SCP Business Development Group Friday, January 17, 2025 12:00 EST Cost: $0 The Society of Consulting Psychology is announcing a new special interest group: The SCP Business Development Group! (Facilitator) Lubna Somjee, Ph.D. Executive Coach and Consultant Anytime I have attended a conference, town hall or other SCP meeting, the issue of business development has come up more times than not. People are often eager to talk about what works - and what doesn’t - when it comes to growing one’s business! Whether you are early career and starting out, or mid to late career and pivoting to new industries or approaches to your business, so many of us are eager to discuss this important topic. Some of us have mentors who have worked with us closely to guide us through building a business, but many of us have not had that opportunity. The SCP Business Development Group is a way for anyone interested in learning and sharing about business development to participate and genuinely support each others’ efforts - and get to know each other better. Why am I doing this? I originally did something very similar for a group I founded in 2019 (the Professionals of Color Hudson Valley), and then facilitated business development groups for other organizations. I firmly believe we go further when we go together and that it is important to close the information and opportunity gap. This is one small step towards this end. What: The Business Development Group will meet approximately four times a year for one hour and will include a structured format whereby members can obtain support around specific questions or pain points regarding the continued growth or shift of their business. Questions or pain points can include areas such as discussing marketing, new program for clients, how to be a stronger speaker, breaking into certain industries, networking, and so forth. Every so often we may have themes for meetings, or will invite speakers or a guest co-facilitator with varying areas of expertise. Given the time frame, we hope to get to at least 3 questions during each meeting. Who: This group is for anyone within SCP: interested in discussing a specific business challenge or pain point you would like to obtain feedback or actionable advice from your colleagues/the attendees, interested in supporting your colleagues who have business development questions by providing feedback or concrete advice, based on your experiences and expertise, and/or interested in business development conversation - you never know when something someone said might spark an adjacent idea for your own business, or a collaboration! Please note for some, sharing a business challenge is effortless and for others it can feel quite vulnerable. We are asking that challenges or pain points shared by individuals during this meeting be kept confidential. This is required in order to participate and critical to the success of this group. Please also note that we cannot discuss the specifics of fees during the actual meeting as this could be misconstrued as price fixing. When: Our next meeting will be January 17th from noon-1pm EST Where: Via Zoom - details will be sent via email upon registering I will be facilitating the group so if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. Looking forward to it! Learning Objectives Attendees will walk away with practical ideas regarding business development or insights into what they need to be thinking about in relation to their business challenge. Attendees would also be giving back by supporting colleagues with practical ways to deal with business challenges from their experience and perspectives. Members getting to know each other better. Please note I will facilitate and share thoughts but will not be formally presenting material. From time to time I, or guest co-facilitators, may present on business development topics. Please let me know if you have questions or need any additional info.