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

Christe, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

There are so many lessons that I learned at the nonprofit and for-profit jobs I held prior to starting my own business, but there is one thing that I have seen emphasized through my work in both of those fields that makes up the core of my business – honesty.

The most important lesson that you can learn in business is the value of honesty in all of its forms:
1. Honesty to self.
2. Honesty within an organization.
3. Honesty regarding your impact.

I have had the pleasure of working with some incredible leaders that I aspire to be and the good fortune of working alongside some terrible ones that I was able to learn important lessons from. No matter your business type, being honest with yourself is a lesson that will make you better at everything you do. No matter if you’re a member of an Executive Team or a part-time employee, it is important to know what you want to gain from a role, why the work matters to you, and what level of effort you are willing to offer. The common thread that ties together all of the ineffective leaders that I’ve worked with is their inability to be honest with themselves. I worked with a first-time Executive Director that couldn’t be honest about the gaps in his knowledge, so instead of seeking out mentors or bringing in support teams, he let the nonprofit falter to spare his ego. I also worked with a new Executive Team member in a collaborative environment that required coordination across colleagues with varying schedules and experience. She wasn’t honest with herself about the effort she was willing to lend to the role outside of the ‘meet and greet’ requirements. What resulted was a disjointed team that lacked direction due to her consistent absence. If you can’t be honest with yourself about your qualifications and what you are willing to bring to the table, you won’t be able to grow strong teams or achieve great outcomes.

Honesty within an organization is also critical. There is no worse feeling than being part of a team and organization you feel strongly about and then finding out that there is dishonesty in reporting, financials, procedures, etc. I was working with a nonprofit that was rearranging roles within a department. To avoid an outside employment search, the existing employees were asked to consider different roles. Unbeknownst to the employees asked to make these changes, their existing roles had already been re-assigned and their only option was to take the new role or be fired. Seeing management so severely mismanage the situation with a lack of respect for the colleagues affected and a lack of transparency over the situation called into question how they might handle other matters within the nonprofit. It also made me question the “tight knit” environment that they promoted if that was how they were engaging with their “valued” valued employees? Being honest with your teams and providing clarity on internal business matters shows respect for everyone working for your mission and the work that they do.

Finally, honesty with your supporters or clients is critical. Whether you are selling a widget, a service, or a dream (like nonprofits), your audience deserves honesty and appreciates it. I was once working with an executive that wanted to promote that the organization was doing advocacy work within the community. I was excited to hear this, so I asked to find out more about what type of advocacy work the organization was doing. It turned out that we weren’t doing anything yet, but that they thought this might be a great way to fundraise in the meantime so that someday we would be able to grow an advocacy arm within the organization. All business – no matter the field – is about strong and authentic relationships. Lying to your supporters or misleading them in any way isn’t just bad business, it’s foolish because it creates obstacles in your way that don’t need to be there. People want to connect with, and find similarities between, brands and causes and themselves. Don’t massage the truth to appeal to an audience that won’t ever truly be yours – be honest and bold about your business and what it stands for and attract the support and engagement that is right for you.

I think that everyone values honesty, but understanding how that applies to business has been integral in my ability to build an ethical and productive consultancy within a small community.

Christe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Creative Konsulting Exchange (CKE) is a consultancy that specializes in nonprofit management and also provides social media and marketing services for small nonprofit and for-profit businesses. The core values of CKE are honesty, community, and collaboration. All of our work is done working hand in hand with our clients to help them grow strong communities around their organizations and do better business. Service examples include: -Building and implementing unrestricted fundraising strategies for nonprofits
-Nonprofit management consulting for leaders and executives
-Trainings for Board of Directors, volunteer managers, etc.
-Social media creation and management for businesses
-Operations management for small businesses and nonprofits
The work of CKE is varied and based entirely on the needs of the client. We are committed to creating sustainable solutions for our clients that are rooted in efficiency.

We are most proud of the clients that we work with that are able to grow their businesses without sacrificing their values or their ability to do their craft the way that they had envisioned. Our clients are looking for solutions that allow them to scale without having to take on administrative burdens or added work, and that is where we come in.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have been working in social media for 12+ years and, while the algorithms and platforms may change, the only true way to grow a strong audience is through genuine interaction and engagement. If you want to build an audience to support a business or cause, share your story and engage authentically with the people that care about your content and the followers will come. In a world where so many people are seeking overnight fame or the opportunity to ‘go viral’, take a more long-term approach to your online presence that will grow with you and your business.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When you start your business it is easy to feel like all clients are good clients, but that is not the case. You want clients that appreciate your work and place the same value on what you provide as you do. That is not to say that there won’t be the occasional difficult client that you take on, but by and large you shouldn’t feel obligated to do business with every single person. If someone wants to haggle over price or asks you to go against your values, their money isn’t worth it. As long as you’re making decisions that are true to who you are and honor your values, you can’t go wrong.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.creativekonsultingexchange.com
• Instagram: @creativekonsultingexchange
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christekonopitski/