I watched the video and followed all the details carefully. It’s extremely important for anyone starting out in this type of business. Thank you so much, Feras, for your sincere efforts in teaching and training.

I connected with Feras twice about how to start my coaching and consulting business, and he gave me very down to earth advice. It wasn't always what I wanted to hear, but it was real and within reach, pragramatic and caring. I'm so grateful for his time and support, and really appreciated his seasoned perspective! Thank you, Feras!

Feras surgically diagnosed my specific situation. The gems of wisdom he shared, specifically about stepping back from the tech to focus on validating assumptions, were exactly what I needed to hear.

This is one of the best content I ever received online. I am also taking a big risk at 60 starting my consulting business but the way you have broken up the entire process it's just pure gold Sir. Can't thank you enough.

It was a pleasure to host Feras as a guest speaker in my entrepreneurship class at San José State University. He delivered an engaging and insightful talk that inspired our students to think deeply about their entrepreneurial journeys. Drawing from his experience as a serial entrepreneur and his discipline as a black belt in Aikido, Feras shared practical lessons on focus, resilience, and leadership that energized the class and sparked meaningful reflection among future entrepreneurs.

I’m in the early stages of starting my own consulting business (focused on cafés and hospitality). I’ll admit I’ve been pretty nervous about taking the leap, but your video just made it a little easier and clearer. Really appreciate the way you broke it down - it gave me the push I needed today.

Feras volunteered his time to speak and network with our students for a full day as a judge for the 2024 Start Up Challenge hosted by the USF Nault Center for Entrepreneurship. In preparation for the event, Feras went above and beyond what we normally see from our judges. Feras provided insightful feedback and took a genuine interest in working with our students. His dedication left a lasting impact that will undoubtedly benefit those who had the opportunity to interact with him. We hope to welcome Feras back to work with our students again soon.

It was so great to have Feras at our event! Our attendees were pleased by his presentation and how interactive he was. Feras is a natural and humble storyteller so I only heard positive comments from our attendees. I think there will definitely be opportunities for him to come back to speak in the fall.

Thank you so much for your time and imparting your wisdom and insights with my class tonight! You were awesome in so many ways. So genuine, thoughtful, and engaging.

Your advice was invaluable and offered much clarity. I followed your recommendations and now hit my goal of 100K in revenue.

My good friend and former colleague, Feras Alhlou, published this awesome resource for anyone trying to make the move into entrepreneurship by building a consulting business. This video epitomizes one of the things I appreciate most about Feras: a generosity. This resource is valuable, insightful, and offers a clear pathway where you may be currently feeling stuck, uncertain, anxious, or simply blocked. One of the great things about good mentors is getting to benefit from the mistakes and lessons they learned along the way. You’ll make your own mistakes and learn your own lessons, too. But when someone shares such a great framework for building a successful consulting business, I’ll encourage you pay attention every time.

Thank you for the outstanding presentation! I am actually a Six Sigma Black Belt. ... Thanks again for your outstanding presentation and expertise. Onward and upward, Sir!

Thank you very much for the information, techniques and points. SCORE is a life-saver for small businesses.

OUTSTANDING!! Never heard this type of insight and I have been working with small businesses for 15 years!

Meanwhile I am following up on your pearls of wisdom!

I finally got to watch the video of your pricing class. It was excellent! Loved the 7 models and the selection matrix.

This was one of the best SCORE sessions I have attended in the last 18 months.

Contents are highly professional and at the same time covered foundational information

Your channel and the 2-3 videos I’ve watched so far our absolutely outstanding and just want I need. Once we connected, I actually took from your advice and started to create what I assumed you were talking about: a CRM in excel! I’ll then be using your example to further refine. You have really instilled another level of confidence in me and the importance and value of detailing every client. As well as methodically working through my list, a little but every day. The data has now become so rich.

We greatly benefited from Feras' management of our recent business purchase. He accurately and succinctly represented the seller and helped to organize the information in an understandable way to evaluate the business' health and opportunities.

I had zero experience in M&A. Feras walked me through every step of the process, proactively identifying potential gotchas and how to address them. Feras also did a great job in setting realistic expectations on valuation and timelines.

