Overwhelmingly, media coverage of team building, hiring, training, etc. is often geared towards the issues faced by HR at Fortune 500 sized companies. Even when it’s positioned as advice for small business owners it is often coming from an executive or consultant working primarily with giant corporations. We think it’s far more relevant to hear from small and medium business owners who have successfully grown their businesses – and so we asked some very talented folks to tell us the stories of their initial hires and the struggles and lessons they can share.

Chloe Thomas

I took the leap into entrepreneurship in May of 2021 and made my first contractor hire in August the same year. When starting my company, I didn’t want to be the “jack of all trades”. I loved website design but potential clients were consistently asking me for brand design as well. Read more>>

Kay Rivas

When I first launched my business, it was just me—a one-woman company with a vision. After more than 20 years in catering sales, I knew I wanted to create my own catering company, one where I could cultivate the culture I had always imagined: fun, freeing, and full of passion for food. Read more>>

Mack Lewnes

My brother, Sam, and I took over ownership in 2017 from our father, so the restaurant was completely staffed. Our goals were to learn every facet of the business and the processes for each of the positions. Read more>>