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Sylvia Borgo, owner of DJ Educational Consulting, shares her journey from classroom teacher to successful college consultant and explains how she maintains a small, intentional practice that prioritizes deep student connections. She offers practical advice about the power of organization, time management, and professional collaboration in building a sustainable consulting business.

• Named her business after her children's initials (and coincidentally it jived with her love of music)
• Transitioned from 20 years of classroom teaching, including 13 years at a college prep charter school
• Started volunteering with a community-based organization to stay connected with helping teenagers
• Completed her college consulting certificate during 2020 when she had extra time available
• Grew her business through referrals from other consultants who had reached capacity
• Believes in freely sharing information rather than hoarding knowledge
• Maintains an intentional solo practice to preserve deep connections with students
• Works with approximately 20 students per grade level to maintain quality and work-life balance
• Meets students both in-person and virtually, which differentiates her from exclusively online consultants
• Specializes in working with students from specific local high schools
• Uses time blocking, including dedicated social media time once monthly
• Offers two package options: 30 hours (for 9th-11th graders) and 20 hours (for 11th-12th graders)
• Meticulously tracks time using Toggle to manage client expectations and forecast capacity

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or share it with a friend in the college consulting industry.

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Aubrey Groves shares her journey from Chinese language teacher to joining her mother's college consulting business, Davis Groves Educational Services, and how they've built a thriving practice focused on creating work-life balance for working parents.

• Joining her mother's college consulting business after teaching Chinese for six years
• Bringing technology improvements like Google Docs to streamline their processes
• Transitioning to a fully remote business model and creating more efficient systems
• Developing a filtering system for identifying client "red flags"
• Evolving their curriculum to ensure students take ownership of their applications
• Finding the right balance in potentially using AI for appropriate tasks
• Creating a business that intentionally supports working parents
• Setting firm boundaries around personal time with two dedicated days off weekly
• Building a mother-daughter business relationship that leverages different strengths
• Focusing exclusively on seniors from August to November to maintain quality service

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or share it with a friend in the college consulting industry.

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Stephanie Mead shares her journey as an "accidental entrepreneur" who built a successful college consulting business by trusting her instincts over conventional business wisdom. Her experience demonstrates that personal authenticity can be the strongest foundation for business success.

• Started as a test prep tutor while pursuing an acting career over 30 years ago
• Discovered her natural talent for connecting with teenagers
• Transitioned organically into college consulting through client demand
• Grew a tutoring team to 15 people before scaling back to focus on what she loved
• Found that a smaller business actually generated more take-home profit
• Implemented an innovative hourly billing system instead of traditional packages
• Recently added two associates using a profit-sharing model rather than employment
• Uses a virtual assistant to handle administrative tasks, improving efficiency
• Believes strongly in being true to yourself in business decisions

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or share it with a friend in the college consulting industry.

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Lisa Hillhouse shares her journey from Air Force officer to successful independent educational consultant, highlighting how she built a thriving college consulting business with a military specialty focus. Lisa shares how she:

• Leveraged background in Air Force admissions to create a specialty in military academy and ROTC applications
• Established strong business systems from day one with help from a business consultant
• Built a support team including essay editors, former military officers, and a student success manager
• Created a sustainable marketing strategy through conference presentations and word-of-mouth referrals
• Developed relationships with high school counselors by volunteering and sharing resources
• Implemented careful time tracking and package pricing to ensure profitability
• Found community through Berkeley Extension program cohort that still meets regularly
• Learned when to say no to clients who aren't a good fit
• Uses technology strategically while maintaining personal connection with students

Resources:

Lisa's LinkedIn Profile

Lisa's Website

Breakthrough Brand Podcast

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Mark Scalaro, CEO of IECA for over 30 years, shares his unique perspective on the business of college consulting and how the industry has transformed from an avocation into a respected profession. His insights cover the evolution from a field where consultants were openly booed at conferences to today's professional landscape with recognized standards, training programs, and business practices.

• Most consultants struggle with imposter syndrome initially, especially the business aspects
• Market your unique strengths rather than trying to be a generalist competing with established professionals
• Three essential pieces of advice: differentiate yourself, under-promise and over-deliver, and "fold the toilet paper ends"
• Making your behind-the-scenes work visible to clients is crucial as this prevents the most common complaint
• Partnerships require complementary skills, shared vision, and formal written agreements to succeed
• Building positive relationships with school counselors requires empathy for their challenges
• Future growth opportunities include expanding into gap years, military options, career schools, graduate programs, and international education

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Business of College Consulting. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or share it with a friend in the college consulting industry.

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You can't miss this episode with Chris Andersson, former Director of Admissions at NYU's Tisch School and founder of Nothing But Drama. In our latest episode, Chris recounts his move from academia to entrepreneurship, sharing the highs and lows of his journey.

Chris highlights the collaborative spirit among college consultants and the ethical creation of referral networks. He shares his strategic steps in scaling his business, touching on the breakthroughs that came with hiring a social media manager and other contractors to lighten his workload and free up his time to work with more students.

Tune in for an episode filled with actionable insights, whether you're an established IEC or someone just starting to navigate the college consulting waters.

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In this episode, Stef Mauler, founder of the Mauler Institute, shares her story of her early days as a Canadian navigating U.S. college applications to becoming a Harvard MBA graduate and launching her own thriving college consulting business,

Stef discusses her strategic growth and the pivotal decision to hire writing coaches. Her business acumen shines through as she details her unique college admission strategies by leveraging business principles and helping students craft their unique selling points.

Stef opens up about her strategies for success, such as time management and setting professional boundaries. Discover how building a supportive community rather than viewing others as competition and being generous with knowledge can be powerful tools in client retention and satisfaction. This episode is jam-packed with insights to inspire and guide whether you are an emerging consultant or a seasoned pro.

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In this interview, Lisa Bleich discusses her initial steps in marketing her services, relying heavily on word of mouth and personal connections. As her business grew, she recognized the need for systematizing processes and hiring a team to handle various aspects of client work, particularly essay writing. Lisa emphasizes the importance of finding team members who complement each other and align with the company's culture. She also shares insights into employee compensation structures and strategies for managing client workloads efficiently. We wrap up the interview with Lisa sharing what's on the horizon for College Bound Mentor and her best advice or new college consultants!

Check out Lisa's book Surviving the College Application Process!