Business Philosophy
Love God, love what you do, be the best at it, work hard, always be prepared, never do anything for the money, and you won’t have to chase business opportunities.
Business opportunities will find you.
My Mission
To empower people both clients and entrepreneurs, who want problem solving solutions that create value, with the knowledge and skills they need.
My First Business Lesson
I grew up in a very blue-collar household in Texas. My dad was an oil field rough neck most of my early life, but one day when I was in middle school he was laid off his job.
My dad, a laborer had a Plan B, and would turn his Plan B into a fleet of tire service trucks and eventually into a multi-million dollar tire sales and service business. My dad told me when you are your own boss, you’re free—and no one can put a cap on what you make.
At that moment, I learned one of my first life lessons from observing my dad (which was stamped into my brain forever afterwards), which was to always have a Plan B doing something you love, so you can be your own boss.
In hindsight, I think management consulting was just catering to the entrepreneurial person inside me. It allowed me to become a Vice President at the software company Oracle running a $120 million dollar consulting business, but I was still working for someone else, and I couldn’t help thinking of what my dad always said.
A funny thing occurred to me towards the end of my corporate consulting career. Over time, I came to realize I had a passion for things I was doing naturally like problem solving, selling, and coaching the people around me.
Putting Together My Career Puzzle
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. A person can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.
I didn’t see it when I was young, but it turned out that my stumbling into a career in information technology by taking an elective class at the suggestion of a good friend was the first of many dots that would lead me to my passions technology, problem solving and solution selling.
Getting Started. Even after getting my B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas I still ended up getting my first job as a software developer. I suspect I had an affinity towards technology that seemed to be directing my career during the early years.
Self-Teaching Myself. Interesting that I probably learned more from every book I purchased, manual I read, seminar attended than four years of college. Little did I know my self-education activity was a preview of the world we live in now where constantly feeding your brain is MANDATORY. In the technology industry its necessary to stay current and to recognize trends.
A Few Good Mentors. I’ve had three good mentors in my career. One taught me the Art of Doing the Deal and Solution Selling, the second taught me the Art of Problem Solving in a manner that made it easy to see technology solutions and their value My third mentor taught me the Art of Presentation and Communication.
Solving the Puzzle. I quickly learned that in consulting I was a fish in water. I was a chameleon who could walk into a room with a blank sheet of paper implement a problem-solving process, teach it, solve problems with technology, determine value and sell the resulting deal. In over 20 years of management consulting ranging from a senior consultant to a vice president at Oracle I had solved the puzzle of who I was. If you’ve seen the movie “Heartbreak Ridge with Clint Eastwood” you will remember his famous line “A marine has to adapt, improvise and overcome.” That motto literally describes who I’ve been personal and professional all my life.
Building a Start Up
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”
It made an impression on me, and since then, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “NO” for too many days in a row, I knew I needed to change something.
So in 2007 I in an effort to do something different I left the software company Oracle and along with a partner built a $19 million dollar a year internet based technology consulting business. Building a consulting startup was the final piece of my career puzzle.
Over the years, I’ve developed a reputation for delivering knowledge and value by using what I've actually done.
“Step by step”…
Actually going into the nitty gritty details that give you the confidence to build amazing, value added solutions in your business without the overwhelming knowledge gaps that sometimes result in analysis paralysis.
I’m able to do this, because I teach what I know.
I teach what I’ve personally done to build solutions to overwhelming corporate problems with technology that creates measurable value or to business owners looking for real experience building a freelance consulting business.
If you like what you’re reading and want to get started with me, listen to one of my podcast, read an article, try a whitepaper or contact me. Today, everything I do is about helping corporate business leaders and small business owners like you get results, not analysis paralysis, from your efforts to solve business challenges and create value in your business.
Thank you for stopping by. YOU are my business. And my business is to help YOUR business.
Here’s to empowering you, whether a technology user needing help or a freelance consultant, with the knowledge you need to solve problems and create value in your business.
Tony V Ford