ADVERTISEMENT

    Columbus Chamber cbuzz: Lori Kaiser of Kaiser Consulting

    The Columbus Chamber and Capital University have partnered to bring the first business-themed podcast to Columbus. During cbuzz, Columbus-based brand journalist Mikaela Hunt will speak with local business owners, entrepreneurs and community leaders and allow them to tell their story and highlight their organization, while further inspiring the entrepreneurial spirit that is buzzing in the city.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    From solo gig to 70-person professional services firm: it’s an evolution over 27 years that has put Lori Kaiser at the head of her own international consulting company and earned her the Columbus Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 Small Business Leader Award.

    Kaiser didn’t have a plan when she quit her job at a large public accounting firm in 1992 after having her first child. However, clients came calling and she soon found herself with project work that fit her new lifestyle.

    Kaiser figured she’d keep it up for a few years, then go back to work full-time. As she points out, in the early 90s, there weren’t many other options for women – it was generally full-time worker or stay-at-home mom.

    Kaiser would eventually re-enter the traditional workforce, but when one position wrapped up after the sale of the business and she was interviewing again, she had a revelation. Kaiser didn’t want many of the jobs. Instead, it was time to turn her consulting side-gig into a real business.

    During the podcast, Kaiser discusses how she has grown Kaiser Consulting since hiring her first employee in 2004. She shares an experience many entrepreneurs likely feel. The first two to five employees are easier because you can still closely manage the team. From five to 15, “That’s the period of time when you need systems and processes, so you have to kind of step back and invest in creating those,” Kaiser says.

    The next ten or so hires come easier with these processes in place. Then, businesses grow to the point of needing middle management.

    That process came with a hard learning curve for Kaiser that she was holding the business back.

    Click the logo to listen to the full podcast featuring Lori Kaiser of Kaiser Consulting

    “My initial thought was that it would take away from the business if I wasn’t managing everything,” Kaiser says. “The reality is the business is better.”

    Listen to the full podcast to hear more about how Kaiser makes Kaiser Consulting a place where employees will never want to leave. (Hint: employees work the hours and days that they want.) She also offers advice to fellow business owners on building a similar culture in their workplaces.

    For more information, visit kaiserconsulting.com.

    Never miss a cbuzz podcast! Visit the Columbus Chamber website for more great stories and advice from local business owners.

    — The Columbus Chamber of Commerce offers news, information and other resources that are free and available to all businesses at columbus.org. —

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Local Horror Film Series Turns 10

    For the last decade, Fright Club Live has brought...

    The Confluence Cast: Taking Out the Trash with SWACO

    Just in time for the holidays, we’re taking out the trash. Columbus Underground Co-Founder Walker Evans sat down with Joe Lombardi, the executive director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio or SWACO. They discussed the strategies they are putting in place for a sustainable future, practical tips on reducing waste, and ways to celebrate sustainably this holiday season.

    The Confluence Cast: Making Columbus Festivals

    It has been said that festivals are one of the best things about our community. By extension, the folks who conceive and orchestrate them are making the city measurably better. This week, on the occasion of the upcoming Hot Times Festival, organizer Candy Watkins discusses the origins of ComFest, why Hot Times Community Festival is the friendliest festival in town, and the importance of leaning in to ensure that these festivals continue to thrive.

    The Confluence Cast: Ideas for Solving Columbus’ Housing Crisis

    As the Assistant Director of Housing Strategies for the City of Columbus, Erin Prosser wakes up every day thinking about housing in the city. In today’s episode, we discuss strategies for combatting NIMBYism, the importance of non-commercial partners when we think about housing, why housing should be thought of as infrastructure, and how we can right-size our systems in order to align them to our priorities.

    The Confluence Cast: Multidisciplinary Artist Lisa McLymont

    Art and artists have the power to change perceptions. In this week’s episode, multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, and social justice advocate Lisa McLymont discusses her background, work, her path as an artist, how she chooses her work so that it remains aligned with her self-defined purpose, and her work on the Columbus Art Commission.
    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
    ADVERTISEMENT