The Charlotte Ledger 40 Over 40 Awards Celebration

The Croixstone team is joining The Charlotte Ledger and U.S. Bank on Thursday evening, April 28, to celebrate this year’s honorees of local Charlotte unsung heroes aged 40+ who are doing great things in our community. We are looking forward to a fun night honoring The Charlotte Ledger’s amazing 40 Over 40 winners from 2020, 2021, and this year.

The honorees from 2021 include our very own Patti Weber, CEO and co-founder. Read more about Patti here.

Congrats to 2022’s winners! We look forward to seeing you on Thursday!


Reimagine the Way You Give

Almost 7 years ago, our co-founders Patti Weber (CEO) and Mark Weber (Managing Partner) were seeking a new way to put their skills and interests to work in a meaningful way to give back in their home city of Charlotte, NC.

That search led them to an exceptionally unique nonprofit called Social Venture Partners International (SVP), an organization with a network of 3,400 philanthropists in more than 40 cities around the world. These philanthropists, called “Partners”, help those out to do good to do better – by bringing together donors, nonprofits and social enterprises so together all can make a greater collective impact.

SVP Partners practice what is called “engaged venture philanthropy.”  Venture philanthropy is a type of impact investment that takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals. SVP Partners invest money, time and skills in promising, up and coming nonprofits in their local communities.

The Charlotte Affiliate of SVP is seeking to welcome new Partners who relate to the concept of engaged venture philanthropy. Learn more about SVP Charlotte here, and/or reach out to Mark Weber, who volunteers on the SVP Charlotte Board, at mweber@croixstone.consulting.


We’re Celebrating our Nomination for 2022

The Croixstone team is in a celebratory mood! The firm and our CEO, Patti Weber, have been nominated for the 11th annual 2022 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crowns of Enterprise Awards.

The Crowns of Enterprise Awards recognize and honor small businesses that demonstrate exemplary leadership and sound business strategies. Charlotte-Mecklenburg strives to acknowledge and display the hard work and resilient efforts of the community’s local small businesses, illustrating the positive footprint and economic impact they have on Croixstone’s home town.

Winners will be announced during the annual Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crowns of Enterprise Awards Ceremony taking place on Thursday, May 12, 2022.

Learn more here.


We Have a Passion for Purple!

In addition to sharing a mutual passion for consulting, our three senior leaders (Patti Weber, Grace Lynch, and Mark Weber) are known for their passion for creating awareness for pancreatic cancer.

Purple is the official color that represents pancreatic cancer, and the trio is known across the greater Charlotte region and beyond for their long-term advocacy for the the disease. In fact, their passion runs so deep that Patti, Grace, and Mark launched the nonprofit Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance community group last year to amplify their voices.

Shortly after forming the group, the trio wasted no time in joining the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition, a consortium of nearly 100 advocacy groups from 33 countries on 6 continents.

The World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition spotlighted the work of Patti, Grace and Mark in the October 2021 issue of its global newsletter. Learn more here.


Consulting Industry Factoids

How is the consulting industry faring amidst the global pandemic?

Thanks to the hard work of our talented consultants, Croixstone Consulting celebrated a record revenue year in 2020 (and 2021 is proving to be even better)!  In light of our firm’s success, we decided to dive into Statista’s latest published consulting industry research over the weekend to see how the rest of the industry is faring.

Here are 5 fast facts about the management consulting industry.

  • Industry Size:  The global consulting market delivers $132B in annual revenues while the USA market produces $64.4B.  The USA is the world’s largest management consulting market.
  • COVID Impact:  After experiencing continuous growth between 2015 and 2019, the consulting industry saw a significant revenue loss (-12.5%) across all markets and segments in 2020.
  • Number of Businesses:  In 2020, the number of consulting businesses in the USA reached 831,621, a slight increase over 2019.  It is estimated that this number will increase by 30,000 units in 2021.
  • Number of Consultants:  Since 2012, the number of management consultants in the USA has increased every year, reaching 734,000 consultants in 2020.
  • Revenue Per Consultant:  The average annual revenue per consultant of management consultancies worldwide decreased overall between 2015 and 2020.  During a 2020 survey, respondents reported an average annual revenue per consultant of $208K.

Click here to read more highlights from Statista’s latest research on the consulting services industry.


Seeking Your Next Role? Avoid These 6 Common Mistakes!

We get it.

It is easy to roll your eyes when seeing yet another list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to landing your next role – whether it be in consulting or a traditional employment role.  That being said, the reason these lists continue to prosper is because job seekers, regardless of the tenure in their careers, continue to make critical mistakes during the hunting process.

Here are the most common mistakes and issues that the leaders in Croixstone’s consulting and search practices see on a frequent basis. 

