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

Sean , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?

The best boss I ever had was much better as a mentor and friend than he was as a manager, but that’s OK – HE WAS STILL A GREATE LEADER AND I learned a ton anyway. My first real career role was as a legislative advocate for Michigan’s leading LGBTQ civil rights organization. We were small so I moved in and up IN THE ORGANIZATION rapidly. Like a lot of early career moves, it was luck and being in the right place at the right time. My boss, the executive director, saw lots MY POTENTIAL AND DRIVE and asked me join the team. I was 20 and still in college getting my BS in political science.

THAT BOSS WAS ALSO A DEAR FRIEND. Jeff Montgomery, was a big deal in Detroit (Jeff passed in 2016). He was a master communicator, media expert, PR genius and advocacy strategY SAVANT. Jeff never formally got management training, BUT he did his best. On the administrative side, he struggled but in nearly every other area he taught me so many lessons. I was very green (new and naive) in professional politics and policy. In some ways, this helped me not be jaded. I really believed anything was possible, but it also got me in trouble because the brazen “can do” attitude can be seen as arrogance and naivete. Jeff taught me patience. He taught me how to build and nurture relationships with newsrooms. He taught me the importance of documenting everything. And one of my favorite lessons…when you are angry never send the first draft of something you write. You should still write it. Then sit on it for the night. REWRITE IT THE NEXT DAY. You’ll never send the exact same thing the next morning. This has probably saved me from a lot of mistakes.

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

I have been in nonprofit organizations since I was 16, for 30 years now. I have served in nearly every role from fundraising, communications, lobbying, direct service, management and as grassroots organizer. I even got my MPA so I could add the academic and theory elements to my perspective.

In my consulting work, I offer coaching, consulting, and courses for nonprofit leaders. My coaching is primarily for nonprofit executives. My consulting is for the entire organization and usually relates to strategy, advocacy, fundraising, or navigating change. I call myself the “Nonprofit Fixer” because I am a generalist and I HELP ORGANIZATIONS (GSD) get shit done. I can look into any nonprofit and find ways to improve their systems, policies, or programs.

Most nonprofit consultants are specialists in one kind of fundraising or THEY HANDLE strategic planning. I have been an executive director for 5 different organizations and am passionate about preparing our nonprofit leaders FOR THEIR WORK so my specialty is helping NONPROFIT executives. This is vital because bad leadership can sink or decimate a nonprofit. There aren’t any manuals out there for how to run nonprofit so I created a course and a consulting practice designed specifically to transform nonprofit leaders.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first started consulting, it was out of necessity. I HAD MOVED CROSS COUNTRY FOR LOVE AND was on the job search and just wanted money coming in. I started pitching my network for work. It didn’t feel great and that’s because I hadn’t really done the work to GET CLARITY on what value I delivered. Over time, I did exercises on FINDING MY “unique value proposition” and this helped me immensely. I finally decided that I wanted to take all the knowledge in my head and put it into courses that I could sell digitally. I still consult WITH CLIENTS and probably always will because its rewarding and pays well, but ultimately I would love for my business to sustain itself on digital course sales.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I had one year of savings when I decided to leave my job IN NYC. I was very lucky that I didn’t have TO PAY rent that first year (my partner at the time was covering that). I gave myself a year to start generating revenue and within a few months, I had paying clients, but not enough to break even. By the end of my first year, my savings which were cut in half by that time, was starting to stabilize. I never took out a loan. I just saved and made the jump.

Contact Info:

• Website: nonprofitfixer.com/best-resources
• Instagram: instagram.com/nonprofitfixer
• Facebook: facebook.com/mindthegapc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5244396/admin/
• Twitter: twitter.com/nonprofitfixer
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SeanKosofskyNonProfitFixer
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mind-the-gap-consulting-san-francisco?osq=mind+the+gap+consulting
• Other: nonprofitfixer.com/best-resources

Image Credits
Curtis Brown Photography