Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cary Pfeffer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cary, appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

One question I always ask anyone starting their own business is, “Who did you call today?” By that I do not mean, “Did you call someone and ask them to be your customer?” What I mean is did you authentically reach out to them and simply ask if you can ‘pick their brain’ on the work you are doing? It is a much less imposing task and often results in someone actually providing help or suggestions or, yes, even customers for your business.

When I think about how I’ve grown my consulting practice it actually has come down to a small group of people – literally less than 10 – who truly believe in what I do. That core group has suggested the vast majority of my work to this day. So, don’t feel like you need to be gathering thousands of fans – just have a few true believers and they will be the wind beneath your wings!

One caveat. My business is a boutique practice, so I didn’t need to find work for 10 or 20 people in my office – I needed to find enough work for me, and it has worked beyond my expectations.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When the people who built SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles needed to make sure they were ready for the interview that would win them that $4 billion dollar job, they asked for my help.

From the age of 12 I realized I understood the dynamic between a person speaking in front of a room and the people in that audience. What works, what doesn’t work, how to engage them and what turns them off.

Based on that slim skill set, I have built a career. As a geeky high school speech kid, I was on three national championship forensics teams, then moved to a 20-year career in broadcasting as a TV reporter and anchor and then on to my current firm of 20 years.

These days I most often work with teams who need to deliver a high stakes presentation. Need to win a multi-billion-dollar piece of business? I’m your guy! My teams have won north of 15 billion dollars in work over just the last few years.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

During COVID you’d think a person who helps speakers do well would have no work, right? Well, that’s what I thought as well. There were no public meetings or in-person meetings of any kind. But they did meet virtually, and a funny thing happened. They weren’t very good at it. My business grew in a new way, just helping people get much better at virtual meeting management and presentation. Do you still see people who don’t know where to look during a Zoom call? They didn’t work with me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There was no business, no customers and no reason to believe it might work. What motivated me? My family, mortgage and the need to do something that meant something to me. Starting my business meant basically hanging a shingle in 2002 and hoping my calls would be returned. The good news? I was creating simply a job for myself. My overhead was low, and people knew me from my previous job. Eventually one small assignment led to another, small fees started to be collected, led to bigger fees and eventually I could pay off my credit card debt! Welcome to the life of an entrepreneur.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Clear-Comm.net
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cary-pfeffer/