EP 281: Scaling Impact: How Dr. April Willis Helps Small Businesses Thrive

What Makes April Willis with April Willis Consulting a Good Neighbor?

Ever wondered if the key to your business success might be hiding in plain sight? Dr. April Willis reveals exactly that as she shares her journey from education administrator to founder of a thriving business consulting firm. With a doctorate and three master's degrees, April discovered that her expertise in business operations could serve not just one organization, but many—allowing her to scale both her impact and income simultaneously.

From individuals to organizations, April Willis Consulting is a full-service consulting firm based in North Texas, serving clients nationwide. Their mission is to empower every client to maximize their potential and actualize their professional goals. With a team of experts, they provide the support necessary to action-plan, implement, and evaluate strategies that take big ideas and turn them into big accomplishments.

They help launch new businesses, plan the future with nonprofits, develop outstanding educational institutions, and coach the brightest leaders across industries. April Willis Consulting takes your amazing ideas and brilliant visions and turns them into reality. They fill in gaps, prepare you for unforeseen obstacles, and support your ambition as you create your next big adventure.

April Willis Consulting stands as a beacon for small businesses, startups, and nonprofits struggling with back-office operations. From HR and PR to grant writing and social media management, April's team of nine specialized consultants tackles everything except legal and accounting matters. What makes her approach unique is the philosophy that "you don't have to do it alone." Rather than forcing entrepreneurs to become experts in every aspect of business, April positions her team as an extension of yours, allowing you to focus on what you do best.

One of the most valuable takeaways from our conversation is April's myth-busting around revenue generation. She candidly explains how many well-intentioned nonprofit founders mistakenly believe grant money will automatically flow once they launch. Instead, she advocates for developing multiple revenue streams regardless of your business model. This practical wisdom comes from nearly seven years of consulting experience and the creation of the National Nonprofit Collaborative, designed specifically to support organizations that desperately need consulting but operate on tight budgets. April's community-centered marketing approach and genuine desire to empower others makes her story not just informative but truly inspiring.

Connect with April Willis Consulting through their website, social media channels, or at community events where they regularly exhibit their services.

To learn more about April Willis Consulting, go to: https://aprilwillisconsulting.com/

 April Willis Consulting

 817-996-8197

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a businessconsultant?
Well, one might be closer thanyou think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
dr April Willis, with AprilWillis Consulting LLC.
Dr Willis, how are you today?

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hi, I'm so good.
Thanks so much for having me on.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, it's a pleasure and we're so excited to learn
all about you and your business.
Can you start off by tellingour listeners a little bit about
your company?

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Absolutely so.
April Willis Consultingsupports small businesses,
startups and nonprofits with allback office operations.
This includes HR, pr, grantwriting, board training,
strategic planning, websitecontent creation, social media
management, even Spanishtranslation.
The only things we don't do arelegal and accounting.
We say we're not lawyers andwe're not CPAs, but anything

(01:00):
else you need support in we canhelp you.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Now, how did you get into this business, april Sure?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
So, my previous career used to all be in
education.
I actually worked at the campus, district and state levels of
education throughout Texas and Ihave a lot of degrees so I have
a doctorate and three master'sdegrees and I found myself at
the top of that ladder in theeducation sector pretty quickly
and I realized what I was doingwith my last full-time job as a

(01:28):
director of business operationsfor a school district in Austin,
that I would be able to do thatsame type of work but for
multiple companies,simultaneously allowing me to
scale my impact and my income.
So that's when I decided tostart my own company and I
haven't looked back since.
We're about to hit seven yearsthis October and it was the best

(01:49):
move I could have made.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Wow, that's awesome April.
Now what is the most commonmyth or misconception you come
across in your industry?

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Oh, that's such a good question.
So I feel like specifically withthe nonprofit world, because we
do a whole lot of support withnonprofits.
In fact, we launched theNational Nonprofit Collaborative
a year and a half ago inresponse to being able to
support nonprofits thatdesperately need a consultant
but can't afford one.
Unfortunately, we know,nonprofits are on super tight

(02:18):
budgets, and so one of thebiggest myths that I encounter
with that nonprofit world arepeople who have these really big
hearts.
Oftentimes they want to solveproblems, they want to give
things away, they want to doreally good things for their
community, and they believe thatif they just start a nonprofit,
the money is going to startrolling in through grants, and

(02:39):
that is simply not the case.
You cannot count ongrant-funded revenue if you're a
new startup nonprofit, and so Ifeel like one of the biggest
myths I'm having to bust is howto generate multiple streams of
revenue, whether you're astartup, a nonprofit or a small
business, because, as in thenonprofit world, it can't all
come from grants, and in thesmall business world, you've got

(03:00):
to get a little creative aboutwhat you're selling to the
public and it might lookdifferent than what you
initially thought you were goingto be able to do so.
I feel like tackling everythingaround revenue generation,
which oftentimes include a lotof myths, is something that
we're pretty good at.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
So, april, who are your target customers and, in
terms of marketing, how do youcurrently attract them?