Thank you so much for your time and expertise. Love your videos.

I've been owning a digital marketing consultancy for the past 5 years and growth has stalled. Feras's Black Belt Startup program was instrumental in order to put in place the healthy habits I needed to accelerate future growth without depending on referrals.

I’ve been looking into e-commerce and had some questions that needed answering before diving in. Feras provided me with some good insight and unwavering advice. From previous meetings I’ve had with others it didn’t go down too well due to their lack of patience but Feras showed humility, patience and genuine care. Many thanks

I was recently laid off from my corporate job and have been contemplating various business ideas, including consulting and service-based ventures. My main challenge is choosing a path, understanding how to validate each idea, and figuring out how long to test it for feasibility. After taking the free course and meeting with Feras—who was approachable, knowledgeable, and friendly—he provided valuable, candid advice on my current thinking based on his work with hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs, and shared many free resources from his website. Working with Feras is a wise choice for anyone looking to start, refine, or scale a consulting or service-based business.

After two decades and seven successful business ventures, UTulsa alumnus Feras Alhlou is paying it forward with Start Up With Feras. His platform offers business coaching, mentoring, and a supportive community for entrepreneurs, with a focus on students and recent graduates.

I really enjoyed this video! It was eye-opening to hear about the struggle many people face when thinking about jumping from a stable job to entrepreneurship. One big takeaway for me was the importance of having a solid financial runway before taking that leap. Knowing your personal and business expenses can really help ease the fear of the unknown. Also, I loved the idea of using a calculator to keep track of everything; that's something I hadn't thought about before! Another lesson was that it's totally normal to feel hesitant, but it’s also essential to find that balance between a full-time job and your side hustle. Sacrifices like cutting back on travel and hobbies can make a huge difference in your budget. Overall, this video made me think about my own plans in a much clearer way!

I can listen to Feras Alhlou for hours. He has so much insight and advice around leading and scaling a company from his successful businesses.

I started a research and strategy consulting practice a few years ago and didn't know what I didn't know. After just one video and one conversation with Feras, I realized the missing pieces -- thinking about a sales funnel and using a CRM. This understanding is shifting my roll-out of new services and, well, just how I nurture relationships. Thanks Feras!

Huge shout-out to Feras Alhlou with Start Up With Feras for an OUTSTANDING coaching session. It was such a breath of fresh air and exactly what I needed as I enter the next stage of my career.

I really was ... amazed by the pragmatic advice ... that not only answered my question but gave me the confidence that we could do it.

I was thrilled to welcome Feras to my show, The Creative Solutions Podcast. He is a terrific guest. He knows his stuff, and he shares his wisdom generously. We had particular fun exploring how the martial arts (specifically aikido, which we both practice) relates and inspires success in other areas of work and life. If you want a personable, inspiring, and eloquent guest for your show or event, you can’t go wrong with Feras.

@mehboobhussain1 Thanks a lot for choosing this niche. I am a manufacturing and career consultant in Pakistan. I was eagerly looking this type of guidance. I feel obliged to thank you again Feras.

@PeterBeckenham What a clever way to provide an analogy for a successful business. These 8 principles are priceless. Also subscribed as I'm always open to insights from people outside my business focus

Last year, I founded Palytics with a mission to enhance the digital capabilities of SMBs by establishing a solid Analytics foundation. Launching a new venture presents significant challenges. As Fares has often highlighted in his insightful videos, entrepreneurship demands more commitment than a side hustle. I benefited immensely from the wealth of free resources Fares offered on YouTube, which directly addressed the ongoing challenges I encountered. Feras's willingness to respond to my emails, engage in brief calls, and share his agency insights has been invaluable. His extensive experience in this field is evident. For anyone initiating a service-oriented business, whether in Analytics or another sector, Feras is an indispensable resource for advice on business models, sales, marketing, and related areas.

Feras gave me insightful suggestions and expertise. His friendly demeanor and wealth of knowledge made the discussion engaging and impactful. I'm excited to start implementing his advice this week and delve deeper into his valuable insights.

I am a victim of this dark side. Now, reshaping my career path. I always find your content practical and most importantly you don't waste your audience time. I feel obliged to thank you again for this video. Thanks heaps Feras