The Power of Dreaming Big: Rob Broadhead’s Journey of Starting a Business
Key Points
- Life is full of unexpected challenges, but sometimes these challenges can force change.
- We discovered how Rob Broadhead turned uncertainty into a successful consulting business.
- By taking a leap of faith and embracing the unknown, we may also discover a part of ourselves we never knew existed.
- We can overcome even the toughest obstacles and achieve greatness with perseverance and determination.
Starting a business can be a dream come true for anyone with their eyes set on achieving financial independence, creative freedom, and the ability to pursue their passion. However, as with any dream we find worth pursuing, the journey is not always easy. The road to success can be filled with hurdles that test the strength of even the most experienced entrepreneur.
Whether it’s financial struggles, lack of resources, or unexpected setbacks, overcoming these challenges can be an uphill battle. No one knows the challenges of starting a business quite like those who have experienced them firsthand. Nick Martin, our Director of Managed Services, recently talked with someone who has been through it all and has come out with wisdom to share.
Meet Rob Broadhead: From Staff Developer to Founder
From a humble staff developer to the founder of RB Consulting, Rob Broadhead’s journey has been anything but easy. He’s faced his share of obstacles and setbacks, but his passion for building teams and helping others navigate the complex world of technology has always remained consistent.
With over 30 years of experience developing enterprise systems on various platforms and system architectures, Rob’s roles have included staff developer, director of development, architect, and database administrator. He founded RB Consulting 2001, a software development and implementation consulting company, to guide customers in creating and implementing successful project plans.
Through his experience, Rob has helped countless businesses and organizations make their way through the complex world of technology, allowing them to achieve their business goals easily. His dedication to his work and commitment to staying ahead of the curve have solidified him as a respected figure in the industry and an invaluable asset to companies of all sizes.
From Employee to Entrepreneur: The Journey of Starting a Consulting Business
Being part of a startup can be exciting, but it can also bring unexpected challenges that make it necessary to look for another job. After running into some challenges at his startup, Rob reached out to a former colleague who pointed him toward an available consulting position. This available position ultimately led to an opportunity to start a consulting company.
After finding out that he would need to be incorporated, Rob believed in himself and took action. After becoming incorporated, Rob could take on projects as a consultant and looked forward to working with a great customer. However, this journey didn’t start exactly as he hoped it would. On Day 2 of what was supposed to be an exciting journey, the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place and completely changed everything.
Over time, he went back and forth between some good job offers as an employee and working for himself as a consultant. Despite the unfortunate setback, Rob persevered again and ultimately decided that consulting was where he wanted to be. Consulting gave him more control over his schedule and the ability to work with smaller companies that did not have the budget to afford the big consulting firms. To this day, Rob appreciates the flexibility he has to work with customers with different needs and can directly bring the skills he’s gained over the years to them.
When faced with unexpected career challenges, it can be easy to feel defeated, but these obstacles can also give us the momentum to grow and transform ourselves. Just as Rob found himself in several difficult situations, he used those moments as opportunities to step out and explore new options. Today, he has found great success by realizing that building a relationship that goes both ways is key in business and that learning from and helping his clients has helped him to expand his knowledge.
Building Dreams From the Ground Up
Rob has a background in building software from the ground up and working with various companies in different stages of software development. Working closely with these companies allowed him to gain a unique perspective on the mistakes that can happen due to oversights, the wrong specifications, and expectations that were not always aligned.
As a result, he has a sharp eye for detail and a commitment to asking the right questions, assuring that his clients’ software projects are built to succeed. Rob prefers to get into companies sooner and help them plan and think about where they are and where they are going rather than just coming in and building software. Building a software product that meets a business’s and its customer’s needs is impossible without precise specifications.
When building a dream home, the contractors you hire need to know where to put the heating and air, how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need, where to place the electrical outlets, and so much more. Similarly, in software development, you must have a clear idea of what features are necessary for the product to function at a high level, what kind of user experience the product needs to provide, and what type of platform it needs to run on. Failure to properly plan and identify these details can lead to a product that doesn’t meet the user’s needs or is challenging to use.
Strategic Consulting: Helping Businesses Make Informed Decisions
Rob’s approach to consulting is rooted in education. He believes that before jumping into implementation and building, it’s important to help clients think about where they are and want to be. This includes evaluating factors such as whether building a solution is worth it or buying one would be better. Businesses will also need to consider the best way to find consultants and the best way to plan for post-implementation support.
Rob asks the right questions and helps clients peel back the layers, creating a clear view of their resources and needs. He understands that sometimes, the flashy and expensive option may not be the best fit for a client’s business, and he works to educate them on finding the most practical and effective solution. He bridges the gap between IT, programming, and business analysis, recognizing some crossover between these roles.
While there is some crossover between these roles, it can be confusing and unclear where one ends, and the other begins. The focus must be on analyzing the business and planning for the future instead of just thinking about the technical details. This approach is even more important with the rise of cloud providers, like Azure, AWS, and Google, that offer turnkey solutions. Even if a business is paying a certain amount of money in 2023 for a solution, they need to think ahead and ensure that the solution can grow with them and meet its needs well past 2023.
Rob’s experience in technical and strategic roles helps him understand that a holistic approach must be taken to business planning. With this perspective, he can consider the needs and goals of the business in both the short and long term.
Overcoming Adversity: Finding Success in the Face of Challenges
We should not see challenges as roadblocks to our success, but we should see them as stepping stones to achieving our dreams. Life will be full of challenges, like losing a job and struggling to make ends meet, but hope always exists. Like how Rob started his successful consulting business after facing many uncertainties, we can also find our silver lining in tough times. By taking a leap of faith and embracing the unknown, we may discover a part of ourselves we never knew existed. So let us all be inspired by Rob’s story, and know we can live out our dream with perseverance and determination.
