Why a consulting firm? Why now?

I’ve been working, mostly in small businesses, since quite a while ago – my professional career is old enough to legally drink or responsibly have kids. When I was taking a break from college, I started working with my parents at what was then called Ross Yockey Communication. I did everything from networking the computers to transcribing endless hours of footage for corporate training videos to planning client events.

I loved what I was doing, and I loved working with my family, but I hated where I was doing it. I had the opportunity to work with a lot of C-level executives at what was then NationsBank while researching The Man with America’s Money, and I thought I could use those connections to make a break for the West Coast. I got a plane ticket and a job interview, and started a career in Seattle working for Bank of America while the glue was still wet on the replaced SeaFirst signs.

I now had a totally different problem. I loved where I lived and I loved what I was doing, but I hated my job and who I was working for (the bank itself, not my coworkers). I spent years trying to figure out how to make a good living and not sell my soul, and I got that opportunity after my family followed me out to the West Coast, and my father asked me to come back to work with him. I was super happy doing the work of running the business; less so the business of writing books.

As the publishing business began to change so drastically with print-on-demand and the explosion of self-publishing options, I decided that it was the right time to shut down the book writing and publishing business, and I began looking for the next step in my career trail.

In 2012, I accepted a job at Moss Adams, as an editor in their IT Consulting division. When I looked around, I saw that the consultants were doing what I loved to do, and I was jealous that I didn’t get to do it. I realized that the most fun part of my previous jobs had always been finding the problems and fixing them; making plans for contingencies; developing systems and procedures. I decided that I needed to attach a formal degree to my informal experience, and began working on my MBA.

After I finished my graduate degree, I started looking for a job with an established firm – I got a few offers, but they were all essentially offers to work as a contractor for that behemoth in Redmond. I discovered that there was a niche in the Seattle marketplace for a consulting firm who works with the less-established businesses; those players who are in the game for the long haul but haven’t quite gotten their systems in place for continued growth and success. Yockey Jones Consulting was founded in May 2015 to work with those companies – people who are eager to grow, eager to find a sustainable place in the market for the future.

(Above cartoon excerpted from Flawless Consulting by Peter Block)

Unlike the cartoon above, I have developed a no-nonsense consulting practice that focuses on RESULTS and authentic realism. I have taken lessons from all the past work I’ve done (which you can read more about on the how we do it page), and left all the bad habits some consultants have behind. I’ve run successful businesses, and I’ve learned how to direct and manage projects to get the highest and best use of resources.

There’s certainly more to this story, both from my past and from our shared future, but I’d love to fill in the gaps for you in person. Contact me to set up a time for coffee or lunch and we can chat about where we’ve been and where we’re going. It’s a great journey that we’re each on, and let’s figure out how we can take some steps together to make it a successful trek for both of us.