KML Consulting

Did you know I started my own company? It's funny - I've never had a desire to be an entrepreneur (actually, I just had to look up the spelling of the word.) It just kind of happened, but it's been fantastic.

Here's the short story - I quit P&G, took 2 years off, then went to work at a small consulting company. It was good, I was basically doing the same work I did at P&G but it was less intense and less work at 4 days and then 3 days a week. But after a year, I realized that by consulting back to P&G, it was really hard to be truly part time. So, I thought, what if I just did this on my own so I have more control over how much I'm working. And that's what I've done. It's been great so far. I've been working primarily with the consulting company I used to work for doing projects for P&G as a subcontractor. It's really fantastic. When I have a project I work a bunch, and when I don't, I don't work at all. Feels like a more realistic way to get balance. So far, so good. I'm not going to do anything for a few months, and then will probably be back at it in the winter at the same pace.

What is it I do? Excellent question that I can't really answer very well. Ironically, I've always had this problem. As an Industrial & Systems Engineer, people would say, "What do you do?" and I couldn't really answer. As a Brand Manager at P&G, people would say, "What do you do?" and I couldn't really answer. Now it's probably of the most importance because I want people to hire me, and I still can't articulate it all that clearly. Here's my best answer - I do the same types of things I did at P&G (but admittedly, that doesn't help since I can't exactly describe what I did there.) When pressed I say my current focus is on helping companies develop new product and commercial ideas. If they need a $1 Billion idea they need a plan to get there, and I work with them to develop a plan to come up with the next big idea. I understand their goals and objectives and develop workshops to help their team think differently to think of a great idea. Clear as mud, eh.

As for my company, I've done very little develop it thus far. I chose the name because I wanted it to sound strategic not executional - so "KML Consulting" vs. a "Bang! Splash! Whiz!" type of deal. I'm not totally married to KML Consulting, but it works for now. I need a logo - maybe I can find someone to draw something up (lemme know if you're interested!) Brett is my partner, so that's fun since we've always wanted to be in business together (although at this point, his "contributions" have been purely for tax advantage.)

I've never really been one to have a "master plan", which is maybe how I ended up here. I never expected I'd be doing this, and I love it. You just never know...Here are a few shots from my recent work trips to Singapore and Brussels:


Singapore was like Hawaii in beauty. Absolutely gorgeous public park at the National Orchid forest which had hundreds of varieties of Orchids. Amazing. Too far though - 26 hours of flying, and I couldn't sleep as much since I was pregnant and had to walk around. It was a little weird though - there are so many rules, like no drugs or they kill you, that it felt a little bizarre and false. Too clean (you aren't allowed to chew gum.) Sort of pleasantville-ish.

This was my CRAZY fish pedicure in Singapore - absolutely nutty! You're supposed to let the fish eat off your dead skin for 45 mins; I couldn't last 5 mins! The lady said, "You are giggling like a small child!" Yes, because fish are eating my feet!!


The streets of Brussels - me acting like a tourist. It was actually a delightful European city with all the cafes and shopping you'd expect. Surprisingly nice.