HRBoost : An Entrepreneur leading a HR Shared Services Firm

HRBoost Journey Being an entrepreneur is an amazing privilege. I find I created a business long before I knew I was “in business”. Today, I consider my business to be a marvellous intellectual playground. Every day is different, and the landscape is always changing. Even now, these unprecedented times will spawn new industry and it is inspiring to see businesses pivot in real time. I have been working since I was a teenager, but I feel that when you have a blank canvas by which you paint, it can be daunting, even scary and yet so very satisfying. I believe that we can all lead from wherever we stand.  The current climate requires shared leadership. A culture invitation is at the forefront of a successful leader. Our world is uncertain and while we look to leaders to lead, more people seek for leaders to care. The silver lining to the pandemic has been amazing to witness authentic empathy and compassion in good leaders. We are gaining in feeling our shared values as Americans.

I am motivated by the endless opportunity to bridge to other humans and live in service. I seek to live with joy and purpose through my God given graces and I believe every human deserves to experience joy and purpose through their work. It is heart-warming to know this is becoming more and more relevant in business. I suppose it is hard to know what makes me unique. I know many remember meeting me, as I have new connections over the years that will mention knowing someone mutual and how that person has shared, they just love my energy. They may not know what I do for a living but boy, do they remember my energy. I love that. I would love to be remembered for how I make people feel.

Vision and Services

I lead a HR Shared Services firm that serves the middle market. We essentially build HR departments from scratch and align them to business strategy. We help companies contain costs, minimize employer risk and relieve the administrative burden of HR while creating results that rival big competition. HRBoost has served businesses spanning various industry sectors. Our clients have included Professional Services, Non-Profit, High Tech, Manufacturing, Staffing firms, Hospitality and Healthcare environments to name a few. Thus, we have become industry agnostic. Our clients are typically high growth businesses with 10 to 250 employees though we now serve smaller businesses with our Small Business Bundle services and larger businesses with up to 500 employees on a project basis. All of our clients have one of two things in common. They are growing and scaling and sometimes even experiencing high growth or they are seeking culture transformation.

I am clear about my vision and what we do better than our competition. My team believes in the delivery model and loves the field of HR as much as I do. Our Service Ideals are shared, and our core values align in how we experience the work together. I lead a client centric business and listening to our customers is critical to adding value. In fact, we may be customer obsessed. It is through the client’s experiences that I can improve our business model and service offerings. As we innovate however, the internal team must embrace the change and remain as agile as the external influences. I am proud to say we had 100% participation on our most recent organizational survey. We believe in two-way conversations and gathering team input as we scale and grow. At HRBoost, our employees retreat quarterly for a day. As a team, we review what is working and what isn’t, and the team works the solutions in peer groups for the betterment of everyone.

Thought on Market and its Trends

Small businesses across America are doing everything they can to stay alive and in business right now. I was more worried about people’s livelihood in Illinois than becoming ill back in March 2020. It is now May, and that remains the same. At HRBoost, we have an eye on the future. We are 100% operational on a virtual basis and we have some clients growing despite it all. As a result, we are doing everything we can to help businesses prepare to bring people back onsite. Suddenly, the smallest business realizes the talent emergency and as we go back to work, many will walk into scenarios they never prepared for. It requires a whole new contingency plan. We aim to be there proactively and with a compassionate ear ready to partner to help employees feel safe and help business owners sleep better.

HRBoost Achievements and Accomplishments

In 2010, and amidst the great recession, I left my corporate career to establish HRBoost, LLC. My initial vision was to find leaders who wanted to be the next Best & Brightest® employer while providing support to growing businesses facing a myriad of workforce challenges. By 2012, I realized the business was more than me and I needed a team. With 50% growth year over year in the early years, it became clear HR outsourcing was not HR as I knew it and HRBoost had found a niche. I suppose surviving this pandemic with my entire team still at the helm and me still thriving as a business owner, that may be my latest accomplishment.

HRBoost Intuition

We are the PEO alternative and when it comes to HR outsourcing, the middle market needs an alternative. Our Shared Services approach has been working for clients and for 10 years, we have enjoyed word of mouth growth that keeps us busy. The next few years will be a calculated investment in marketing to see what we can accomplish, and we are excited at the prospects.

One Advice to AspiringEntrepreneurs

“Do what you love and believe you can make a living doing it! Then, when fear wells up in your heart and mind, remember, it is only false evidence appearing real”