Speaker 3 (03:41):
really involved in the community.
So you can find me at theChamber of Commerce.
I'm in several women's groups,I'm in rotary clubs, I'm in
anything and everything thatallows me to stay active in the
community, and I feel like thatthat helps generate word of
mouth, referrals.
But the other thing that we'realso getting out of that is this
brand awareness.
So when our social media postsgo out, for example, as part of
our marketing strategy, there'ssome brand recognition involved

(04:01):
with that.
People are like oh, we've seenher, we've seen her at these
events, we've seen her volunteerat these events, and so I think
that really helps.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Now we know marketing is the heart of every business.
Have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast?

Speaker 3 (04:16):
That's a fun question too.
So I've been on a lot ofpodcasts and a lot of webinars,
and I feel like I would love toleave it up to experts like you
to host them.
I don't think I'll ever host myown.
I published a few books, though, and so I feel like getting my
message out in written wordworked out a little bit better
for me.
I think there's just so muchwork that goes on for behind the

(04:40):
scenes podcast stuff that Ireally respect the work that you
put into this.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Now, outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Oh gosh.
So I think a lot of thosecommunity events take up a lot
of my free time.
So, for example, I'm going tobe the president of the Rotary
Club in my neighborhood startingJuly 1st and so there's going
to be a lot of extra timecommitment involved with that.
But I would say outside of thecommunity things also, I love to
hang out with my husband, andwe just got a dog four months

(05:11):
ago, and so this dog is my world.
We don't have children, so thislittle dog is my child, and so
taking him on walks and justreally showing him off to my
neighbors has been a lot of fun.
And then I like hanging outwith friends going out to eat.
You'll find us eating all ofthe time.
Support a lot of localbusinesses that way.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
So, april, can you please tell our listeners one
thing they should remember aboutApril?
Willis Consulting LLC.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
I would say the one thing you could remember about
us is we don't want you to do italone, so we have a team of
nine really dedicatedconsultants who are all experts
in their own field.
So, for example, if you come tous needing HR support, I have
two people on my team who offerthat, and so we're going to
evaluate your needs and delegateit to the right person, and so

(06:00):
we want you to feel like youhave an extension of your team
and you don't have to reinventthe wheel.
You don't have to figure thisout, and you probably are really
good at whatever it is that youdo.
You just need some behind thescenes support, and that's
really where we shine.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
So us doing the shining helps you shine also,
and April, where does yourmotivation to keep going
throughout the challenges ofrunning your business come from?

Speaker 3 (06:25):
Oh, my goodness, it might sound a little cheesy, but
I really, really loveempowering others to maximize
their impact in the world.
That has kind of been my slogansince before starting this
company is I feel like Ithankfully have been.
I've had really good people inmy life who have kind of shown
me things that I could be doingto take myself to the next level

(06:47):
professionally or evenpersonally, and I know that not
everybody gets to have that, andso I really love being able to
be that for other people, to letthem know that you're not at
this, you're not doing it alone.
You've got people who have gonebefore you and people who can
show you the way, and I think ifyou are fully capable of
maximizing your impact, thenthere's nothing stopping you,

(07:07):
and if I can help show peoplelike what they're capable of, I
think that's really rewarding,and I do get a lot of
gratification from seeing theresults of the work that we're
doing and how that's impactingour clients and their livelihood
.

Speaker 2 (07:26):
And for you, April, what does success look like in
your life overall?

Speaker 3 (07:31):
I am definitely an achiever.
So I don't know if you'refamiliar with, like Enneagrams
or Myers-Briggs or thosepersonality tests, I always get
the one that says I'm anachiever and it's interesting
because that means I thrive ongold stars.
Other people might like bakingor gardening or skiing.
I'm like I like achievingthings and part of that looks

(07:54):
like getting another award,getting another client, hitting
another milestone in thebusiness.
So for me I feel like thereisn't one set thing that equates
to success.
It's more of a robust feel ofI'm making clients happy, I'm
succeeding financially, I'mseeing the impact being

(08:15):
recognized in the community.
When I can hit all of thosedifferent metrics, it feels like
I am definitely acquiring thesuccess that I would hope.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
And where can our listeners go to learn more about
April Willis Consulting LLC.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
Sure, april.
Willis Consulting dot com isour websiteisConsultingcom is
our website.
We also have a social mediapresence on Facebook, linkedin
and Instagram.
We have a YouTube channel aswell, so you can catch up on
some of our coaching andconsulting videos and hopefully,
at some of the community eventsthat we're at in person too.
We'd love to meet you.
We oftentimes exhibit atdifferent events, and so if you

(08:49):
see our table out there, comesay hi.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
Well, April, I really appreciate you being on the
show.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (08:58):
Thanks so much, Sophie.
It was a pleasure being on theshow.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPFriscocom.
That's GNPFriscocom, or call469-221-9345.
Music.