Modern Entrepreneur: Mark Henderson

Mississauga’s Mark Henderson, who just wrapped up his second year at McGill, has taken the leap into the entrepreneurial world but has added a twist. His company, Henderson Consulting doesn’t charge anything for their services. It’s even in the company name, with the words “Pro-Bono Consulting” and after chatting with him, he assures me there are no strings attached, no fine print and no tricks.
When asked what directed him to start Henderson Consulting, Mark says  “it’s been a long time in the making… I wanted to try something entrepreneurial didn’t know when to start. I’ve previously worked on cases analysis projects at school and became proficient at them through repetition and then suddenly the lightbulb went off and I figured the smartest route for my first step would be to start up a consulting firm.”
I asked him why pro-bono and he replied that he’s not quite ready to monetize his solutions as he wants to give back to the community and help small businesses and non-profit companies as he truly sees and shares their vision.
“I created this as a platform to communicate with others as I want to help solve their problems so they can focus on being successful.”

Mark’s currently taking finance and accounting in school and launched his company in April of this year on his own. He has had a couple of clients already, which is a great start for any new company.
He deals with Human Resources, sponsorship acquisition, social media strategies and marketing as far as services offered.
The Human Resources aspect as an accounting and finance student isn’t conventional but Mark says “I’ve had a fair amount of HR experience…I’ve managed a lot of people at school with clubs and was a part of a national case competition that focused on HR.”

He has used social media to promote his business so far and it’s worked well as he’s locked down a few well-know clients. Mark has also utilized his network to spread the word about what he’s doing in hopes of heightened awareness
Mark would love to jump on board with a larger company but that’s a “far in the future” goal. For now, he’s happy to help small local businesses through his simple yet effective business model.
“If you want to do something for yourself and have a passion for it, you don’t have to initially monetize it…the money will come later” says Mark.

Will it always be pro-bono? “Under Henderson Consulting, yes but if/when things change, I’d change the name to avoid any confusion.”

With a giving-back attitude and an approach that aims to benefit others through a unique offering, the kids, at least this one, are are quite alright.

http://hendersonprobono.com