Kristen Donovan Ph.D., Principal Consultant, Evalcorp Research & Consulting
As a social psychologist with over 17 years of experience Dr. Kristen Donovan was committed to launching her own research consulting firm. In late 2002, Kristen began the process of starting her business Evalcorp, which focuses on providing measurement and evaluation related services to large government and nonprofit agencies. Based in Orange County, California, Evalcorp works with organizations in the fields of prevention, education, health, human services, criminal justice and private industry.
Kristen began her business five and a half years ago with no capital, no sales experience and a significant level of personal debt. She was a good “technician” and knew a great deal about the service she was offering, but definitely lacked the critical skills and tools required for being a successful entrepreneur or business owner. Fortunately, Kristen enrolled in one of our first Business Mastery Business Mentoring courses at the same time she was making the decision to start her business.
“A few key concepts I learned from Keith are: Clarity = Power, and the notion that in order to be highly profitable – find out what people want, go and get it, then give it to them,” Kristen said. Learning the skills and tools necessary to become successful helped her and her business grow exponentially from the start. Her focus, accountability and learning HOW to sell in my Business Mastery course has lead to an annual sales increase from $50K in year 1 to over $700K today.
Besides her tremendous growth in sales, Kristen was able to totally eliminate a crippling amount of personal debt. She went from working in one city and being the only employee in her company to having a staff of 8 and working in 6 counties across Southern California.
Kristen told me that one of the main things I taught her that has stayed with her throughout the different stages of starting and growing her business was, “One of the key things that distinguish a successful entrepreneur from an unsuccessful one is how long they can hold the vision.” To this day she continues to implement what she has learned and this is evident through the success of Evalcorp.
Kristen now knows what it truly means to “design” her life. She learned how to push herself beyond what she thought she was capable of and has opened up countless possibilities. She knows that everything she wants is outside of her comfort zone and on the other side of fear. She told me, “Keith, when you know what you’re doing, when you learn the real business skills and tools and when you have someone around you who has actually lived it and can speak from experience, it’s remarkable how much simpler it is to achieve the success and growth you only dreamed about previously.”
Kristen has new goals set for the future of her business that include tripling her annual revenues, maintaining a 25% or higher profit margin, and continuing to create a workplace where her staff love coming to work.
“Since working with Keith, my business has changed and grown exponentially. In fact, I credit the success my business has realized to Keith and what he taught me,” Kristen stated. Her commitment to “Do whatever it takes” and ability to implement the core concepts she learns every time she takes a course from me continues to pay off in her life and business.
Congrats, Kristen! You deserve the success you are now achieving! We are very very proud of you!
Best,
Keith + Sandi
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