Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Bristol.
Ellen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I moved to Miami in 1986, to take a job as a senior sales representative for one of the larger manufacturers of mainframe computers at the time, just before PC networks destroyed the market. Great timing, right? I had been selling big computer systems in New York before that and did so for the next nine years in Florida. In 1995, I decided to open my own consulting practice, with an interest in improving the productivity of the sales force. Sales-force productivity is a big deal now but was a new idea then.
Shortly after launching the business, local nonprofits became interested in my work. Since I enjoyed working with them, I began to revise our consulting solutions re-purposed everything for the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit fundraising is a lot like sales, but it became evident that many nonprofits struggled to raise money, weren’t sure what to do or how. It seemed as if there were many common fears, complaints, stresses and other challenges. We knew our work would make a big difference – and it has.
Although we were already providing our methodology Fundraising the SMART Way to nonprofits, we thought it would be a good idea to do some research on the need for improved productivity, so we launched The Leaky Bucket Assessment for Effective Fundraising in April 2011. The study really put us on the nonprofit consulting map, since there were evidently no studies of staff fundraising productivity. We now have over 1,300 responses to the study, which is ongoing. The study also gave me the impetus to write two books, one on the study and one on Fundraising the SMART Way.
We have now grown to the point where we have a small back-office staff, plus six fundraising consultants who are certified in our methodology, located from New York to California, so we can serve nonprofits almost anywhere. We’ve even done a project in Mexico already – using virtual technology.
Now we’re building some apps to integrate SMART Way techniques into nonprofit CRM, as well as another cloud app to conduct data analytics for fundraising productivity. Soon we’ll get back into the for-profit market with similar tools for sales organizations.
I’m a real late bloomer – I didn’t launch this business until I was already 50. But it just gets more interesting every day!
Has it been a smooth road?
There have been tons of challenges. When we first started the business, my husband was already retired and emphatically NOT interested in being part of the operation. But we lived in a lovely but small one-bedroom apartment on the Venetian Causeway. A minor annoyance that just kept getting more annoying until we traded up to larger quarters.
Then there were the technology challenges. When we first started out, I was able to get most things done using a simple PC with internet connection (very slow at the time) and Microsoft Office. Gradually, but at an accelerating pace, I had to add accounting software, build a website, start to conduct email marketing and all the things that are an integral part of running a small service business. I like to buy more tech than I need, so there’s plenty of room to expand and make ever greater use of these remarkable tools, but it all put me pretty far outside my comfort level. Fortunately, I had the wisdom, or sheer luck, to find great partners, mentors, and contractors to make everything work together.
One of the biggest challenges has been financial. I think that’s probably true for lots of small business owners. We didn’t have any trouble getting ourselves a line of credit (modest!) but still had to fight for every dollar of income. Sure, I can sell and have pretty cool products and services to offer, but balancing the needs to market, develop products, deliver client engagements AND sell? That’s a handful. We’re making up for lost time, I’m happy to say.
Another challenge has been creating a market. Even though we’ve focused strictly on nonprofits for the past seven years, we still have an uphill climb to get our market to understand and embrace some of the more strategic management techniques and controls we advocate. Let’s say it this way: most nonprofits understand the reason to invest in training their fundraising teams in the SKILLS of raising money, but few of them understand the value of investing in MANAGING fundraising. It’s just like what the pioneers of sales-force productivity experienced, and it’s an ongoing marketing and branding challenge for us.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
At this point, I’m most proud of how well we’ve conquered some of those challenges in our marketplace. The Bristol Strategy Group brand is becoming fairly well known within our market niche, and I have wide personal recognition as an expert in this arcane field. I also really enjoy the fact that I’ve got such a long work history, and so much field experience, I can pretty much focus on doing what I love! In fact, I just won’t do much of anything unless I really enjoy myself.
And that includes making sure our client relationships are as personable, friendly, and mutually comfortable for all of us including everyone on the client’s side, and all of us SMART Geeks, as we refer to ourselves. We are having so much fun, doing what we love and helping others make a difference.
Ugh! That sounds so touchy-feely! But – there’s a very large grain of truth in it.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes, I think South Florida, in general, is a great place to start a consulting company or other kinds of business-service companies. There are some wonderful trade associations, thriving chambers of commerce, educational resources of all kinds and plenty of folks who have been in my shoes and know what they’re doing. It’s also becoming a decent hub for technology start-ups and the professional services they need.
On the other hand, there are some real challenges in South Florida. While the climate is, of course, a big benefit (at least during the winter), we have lots of challenges with sea-level rise, availability of fresh water, and pretty terrible traffic. We also have an uncomfortably large divide between rich and poor. It can be tough to find local talent, especially entry-level. And we suffer from urban poverty and school systems ranking just fair to middling, if not worse.
I’m both optimistic and pessimistic about South Florida as a place to start and expand a business, but glad to see a robust effort on the part of local governments, both county and city levels, to improve things.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bristolstrategygroup.com
- Phone: 305-935-6676
- Email: info@bristolstrategygroup.com
- Facebook: business.facebook.com/BristolStrategyGroup
- Twitter: twitter.com/BristolStrategy
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