We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katherine Bailey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Katherine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Any advice for creating a more inclusive workplace?

When I initially branched out on my own from to launch Gemini Consulting, the company where I was previously employed hardly even had a handful of minority consultants, and only one other black woman within that handful. Honestly. in my field the large majority of consultants are Caucasian men, followed by Caucasian women, who are all generally much older than myself. I bring inclusivity to my field being a young woman of color, having that option for my clients has been very impactful to my business as well as to the experience that my clients get from their workshop with Gemini Consulting. Being able to have a woman lead workshop and/or being able to have a workshop led by someone younger in this climate makes the workshops more relatable often times, which results in high engagement.

Katherine, 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?

Gemini Consulting came about by gaining the knowledge and experience my previous employer gave me to branch out on my own. The relationships I built over the years, allowed me to continue to build connections with potential clients to get started. One relationship in particular kicked off my career as an independent consultant, this led me to deliver my first team workshop as an entrepreneur with Google. The workshops that my business delivers are targeted to organizations and business professionals to gain self and team effectiveness that will lead to effective communication practices. All of the workshops that we offer are based on the studies of Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung. Jung believed the more we understand about ourselves, the more we will be able to identify and adapt to the differences we have with others. Workshops with Gemini Consulting provide an interactive learning experience in the workplace that will bring team members and management together through the practice of effective communication.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients is word of mouth, hands down. I would say, a good 80% of my business comes from client referrals internally and externally. Other than referrals, I too have a lot of repeat clients.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Staying in touch with my clients is key to fostering the relationships which keep the door open for new opportunities. To do so, I maintain contact via email communication. I initially send every client contact a follow up packet within 48 hours of their workshop, which contains key content to keep their learning alive, along with my contact information. In addition to the follow up packet, I reach out to do what I call a “client check in” about every 6 months. With the client check in, I simply ask how the contact and their team are doing, have they had any changes to the team where a workshop could benefit the team etc. Often times, there will be changes and sometimes the contact is no longer with the original company and have a new team that they would like to put through a workshop. Many organizations go through reorgs, whether it be layoffs, new management, team mergers, or new department development. When any of these possibilities occur, it’s a perfect opportunity for that client contact to reach out to me with interest in a Discovery workshop for their team. The holidays/season changes are a great time to reconnect with previous clients. I generally send out holiday cards to all of my past clients to keep the relationship alive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GeminiConsultant.com
• Other: Check out my website to see some of my client testimonials!!!