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Toni Neal
President
SoCo Consulting, Inc.
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Bio:
Toni Neal is President of SoCo Consulting, Inc., a Texas-based management consulting firm that specializes in productivity and profit improvement --- doing things better, smarter and more efficiently in order to maximize revenues while minimizing costs. Since 1991, Toni Neal along with a team of professional consultants, has served hundreds of clients across the United States. SoCo's client include Motorola, Schlotzsky's and some of the nation's largest insurance companies.
Prior to founding SoCo, Ms. Neal was in charge of PriceWaterhouseCooper's Austin office's productivity improvement and regional cash management practices.. As Director of Public Money Programs for the State of Texas Treasury under then Treasurer, and later Governor, Ann Richards, Ms. Neal helped achieve $1 billion in additional interest income by designing and implementing state-of-the-art cash management technologies. Ms. Neal also served as senior vice president for Texas banking organizations in information technology and operations. Currently, Ms. Neal serves on boards of several start-up high technology companies in Austin, Texas and Bozeman, Montana
Community involvement:
St. Edward's University: Graduate School of Management Advisory Board
The University of Texas McCombs School of Business: Advisory Board
Montana State University Business School: Advisory Board
Founder's Club: Phillips Invitational LPGA Tournament
Austin Boys & Girls Club: President
Person most admired:
Carol Thompson-- for her networking skills and heart-felt support for her friends, mentoring of young women, and love of Austin.
Mary Beth Rogers-- for her strength in providing "behind the scenes" support to the powerful in Austin and Texas.
Ann Schneider--for her fun-loving spirit of adventure and her ability to push her friends to new heights.
Hank Duffy-- for transforming me into a Big-6 trained, innovative, customer-centric consultant.
Favorite book:
Always the one I'm currently reading which is "The Serving Leader" and several mysteries...there's nothing like a great book to get your head cleared.
What I enjoy most about my work:
Establishing trusting relationships, closing the deal, and making the customer look like a hero!
Greatest accomplishment:
1-Making more money than I ever thought possible in one year while concentrating first on our customers.
2-Establishing a balance between my personal life and my businesses.
3-Overcoming "You know, I like you and we're ready to move, but we've decided that we
must hire someone with experience in our industry. And, using my favorite line: "Ah, but that's exactly why you should hire me!"
4.Establishing trusting relationships, closing the deal, and making the customer look like a hero!
Greatest challenge:
Getting to a point in my life where I could balance my personal life with my business ventures.
Advances I envision in my field over the next 10 years:
Technology! It keeps providing the ability for consultants to provide better and less expensive solutions to clients.
The shift from an industrial society to a knowledge society has been accomplished. However, the more knowledge-based and specialized the work is, the more difficult it is to maintain the resource "knowledge" in all its necessary forms within a company. The answer is to organize "know-how" intensive work into knowledge networks. Knowledge management has nothing to do with the administration of specialized knowledge on one thing or another, but rather it involves the ability to make appropriate knowledge readily available.
Strategies to maintain balance in my life:
I spend as much time as possible in Montana to rejuvenate. I surround myself with wonderful, fun, supportive friends, and I put the top down on my car and let the wind clear my senses.
Advice for emerging entrepreneurs:
Know your unique ability, follow your passion, surround yourself with talented people, provide the best service/product/solutions possible, always be honest and focus your business on the customer! AND, concentrate on cash flow!!! Market, market, market, then market some more!!!!!
Being an entrepreneur (or principal of a small firm) is a noble calling. There is no need to make excuses for it. The great challenge here, ironically enough, is not so much in convincing the buyer, but rather in convincing ourselves!
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