  • The Skeleton LinkedIn Profile:  The calendar reads 2021.  Every modern hiring professional is using LinkedIn today to learn more about you.  The perfect resume isn’t anywhere close to perfect if your LinkedIn profile is incomplete.  If your LinkedIn profile is simply a shell, take action today to build it out.
  • The Resume/LinkedIn Mismatch:  See above.  Every hiring professional is using LinkedIn and is comparing your resume to your LinkedIn profile.  It is a huge problem when your dates, company names, roles, etc. don’t match.
  • The Missing Role:  So you accepted a role for what appeared to be a dream opportunity only to leave after one year to save your sanity.  Don’t kid yourself that it is ok to leave it off your resume.  Keep your information, and integrity, real and be prepared like a pro to explain it away.
  • Mr. and Mrs. Email Addresses:  In the early days of email, many households used one email address.  While you may still love that legacy email address that combines you and your significant other in a clever way, never use it for business purposes.  The same goes for other “cutesy” type of email addresses.  Just don’t.
  • Legacy Email Addresses:  Don’t shoot the messenger, but it is time to ditch the AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, and other early internet email addresses.  Keeping current with technology is important in any professional role today, and using one of the legacies can send the wrong message.
  • The Full VoiceMail Box:  It may sound like common sense, but never let a recruiter or hiring professional reach out to you during your search only to find that your voicemail box is full and is unable to accept messages.

Finally, here are some general job search strategies for highly experienced professionals from the folks at The Balance Careers.


Know Charlotte: 2021 Quarter 2 Growth Report

The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance has published its latest Growth Report for 2021 Quarter 2.  Although Croixstone Consulting serves clients across the United States, we remain exceptionally invested in the economic growth of the Charlotte Region where our firm is based.

Following are our 5 key takeaways from the latest Growth Report.

  • COVID Job Losses:  The Charlotte Region has 43,700 fewer jobs than pre-pandemic (-3.1%), outperforming the nation (-4.4%).
  • Job Gains:  June 2021 showed the most jobs gained since October 2020 (and more than 2x any previous month in 2021).
  • Economic Development Projects:  30 economic development projects were announced in Q2, the highest of any quarter since the CLT Alliance created the Growth Report in 2019.
  • Capital Investments:  These 30 projects represent $1.2B in capital investments (the 3rd highest amount in the history of the Growth Report).
  • Labor Market:  The Charlotte Region is experiencing the lowest ratio of job seekers to job openings since at least 2006.

Read the 2021 Quarter 2 Growth Report here.


Croixstone Recommends: The Harvard Business School Club of Charlotte’s “Management Development Program”

It’s that time of year again when registration has opened for one of the Charlotte region’s best professional development and networking programs – the Harvard Business School Club of Charlotte’s “Management Development Program.”

Croixstone’s co-founders, Patti Weber and Mark Weber, are both graduates of this mini-MBA course that is conducted “Harvard style.”  Taught by 26 Harvard Business School alumni from the Charlotte region, the course curriculum utilizes Harvard’s famous case study method and Harvard publications.  Croixstone’s leaders especially enjoyed the rigorous debate of real-world business challenges that are embedded in the program.

The Management Development Program classes begin September 21 for 13 consecutive Monday nights and are open to the public (space is limited).  And new for 2021, you have the option of participating in person at Queens University in Charlotte or remotely.

Learn more here.


Charlotte Snapshot: International Business & Foreign Direct Investment

As the world’s athletes gather in Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics, we are placing a #FreshStart spotlight this week on the roles of international business and foreign direct investment across the greater Charlotte region.

Did you know?…

  • More than 1,000 international companies representing 40 countries call the Charlotte region home.
  • More than 250,000 foreign-born individuals and families are located across the region.
  • North and South Carolina are 2 of only 9 US states where employment in international business exceeds 7% of total employment.
  • Almost 50% of international companies in the Charlotte region are in manufacturing.
  • The Charlotte region recorded a nearly 16% increase in exports between 2016 and 2019.

Thanks to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance for providing these statistics.  Learn more about international business and foreign direct investment across the Charlotte region here.


Flashback to 2016 / 2017 – Croixstone’s First Year in Business

Remembering Our First Year with Gratitude

As we shared in last week’s issue of #FreshStart, Croixstone Consulting celebrates its fifth business anniversary this month. The first year of operations in any start-up is only made possible through the extraordinary efforts of many partners, friends and supporters.  We are delighted to recognize several partners whose contributions were particularly impactful during the first year of Croixstone’s start-up journey back in 2016 and 2017.

  • Brand Identity:  We owe a HUGE thanks to Wendy Accetta of W. Accetta Design for bringing life to our brand vision.  W. Accetta Design is a boutique design studio that helps clients achieve their goals through smart design.
  • Start-Up Home:  Day #1 of operations for Croixstone began in The Lofts at Factory South in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood.  Thank you to Tommy McCart for allowing us to call Loft 309 our home during our first year in business.
  • Photos:  Any new business requires fresh leadership headshots and website photos.  Many thanks to Charlotte-based photographer Jeff Cravotta of Cravotta Photography for working your magic behind the lens.
  • Legal Incorporation:  We still remember the thrill of being formally and legally incorporated as a North Carolina business.  Thank you Jameson (Jamie) Wells for your legal assistance in welcoming Croixstone to the world.