We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carolyne Hadden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Carolyne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
One of the best things I have ever done for my family and myself is to start my own business. I had an angel investor and we made a large profit our first year and I was able to pay my angel investor back the first year we were open in 1999. I had worked for another recruiting firm prior to opening my own business that was bought out twice and had a dysfunctional work environment. So, I have never looked back and still love waking up in the morning and going to work and working with the people I love.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born in Greenville SC while my dad was playing football for Furman University. We moved a lot when I was growing . I never went to the same school more than 2 years in a row. I had to learn to make friends over and over and adjust to different environments. I think this experience has helped me in the recruiting industry. My degree is in Psychiatric Social work. I started out in retail and then interviewed with recruiting firm where I was the top producer for that company for 8 years. At the time I worked for the other recruiting firm all the recruiters worked on the same job orders and we were only aloud to send 3 resumes each. If I did not have anyone that I did not think was a top match I would not send any resumes. Clients soon started calling the owner of the recruiting firm and asking why my resumes were not in the mix and that is how I started setting myself apart is by only getting the talent our client wanted not only on a technical side but on a culture side. I had a client that pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted him to help me go out on my own and the rest is History. The Hadden Group was always rated the top 5 recruiting firm in Nashville. I have always taught my team to ask them selves would you pay a fee for the candidate you’re presenting our client. I have been told on many occasions that The Hadden Group finds unicorns.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I have survived the death of a husband, breast cancer, and the recession while raising 2 kids and running my company.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Jeff Stone waled into The Tavern with a friend of mines brother while I was having brunch with a friend at the bar and my friend also knew my friends brother so we had a drink together and Jeff asked me what I did for work and I told him I owned a recruiting firm and he asked if we could have lunch because he was looking into investing in a recruiting firm and the rest is blissful history.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://haddengroup.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hadden-group
Image Credits
Carolyne Hadden Carly Hadden Thompson Hadden