Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Schaub.
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I fell into this career by accident (Kind of). Isn’t that how it always begins?
Since I was young, I felt as if certain things came easy to me, I remember being in class, learning how months, days and years worked – having to create a calendar and thinking, “why are we learning something that’s common sense?”. I’d have thoughts like this throughout my life.
As I got older and into the workforce, I would have the same thoughts. I’d observe a process in place and I would often see a gap or visualize an alternate way to do that same process that would save a couple of steps or reduce an expense. The more comfortable I became at a workplace, I would speak up regarding these things – that didn’t always go well for me. I was pretty blind as to why in the beginning,
I couldn’t understand why I was getting pushback to observations that were common sense; until I was working for a manager named Susan. I’ll never forget her, We were having a 1:1 meeting and I was sharing some of these stories with her and frustrations with other things and I said “it’s common sense!” She said, “No, Sarah; it’s not!” These things you are observing, analyzing, noticing – they aren’t common sense to other people.”
I was shocked. I had no idea that my entire life, people weren’t seeing the same things I was. That they didn’t think the same way I did. I didn’t know that the skills I had were unique to me, and not only that – came naturally. This was when I decided that I was going to focus in Project Management, Business Analysis & Consulting. That has now turned into owning a Consulting Firm that focuses on Enterprise + Business Architecture.
I have a few people in my career over the years to thank, but Susan really opened my eyes to my unique set of skills.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes and No. I think it depends on what you consider struggles and how long of a road you’d like to travel. I was a teen mom, and had my son at 17. I raised him on my own with the support of my family, but I worked more than 40 hours a week, went to college full-time to get my Bachelor’s Degree and graduated in 2013. In 2014, at the age of 34, I was getting my Master’s Degree, and was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. That was a complete shock. I was doing great in my career, my son was in his senior year of high school and things were going really well. Luckily, I was working for a great consulting firm at the time who allowed me a lot of flexibility and provided me much support. It was a very rough couple of years.
I’m not a person to ask, “Why Me?”- I believe every experience, choice, opportunity, path I’ve crossed – has brought me to where I am today. I am 8 years into remission; I’m one of the lucky ones. The road may have been bumpy, had a lot of hills and maybe even a landslide – but there were no dead ends. So I have no complaints.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
AshCo. is a boutique consulting firm that focuses on Enterprise + Business Architecture. We help companies look at their entire ecosystem and determine where improvements need to be made in order for it to operate in a more cohesive manner. There are many components that go into Enterprise + Business Architecture, such as System Infrastructure, Data Modeling, Business Process Improvement, Change Management to name a few.
What AshCo is known for the most is the Workshops we have developed over the years in order to gain an in-depth understanding of our clients’ businesses, their processes and also the people themselves. It’s extremely important to become knowledgeable about the clients’ businesses, business practices, pain points, expectations and their vision. Walking into a company and expecting to be able to deliver a template service never leaves anyone satisfied. So, throughout the years, I have developed various workshops for Project Readiness Assessments, Project Discovery, Rescue + Recovery – in addition to Workshops where I teach methodologies I’ve created to other firms and Project Managers or Program Managers so they can continue success long after our projects are over and become independent.
I think my brand has evolved a lot throughout the years, but has also expanded. AshCo is now serving North America and Europe. We just opened a branch in Dublin, Ireland!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
YES! My entire company is focused on helping companies achieve success in communication, leadership, transparency, cohesiveness and at the end of the day, making sure their business is running smooth. When Covid-19 occurred and companies were forced to move employees remote – I think a lot of people were already exhausted, overwhelmed, sick and so much more – that it was too much of an undertaking and unfortunately, the employees suffered the consequences of that.
Moving employees remote is an entire culture shift that the company needs to undertake. It doesn’t mean employees just now work in pajama bottoms and fancy tops (during zoom) at home and everything else stays the same. Companies need to take the time to evaluate how this changes the entire dynamic of the workforce.
New roles should have been created – especially for Change Management, Project Management + Process Improvement along with Technology Training + Support in any company that went full remote and continues to do so. People don’t adapt well to change, especially when they weren’t offered an option in the change. Project Managers would have been VERY helpful in scheduling, coordination, communication, issue management, escalation and team building. Project Managers are adept at working with colleagues who are their peers, yet also need to be a leader. They are trained to manage constant change, and high-stress environments, and deal with varying personalities – it’s part of the territory. These positions would have been critical for any company in adapting to Covid-19.
Not only was Covid-19 a crisis in itself, and people were panicked and stressed, but their jobs are uprooted into the home and with their families 24/7 – it’s a lot for anyone to take on.
Pricing:
- Free 1 Hour Consultation – By Appointment Only
- Project Readiness Assessment – $7,500
- Rescue + Recovery Workshop – $7,500
- Discovery Workshop – $15,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ashcompany.co
Image Credits
Professional Photography by Bella Charee
Photo & Video Photography https://www.bellacharee.com/
Workshop Photography By Sarah Schaub
