David Brookes – CarbonHappy

CarbonHappy provide professional advisory services and consultations centred around financial savings through carbon/energy savings, productivity/manufacturing improvements and procurement/purchasing cost reductions. We also advise on sustainability/environmental/recycling topics. They serve most markets, from the health service through to manufacturing and all in between!! Their services are able to critique most business types and provide meaningful and sustainable solutions.

Q1.  Did you always want to become a consultant or did you fall into the role? 

I started out my career working for an R&D consulting business, I started CarbonHappy in 2009 with a view to helping businesses and institutions to reduce their carbon footprints using a 80% “dirty” footprint methodology, much lower in cost and time than full clean footprints but maximising the carbon reduction.

Q2.  What makes a good consultant?

A good listener, laterally minded and always looking out for the benefit of the client.Q3.  Do you feel you manage yourself well or is it a case of ‘the cobbler’s shoes’?I do manage myself well, I have learn’t through experience that work – life balance is essential to one’s mental well being!

Q4.  Are there enough hours in your day?

Yes

Q5.  If you could magically stop your clients from making one mistake – what would that be?

Rushing into potential solutions without understanding the full picture

Q6.  What do you find is the best way to market yourself?

Using a variety of tools – social media, direct marketing, networking, client recommendations

Q7.  What do you do to unwind?

As many adventures as possible with the family, visting the beach, surfing.

Q8.  What advice would you give a starting consultant?

Don’t underestimate the time needed to build up the business to create a decent income, it takes time to create a working pool of clients.

Q9.  What’s your guilty pleasure?

Red wine

Q10.  What’s your goal for next year?

To double the size of the business and personally to have adventures that have been put on hold due to Covid!!