Peoplr turned 10 this summer and that’s hard for me to believe. We’ve seen so much change over the past decade in ways we never imagined. When I launched the company in June 2014, we were focused on innovation in recruiting to change the way small businesses hire employees. We certainly did that, but what we didn’t know at the time was that innovation was needed more broadly across human resources, not just in recruiting. As I reflect back on the early days and compare them to where we are now, I see a lot of lessons learned the hard way and a lot of wisdom gleaned in 10 years of leading a growing business whose focus (ironically) has been on helping other business owners grow theirs. Here’s what I’ve learned:
We had to really define our market, focus on it, and avoid the temptation to try to be all things to all people. We serve privately held businesses from 1-300 employees and that’s a distinct niche. Trying to serve others has diluted our focus. We understand this market very well and what we do serves it. Every time we stray, we regret it.
I have to step away from tasks and assess the business landscape regularly. It’s easy to get bogged down in delivering client work and doing internal tasks because I don’t want to pay others to do them. When that happens, I’ve missed important trends and challenges that aren’t obvious if I’m distracted. I’ve learned to leverage myself by investing in others and letting go.
I learned to promote and hire the people who compliment my abilities and let them run. At some point, I asked those close to me what I seemed “bad” at (which was a tough message to receive), but once I was able to own that I’m not ever going to be great at everything, it was absolutely transformational for me. I’m so glad I made the decision to let go of certain things and invest in other people. I see lots of entrepreneurial leaders trying to do it all or attempting to grow into their areas of weakness. That’s a recipe for frustration and failure. I’m so glad I brought others in and have been able to let them thrive so I can focus on what I’m uniquely good at.
It is critical that I hold myself accountable daily to developing business. At some point, I realized that selling and expanding a business is not a task…it’s a mindset…and I have to make space for it. Too many founders want to hire someone else to sell for them. I am passionate about the fact that I HAVE TO stay close to customers and ensure that our business is delighting them. I also find it very useful to face objections from prospects and really think about what we need to be doing to overcome those and be uniquely valuable to our business owners.
I’ve learned to support my leaders when they recommend slowing down, codifying what we do and how we do it, and staying true to our very unique cultural norms. This has required a lot of discipline and leadership from those who manage me—and the impact has been enormous. I’d be likely to just keep hyper growing and “figuring it out,” but have learned that doesn’t serve my team or our clients in the best way possible. We also have to test everything we do against the kind of company we want to be, because there is no way we can ignore our values and maintain our culture. Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up.
It sounds weird for the founder of an HR firm to say this, but we’ve had to remain very intentional about being an outstanding employer. We’ve had to drink our own Kool-Aid about how to do an excellent job of recruiting for our culture and expectations. It takes time and planning, but it’s absolutely worth it to build the right team. Then we’ve had to develop pay and benefit practices that can compete with larger companies so that our people stick with us. Every year we’ve tried to do more—improved medical plans and shared more of the cost, implemented additional paid holidays, designed a great maternity benefit, added a safe harbor 401(k) plan where everyone gets an employer contribution, found a great pet insurance offering, etc. etc. etc….the level of appreciation from our team is wonderful and we keep pushing ourselves. And, we’ve had to allocate time and resources to the little things that build connection—we do a lot of wellness initiatives to promote a healthy work/life balance…things like exercise challenges, group (remote) yoga and meditation, and healthy recipe exchanges. We also have a Culture Club that kills it—they plan our all-team retreats, our quarterly events, and even an evening Book Club that everyone loves. I would never be able to do all of this myself—the team just amazes me with what they come up with.
I’ve learned that you have to embrace the fact that the business you start out in isn’t necessarily the one you’ll end up in. As an entrepreneur, you have to recognize that the market shapes your business and the market is always changing. For example, when Peoplr started, I thought we were in the recruiting business. We are doing something new and innovative in recruiting, and we’re really good at it. One day we had a client face a business crisis and an employee relations crisis all on the same day and they needed our help. Our team knew what to do, so we stepped up to help them navigate it. I remember realizing that not only do small businesses need a better solution to recruiting, but also to the entirety of Human Resources. We had the expertise, mindset, and agility to do that work and there is certainly a demand for it. Once we started to expand our scope of work, referrals came in right and left from business owners who were struggling to adapt to the crazy world of people. Helping them is so rewarding to all of us at Peoplr.
As I reflect on who we used to be and who we are now, I am overcome with appreciation for the hard lessons I’ve learned, the team I’ve built, and the direction we’re headed. The idea the business owners choose Peoplr to help them build thriving businesses fills me with gratitude every day. I’m so curious to find out what it will all mean for Peoplr in 2034 and beyond!
-Amy
