Caleb Roche Featured on Nwsppr.co
Recently, Caleb Roche, the Founder/CEO of CRoche Consulting was featured on Nwsppr.co and you can find the link to the interview here.
A summary of the interview is also below:
1. Who is Caleb in real life?
Honestly, while I don’t portray it much, I’ve got quite a sarcastic sense of humor. In addition to my business and hobbies, I am also super dedicated to my family and academia. I was one of the youngest admitted students at the University of Central Oklahoma (age 17), married my wife at 19, finished my Bachelor’s degree in Marketing by age 20, studied abroad in Manchester, England, was one of the youngest admitted students at West Texas A&M MBA program (age 20), had our first son at age 20, and am on track to finish his Master’s degree by age 22.
2. What exactly is your aim with Croche Consulting?
I made the company with the focus of Cost-Effective, High-Performance Marketing for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses. We work on going the extra mile for our customers to ensure that they feel taken care of and educated during the process. Our firm attempts to bring in out-of-the-box strategic methods that most small businesses can struggle to implement and tell stories/solve business problems with data.
3. What problems did you face when starting out your business and consulting career?
The biggest problems I faced when I started my consulting career were pretty standard when you think of business ownership. When I first started, I always doubted my services and pricing models, which led to me doing a lot of projects for way less than I should have, while over-extending myself with little money and tons of projects. (This type of work is great for building portfolios, but can also be a great learning lesson since your quality of work typically isn’t as good when you aren’t getting paid enough.) The second problem I faced was creating my own set of tools and software to ensure that my clients were serviced properly during the entire time. In the marketplace, there are so many different tools and pieces of software, which can make it SUPER difficult to find platforms that you work best with.
4. What was that one moment in your life that gave you a sense of accomplishment?
I have two answers to this because they were both essential milestones to feeling that sense of accomplishment:
The first moment in life occurred 7 months ago when my wife and I had our first son. Becoming a father truly changed my mindset and got me thinking how monumental of a moment that had just occurred, along with the impact of what his future legacy will be.
The second moment was when I secured the biggest client I ever had in my business. I received a call from a former business coach asking if I was still doing marketing and if I wanted a referral. I found out that they were a lot larger of a company than I was normally used to and instantly felt the nerves hitting hard. In the first year of starting up, I had the mentality of giving people deals while still working years to (a) prove my worth and to (b) build my portfolio faster than most. This client was different, so I charged 3 times my normal rate and was immediately accepted after my pitch. These are the moments you learn to treasure and always be thankful for.
5. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own consulting agency?
It’s going to be a tough couple of years as you figure everything out. It’s important that you build out your systems and pricing and STICK with them so that you can ensure your business is solid from day one of servicing new clients.
6. Do you think an educational qualification is necessary to succeed in this industry?
I personally don’t feel that it’s necessary, but it definitely helps you in the Marketing industry. When I pitch my bigger clients, I find that it’s nice to mention that I have a bachelor’s degree and an “almost” MBA. The more knowledge you possess, the better you can represent yourself and serve your client.
7. Is there something you’d like to say to our readers?
If you’re thinking about making the jump of creating your own business, be ready for a wild ride. While it’s easy to idolize the entrepreneur lifestyle, I can’t emphasize enough that it’s nothing like what’s portrayed online. If you build your business like I did, and have a full-time job in addition to your “side hustle”, it’s a challenge every day to build your business. Most days I wake up before 7 am and don’t go to bed until 1 or 2 am. You’ll find yourself sitting in bed thinking about how your company should be legally structured, or filling up your iPhone notes with to-dos or future business ideas while having little mental space to think about anything else.
8. Is there something you’d like to say to Nwsppr?
I’m excited and grateful to be chosen to be interviewed by Nwsppr. It’s an incredible source of content, which I follow quite regularly and am honored to be included!
