Consultant Gives Businesses a Spark

(Each week Patch will spotlight a different New Tampa Chamber of Commerce member. Here is our first feature. Want to be spotlighted, too? Email John.majeski@patch.com.)

Name: Neil Heird, principal and owner
Business: MindSpark Consulting

Patch: How did your business get started?

Heird: I actually began developing my business plan in 2010 while attending business school at the Crummer Graduate School for Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. My enrollment coincided with the (then) recent housing bubble collapse prompted by credit default swaps and mortgage backed securities issues. Even though the totality of this impact on the global economy was not yet widely understood by main street America, I began to more clearly understand the paradoxical fragility of small business and its potential role in the US economic recovery. At that time, small business accounted for just over 40% of the US workforce, but was the least represented economic constituency in most major financial centers. Translation: the biggest positive contributor to the US economy was also the most likely to be adversely impacted by it. I saw this observation as an opportunity.

Prior to attending business school, I spent 15 years as a health care executive.  Our company had 60 business units across 3 states and we were forced to use both national and local suppliers in the course of normal operations. Many of the smaller vendors used were small business owners, and I spent a great deal of time developing and maintaining relationships with these amazing business people. That is when I first noticed the disparity between the risks and rewards of large companies and the small business owner. 

With these insights fresh in my mind, and many new perspectives gained from my business school experience, I decided to pursue the creation of a business consulting firm that was exclusively focused on small business.

Patch: Tell us about what you do.

Heird: MindSpark Consulting creates a dynamic business strategy that delivers bottom line impact. Specifically, I assist business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs identify and address barriers that interfere with optimum business performance. This includes traditional business consulting deliverables such as planning, analysis, and strategy.

One of the strongest value ads and competitive advantages my company provides is that we teach our clients how to leverage the internet to achieve business objectives. From Web Design, Search Engine Marketing, and Social Media to custom programs for specific functions, we harness the efficiencies of the internet and incorporate them into existing or new workflows. 

Patch: What do you think of the business community in the New Tampa area?

Heird: New Tampa is a wonderful business community, which is rich with good hearted, hard-working business owners across many business verticals. As a whole, I believe there is unrealized potential here. Given the prevalence of small business in the area, however, I find the area especially invigorating.

Patch: What has been the biggest challenge to you as a business owner?

Heird: Our biggest challenge has been helping individuals realize that “money is just another resource” available to them. There are many successful small business owners in the New Tampa area that still struggle with the ebbs and flows of the economy. This is often translated into a “spend frugally” mind-set. My concern with this trend is that the perception of limited resources can lead to limited thinking, and thus, limited solutions. 

Part of my mission is to help business owners embrace the idea that while money (I am referring to day to day cash on hand) is certainly an important resource, it is not always the best resource to deploy. 

Patch: What advice would you give another person venturing out on their own in business?

Heird: Plan. Plan. Plan some more. There is no substitute for this critical step in any venture. Poor planning almost always leads to poor results.  It is really that simple.

Patch: How can people get in touch with you?

Heird: Our website is www.MindSparkConsulting.com and our email is Neil@MindSparkConsulting.com. The phone number is 407-791-3362. The address is 17812 Eagle Trace Street but I usually meet with clients at their business location.