We were lucky to catch up with Charlene Zeiberg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Charlene, thanks for joining us today. When you were first starting out, did you join a firm or start your own?

I always dreamed about having my own consulting practice…I have an entrepreurial spirit and I wanted the flexibility it could afford me to have a family in the future. At the time, I was working at a well-known financial services company and I hoped that would be my last stop before taking the leap to be an independent contractor. I also had many passions in the field of learning and development and in my current role I was not able to dabble and explore all my interests. It was a scary proposition to go out on your own, as I had recently lost both my parents…so I was nervous about the financial aspects. But, I made the leap and in doing so my employer asked me to stay on in my current role, as a consultant, to manage my team and to find my replacement. What a gift that was that lasted for almost a year! I had already landed my first client and I was allowed to work with other clients as long as it wasn’t a competitive firm.

Charlene, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My first major in college was biology…I hoped to be a veterinarian. I soon realized I was more in love the profession than the coursework that would get me there. I engaged in career counseling which confirmed my passion for learning and teaching others. My college (Ithaca College) offered the only undergraduate program (at the time) in Instructional Design…adult learning in the corporate world. I applied, got into the program, and thrived. I had a few positions in the field before becoming independent…both internal roles in corporate training as well as positions for consulting firms.

I am incredibly proud of the business I have built over the last 25 years and have been blessed not only to have amazing clients (all long term relationships and referrals), but equally amazing colleagues with immense talent that work with me on a contracting basis for my projects. I couldn’t have achieved what I did without them.

So, what do we do…? Zeiberg Consulting creates highly engaging, practical, and impactful learning solutions to unleash individual and organizational capabilities, delivering results in today’s challenging business environment. We work with clients on a project basis or as Talent Development Fractional Partners, an extension of the client’s learning & development/talent development team to add deep rooted experience to strategize and move their initiatives forward. In our project-based work we design and develop engaging and results-based learning solutions to develop talent in management/leadership development, DEI, and professional skills. We also offer a “Ready to Go” (off the shelf) customizable and license-free extensive curriculum with over 30 workshops.

Our clients continue to work with us because we are fast learners, practical, fast, fun to work with, and we get results. What are clients say about us:
* “A rare combination of great intellect, broad knowledge, practical experience, and truly wonderful personalities – making a challenging endeavor a tremendous and fun learning experience.”
* “A great business partner… they immerse themselves in the organizational culture to create customized solutions that address our unique challenges.”
* “Their work has impacted thousands. I highly recommend ZC to any organization looking to raise the bar in developing their
human capital.”

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

All of our clients, with the exception of ONE, have been through referrals and long time client relationships. My clients have taken me and my bespoke consulting firm with them, from company to company, knowing that we will achieve the results they are looking for. We have client relationships that have spanned up to 25 years…that is the highest compliment you can receive when you look back to see if you have made an impact. These same clients have been gracious and referred me to their colleagues in their networks. What I have gotten to learn over the years is that getting new business and clients is ALL about relationships. I actively stay in touch with past and current clients, and many I can count among my friends.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As a consultant, being resilient is a required skillset. There will be good and bad years. You can’t take the bad years personally as there are so many factors that come into play that influence your success…market conditions, budgetary constraints, changing of the guard within the client organization, etc. My consulting practice had to withstand the turbulence associated with two significant events. First, 9/11. I was on retainer with a financial services company and had returned to work after my maternity leave. This client experienced a major disruption and notified me that they would be cancelling my retainer due to the resulting business conditions. It was a hard blow given I had just returned to work after a three month absence. Luckily, the retainer never got cancelled…instead I was asked to help the organizations’s leaders learn how to work and manage remotely given their newly dispersed workforce and help managers support their staff during this unnerving time of uncertainty. Not only did I need to demonstrate resilience but I needed to teach others how to do the same. The second event was COVID, a time all of us needed to be resilient. I was certain that all our work would be cancelled or at least put on hold…after all who was going to a classroom learning program during that time? Many organizations put learning on hold to deal with pressing business conditions. Instead we were in a prime position to redesign our client’s programs to virtual delivery, create digital learning assets, and expand the way in which they learned and developed their capabilities.

When becoming independent, you need to accept and manage through a variety of market conditions that are beyond your control and have faith that it will all work out. So far…it has!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zeiberg.com
• Instagram: zeibergconsultingllc
• Facebook: Zeiberg Consulting LLC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeibergconsulting/

Image Credits

Jerri Graham Photography