Consulting Business Archives

IECA offers a wide variety of resources to help you stay connected and informed, and to help you manage your business as efficiently and effectively as possible in these challenging times. Simply login to the website to view these and many more resources. (Contact [email protected] if you have any difficulty logging in; we’ll get you set up very quickly.)

IECA Member Network

One of our most popular benefits, this members-only online community allows you to connect with your peers on professional topics. You likely already belong to a community based on your primary specialty focus: School, College, Therapeutic, Grad School. You do not need to have the specialty designation/interest area to participate in a community. We also have Affinity Group communities based on interests, lifestyle (like Parents of Young Children), and on other topics (student athletes, LBGTQ students, etc.). The Member Network also features Regional Group communities. To access and join any of the communities, use your login credentials for the IECA website here.

While you are on the network, take a minute to upload your picture. So many members indicate that they find it easier to remember a face rather than a name, so help them out!

Monthly Webinars

Many of you know that our webinars are held at noon (Eastern) on the second Tuesday of every month and are free for IECA members. Now may be a good time to look back at the dozens of archived webinars that you may have missed.

Peer-to-Peer Resources

IECA’s website offers many valuable resources in all specialty areas from your IECA colleagues. These resources include business and marketing advice; lists of colleges with ED or EA plans; financial aid information, accommodation differences between high school and college; webinars; and much more.

Publications

You can purchase a great book or subscribe to a professional newsletter to keep up with great ideas for your practice. IECA offers discounts on a variety of publications for IECs. Additionally, IECA’s quarterly journal, Insights, is mailed to all members and features timely information on admission trends, training opportunities, marketing your business, and much more. Current and past issues can be found here.

Discounts on Products and Services

Members receive discounts on many products and services including insurance, hotels, office management tools, software, and many others.

Finally, the IECA staff is available via email and phone from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET) to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to email us at [email protected].

California Legislation/Consulting Business

Change in Status: An Update on the Legislation in California to Register All IECs

July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 IECA 3 Comments

By Mark H. Sklarow, CEO, Independent Educational Consultants Association

The proposed law to register Independent Educational Consultants, which passed the Senate and Assembly Committees on Business and Commerce, now sits in the Appropriations Committee’s “Suspense File.”

The Suspense File is where bills go that are expected to cost taxpayers money that has not been budgeted. By assigning this bill (AB-1312) to the Appropriation’s Committee’s Suspense File, the state is acknowledging that a bill that was meant to be revenue neutral will, if passed, cost the state of California money.

The California government has estimated that implementation will cost the state between $12 and $25 million in the first three years! In theory, the next step is for the Appropriations Committee to weigh the benefits vs the cost.

In their research, the California government relied heavily on data supplied to them by IECA. Based on this research, our position, and the anticipated cost, they seem likely to conclude that the registry’s cost greatly outweighs any perceived benefit.

Moreover, the Suspense File is where California legislature sends bills—hundreds annually—to die. Often these are bills that sound good to voters but have hidden costs and difficulties. This view—that California was getting into more than they realized—is what IECA was advising in part (our argument was that they would either need to rely on us or spend considerable sums vetting IECs on their own).

Be aware that the bill could be resurrected. IECA will keep an eye on it and update with any additional information as it becomes available.

Consulting Business/independent educational consulting

STI Provides Missing Piece: Camaraderie

March 5, 2019March 11, 2019 IECA Leave a comment

By Mandy Stangeland, MS, IECA Associate (CA)

Like most of the newer independent educational consultants (IECs) I have met, I jumped into starting my practice without any business experience. I had the knowledge coming from the college side of the admissions desk, but running a business was like speaking a foreign language to me. I took some certificate classes from UC Irvine, which was helpful, but I was still missing something, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Then I signed up for the IECA Summer Training Institute (STI) in 2018. I had read about it and it seemed like the logical next step for someone like me who had a year of experience under my belt but no real traction in my business. I quickly discovered the value in the program and realized what it was I had been missing: camaraderie.

The first thing I noticed was how I felt being on a college campus surrounded by like-minded individuals with similar goals. I thought “Wow, this is how our students must feel on their first day of college.” The IECA staff was there to greet us and was two steps ahead of anything we could possibly need (including the aspirin I required one morning for the unexpected and very unwelcomed migraine).

Our cohort was quick to bond over our experiences and our insecurities, which made everyone feel very comfortable. We were able to easily relax and soak in the abundant amount of information that was not thrown at us but spoon-fed carefully to make sure we relished every bite. There were lectures, break out sessions, special topics, and even special guests flown in from all over the world to help us achieve what so many in this industry have already mastered. I was blown away by the faculty’s willingness to share what had and had not worked for them. They even supplied us with examples of contracts, price sheets, and breakdowns of how they work with clients. What I thought would be impossible to acquire from my competition was delivered to me in a two-inch thick binder that has been worth its weight in gold.

The message was clear: there is plenty of business to go around and we want you to succeed. Our success as business owners is reliant on our success as an industry. When we support each other, we all win, especially the students.

Knowing that IECA and my fellow members have my back gives me the confidence I need to go forward. The people from my STI cohort are more than colleagues, they are friends. We share our best tips with each other, consult with each other based on our niche or expertise, and room together at conferences (often saving a bundle on travel expenses). When there is an IEC event, we often seek each other out via a group text or through our private group Facebook page so we can claim a table and settle in quickly. We have even adopted some honorary members because the goal is to never be exclusive. It’s the inclusive culture of IECA that brings so much value to this industry. And for me, that’s how I know I have chosen the right fit profession.

Mandy Stangeland, Wise Owl College Consulting LLC, can be reached at mandy@wiseowlcollege consulting.com.

2019 Summer Training Institutes

July 9–July 13
Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA

July 30–August 3
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA

Visit https://link.IECAonline.com/sti for more information.