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Parm Sidhu is what most consultants say they want to be: an operator and an advisor at the same time. 

While working at Deloitte, Parm built Student Storage into a 20-campus business across Canada. It’s an impressive feat, especially this early in his career. 

And it’s also why my conversation with Parm matters. 

Because once you’ve run something yourself, you don’t think —- or advise — the same way again.

A lot of people have ideas, but there’s usually a specific point where it flips from “this is interesting” to “this could actually work.” What was that moment for you?  

Parm: Yeah, I remember it clearly. We had just put up flyers around campus, and one student scanned the QR code and paid a $20 deposit. That was it. 

It sounds small, but that was the moment when everything clicked for me. Up until then, it was just an idea my friend had brought to me, something we thought could work. But when someone actually pulls out their phone and pays, it changes how you see it. 

That’s when I thought, okay, this is real. 

If one person is willing to pay for this, there are probably more. And that’s when my mindset shifted from “let’s experiment” to “this could actually replace my job one day.” 

Before that, I hadn’t really had a business idea that stuck. I’d always been entrepreneurial, but nothing that felt like a real opportunity. This was the first time I saw something tangible happen. 

And it’s funny, because people talk a lot about validation through surveys and research, but for me, it was just that one transaction. That was enough to make me believe there was something here worth pursuing.

You were running the business while working full-time in consulting. What made you keep going through that phase? 

Parm: Honestly, it was the fact that it felt like my own thing, like my baby. 

Consulting conditions you to work hard, so you’re already used to 60, 70, 80-hour weeks. In terms of volume, it didn’t feel like I was doing more. But the type of work was completely different – because we were literally moving boxes ourselves. 

On our first big move-out weekend, I don’t even know how many pounds we moved. I remember the next day I was so sore that I had to take another day off work because my body just couldn’t move. 

But the entire time, I felt this kind of high that I never felt in consulting. And it was because I was seeing the results of what we were doing in real time.  

We had happy customers, happy parents, everything was flowing smoothly and it was something we had built. 

Even the scrappy parts were fun. We built a basic Squarespace site, tracked everything in Excel, learned Canva for marketing, filmed social media content ourselves on campus. It wasn’t polished at all, but it didn’t matter. 

And I was doing all of this while on a client project. I’d come back Thursday night, go straight to campus to hand out boxes, work Friday through Sunday, then fly back out Sunday night. After work each day, was responding to emails and calls. 

It was a lot, but it didn’t feel like work in the same way. 

It felt exciting. It felt like something I owned. And that’s really what kept me going. 

You’ve worked in consulting, and you’ve built your own business. How did running a business change the way you think as a consultant? 

Parm: Consulting teaches you to think at a very high level. You’re working on strategic projects for large companies, often focused on one function like finance or strategy. Everything is structured, and you’re advising from a certain distance. 

Running a business is the opposite. You’re dealing with everything at once, like operations, customers, hiring, and logistics – and it can be messy. You’re not just thinking about what should happen; you’re the one making it happen. 

When I went back into consulting after running the business, I found that I naturally removed a lot of the fluff. I don’t rely on jargon the same way. I just think in terms of what actually needs to be done to make this business better? 

I also understand how owners think now. They don’t care about fancy slides; they care about impact. They want to see results. 

And when you’ve been in that position yourself, it changes how you communicate. You’re more direct, more practical. 

Running a business forces you to think in terms of execution and outcomes, not just ideas. And I think that makes you a much better advisor, because you’re not just telling someone what to do, you understand what it takes to actually do it. 

What We Can Learn from Parm Sidhu:

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This is a basic one, people.  

And sometimes, the basics are the best.

The easiest way to make a point and visualize growth, loss, or change is with a Comparison chart.

We all know how to make a bar graph. The trick is showing the delta between the bars.

This visualization helps the audience get to the point, which is that there’s a change.

With a Comparison chart, they stop spending the first 30 seconds deciphering the chart and connect the dots right away.

Picture a SaaS client who’s convinced they had a sales problem. 

Targets were missed, and everyone was pointing at the pipeline.

Using a Comparison chart, their consultant broke down revenue by product and over time.

Pretty quickly, the story changed.

One core product did most of the heavy lifting, while newer offerings weren’t gaining traction.

Instead of pushing the sales team harder, the company refocused efforts on what was working and fixed what wasn’t.

The result? They unlocked growth without overcomplicating the plan. 

Save time and grab this template for your next engagement.