The Bovard Brief
Practical perspectives on events, strategy, and the business of consulting — from the desk of Ilse Bovard.
Where I Learned to Watch the Room
I was recently asked to describe my equity values for a consultant directory. The honest answer isn't a policy — it's a place. On growing up coloured in South Africa, and how that shapes who gets heard in the rooms I facilitate.
The Networking Question Nobody Asks
What if networking wasn't about being seen — but about showing up to serve?
I'm part of a Nonprofit Consultant Learning Lab, and this week's session stopped me in my tracks a little.
We covered credibility, differentiation, visibility, relationship building — all the things you'd expect in a conversation about growing a consulting practice. But the moment that stuck with me came from a fellow consultant named Allison.
She described her approach to networking this way: before she walks into any room, she asks herself how can I serve here? Not what can I get, not who do I need to meet. How can I serve.
She's built what she calls "homes" — conferences, gatherings, and communities where she shows up consistently, where people know her, and where she contributes through speaking, coaching, and workshopping. Not every event. Not every opportunity. The ones where she genuinely belongs and can give something real.
It reframed something I thought I already understood.
Visibility isn't about volume. It's about depth in the right rooms. And credibility isn't just what's on your bio — it's what people experience when you're actually in the space with them.
As someone building Bovard Consulting at the intersection of nonprofit and financial services work, that landed. The goal isn't to be everywhere. It's to be genuinely useful in the places that matter.
Still thinking about where my homes are. But I know that's the right question to be asking.