Your professional services and consulting clients are powering real change and innovation.

From building our schools and designing public spaces, to combating climate change and cyber security, the work delivered by professional services and consulting businesses is incredibly necessary. But the industry has its challenges, as most do. They experience fluctuating markets, and growing pains like everybody else. So in order to keep doing what they’re doing, they need a little expert help.

Enter the Projectworks Academy.

Developed by and in collaboration with industry experts who truly understand the consulting industry and its challenges, Projectworks' new courses are designed to equip the learner with the skills and strategies needed to tackle today’s consulting challenges and drive meaningful change.

Here’s a quick overview of the Academy’s first two courses.

Positioning 101: How to stand out in the market

A marketing course built for non-marketers in the consulting industry. By taking this course, learners will gain strategic clarity and practical marketing skills, all grounded in real-world examples, to help them grow their firm and overcome business challenges.

Consulting businesses can take this course to:

• Learn how to craft a cohesive brand message that connects with their ideal clients and sets their firm apart.
• Gain the skills to confidently articulate what makes their services uniquely valuable and appealing to the right clients.
• Discover expert strategies to differentiate their firm from the competition and showcase their unique strengths.
• Break through growth plateaus with actionable strategies to help their firm grow to the next level.
• Access simple, practical marketing techniques designed for non-marketers to help their firm grow.
  

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Course Teachers

Mark Orttung - CEO, Projectworks‍

Mark was president of the President and COO of fintech platform Bill.com for seven years before becoming CEO of consultancy firm Nexient in 2014, which he led through a period of brand re-positioning, growth and acquisition.

Ellen Daley - Board Member, Advisor

Ms. Daley currently serves as an independent board member and advisor on several private professional service company boards, including Pierce Washington, Carbon60 & Astrica. Ms. Daley most recently was CEO of Acorio, ServiceNow’s largest boutique Consultancy that was sold to NTT DATA in 2020.

Jacob Lawrie - Head of Marketing, Projectworks

Jacob is a marketing leader and advisor to high-growth businesses. Prior to joining Projectworks he led marketing at Timely which was acquired by Nasdaq listed EverCommerce in 2021, and earlier was a part of cloud accounting software giant Xero.

1% Advantage: How small changes can drive big results

Learn what small, practical changes can drive profitability. The 1% Advantage course leverages expert real-life examples and lived experience to teach professional services leaders and their advisors how to increase margins through small, impactful operational changes.

Consulting businesses can take this course to:

• Learn how to optimize employee utilization to capture every billable hour and stop leaving money on the table.
• Discover simple, strategic changes that help reduce operational costs and increase the firm’s margins.
• Find clarity in their growth strategy with small, manageable steps that bring order to the chaos.
• Learn the metrics benchmarks of most professional services firms, and gain the tools to measure their own performance.
• Learn what small, impactful changes to make that will drive results without feeling overwhelming or disruptive to the firm.
  

[Go to this course]

Course Teachers

Stuart Watson - Education Manager, Projectworks

Stu is an education expert who joined New Zealand’s booming tech industry in 2014 after a decade in further education. He has combined his skills in education with tech innovation at various startups.

After years in various roles, from marketing, building products, and building one the first product teams for a government department. He has returned to his first passion with the aim of strengthening the Professional Services community.

Summary

The Projectworks Academy is made for your consulting clients to enhance their business skills and grow their professional services firm with practical insights from experienced leaders. If your professional services or consulting clients are struggling with growth, then The Projectworks Academy is for them.

Technology, educational resources, and business advisors such as accountants and bookkeepers, are vital  for creating a thriving consulting and services industry. As we approach the end of year slow down, now is the time to prepare to start 2025 with a bang. Share The Projectworks Academy with your professional services and consulting clients (or even take the course yourself) and you’ll arm them with the knowledge and skills to fuel their growth in 2025 and beyond.

About Projectworks

Projectworks is a professional services automation platform that helps consulting and professional services companies around the world to better plan their projects, resources, and profits. Providing insights into real-time project performance and bottom line projections, Projectworks enables their customers to maximize billable time, streamline operations, and fuel growth.

Projectworks have a global network of business advisory and software implementation partners who help their clients succeed using Projectworks. Interested in joining the Projectworks Partner Community? Apply here.