention and dramatically improve the performance of clients across the board.
Tell us about yourself
My journey began the moment I realized that teaching in the public school system and singing in the opera were both 'narrow focus' professions with suffocating edges. A lung tumor was a massive wake-up call, and I began to search in earnest for a career that would let me use all of my skills all of the time and allow me the freedom to develop my range of work. I started in Image Consulting, opening my practice full-time in the early 2000s, mid-recession, earning my second-level international designation (Certified Image Professional) shortly after. As my clients moved further up the ranks in their companies, they began to ask me to come and work with their companies and teams and finally asked me to shift my company's name and focus so that they didn't have to keep explaining to their CFOs that I wasn't really an image consultant and that the value I provided was well worth the investment. I expanded my practice to include executive coaching and received my Professional Certified Coach designation shortly after that. In 2018 I rebranded from ICU Image Consulting Inc. to Lazaruk Consulting Inc., and now I'm limited only to what I can imagine is possible for my transformational programs.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Surviving and thriving in a profession where most consultants are in the industry for less than five years and earn less than $25,000 per year.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The best thing about being a business owner is that it's all up to you, and the worst thing about being a business owner is that it's all up to you. I've really had to increase my risk tolerance, particularly for financial investments in growth, and develop a deep faith in the value of my work.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Watch your numbers like a hawk, but don't let them keep you up at night.
- You can do everything you want; you just can't do everything right now. Have faith. It will all get done, eventually.
- If it's not fun if it's not exciting if you don't love it, fix it. You can do hard things. Change it.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://lzrkconsulting.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinelazaruk/
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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