We recently connected with Hillary Sciscoe and have shared our conversation below.

Hillary, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

After years in the high-tech grind, I yearned for a deeper connection, ready to channel my experiences into a force that empowers small business owners and visionaries. With a heart full of love for helping people and a toolkit of skills ranging from understanding human nature to leadership at a software startup, I am passionate about guiding others on a transformative journey toward success.

For several years, I helped with marketing implementation. I watched small businesses and entrepreneurs struggle with moving their clients through a progression where the steps needed to align. The strategy was missing. I often think of it like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it sticks. Things were not sticking.

So I took a breath, stepped back, and broke it down. I realized then that this was my passion. 

My heart is happy when I see my clients guiding their audience to transform their lives. My brain is also pleased because I combine my business leadership and heart-centered work to create intuitive client journeys with a seamless marketing funnel and nurture strategy. It’s a mind-body win-win!!

Hillary, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My journey has been a tapestry woven from threads of entrepreneurship, technology, wellness, and spiritual connection, all intertwining since my early twenties. It began with a passion for crafting and sharing creations, starting with hand-sewn goods like purses and evolving into melting glass into intricate beads and functional items. Concurrently, I delved into website design, initially lacking in technological know-how but driven by a desire to showcase and sell my creations. 

Simultaneously, I embarked on a journey into yoga teaching, which quickly became a cornerstone of my identity and opened doors to opportunities in health and wellness. 

During my tenure at YMCAs, my knack for creativity merged with an emerging tech-savvy. I found myself pioneering processes that filled critical organizational needs despite lacking formal training in the field. This knack for technology soon became recognized, and I became the go-to person for tech-related solutions. This led me to become the tech liaison to the board and spearhead the adoption of new systems to streamline operations organization-wide.

As I honed my skills, I delved deeper into technology, mastering website coding while continuing to teach yoga and other mind-body classes. Yoga, in particular, became instrumental in fostering clarity of mind and problem-solving abilities.

I transitioned fully into the tech world and began with desktop support roles before joining a startup software company. In this dynamic environment, I was pivotal in building the customer success function from the ground up, nurturing it into a team of twenty dedicated professionals. After eight years, I pivoted to create the Voice of the Customer initiative, delving into the nuances of the customer journey to enhance their experience.

During this time, our startup experienced remarkable growth fueled by revenue, expanding from a handful of employees to nearly a hundred. Wearing multiple hats, I immersed myself in all aspects of business development and operational processes. Leveraging my passion for aiding others in achieving success, I thrived as a client advocate, leading the company’s dedication to enhancing customer satisfaction. I developed a comprehensive feedback system to collect and analyze customer insights at every touchpoint along their journey.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I need heartfelt, deep connections. Initially, working at the software startup felt like a family. We grew slow; we were bootstrapped. We all wore many hats and collaborated across all roles. We were a remote-first company before many others and grew our team across all the continents. Once we focused our goals on being an enterprise-level service, we began growing faster. Just like any organization, more growth means more rules and more separation.

Siloing began to happen; where we had felt more of a family before, we were being cut off from collaboration. Communication began breaking down between departments. The management was growing more distant from the doers. It was heartbreaking to watch because I truly loved this company and the solution we built. 

I knew it was time for a change. I needed to work more closely with people passionate about life, not software. I wanted to help make a difference in people’s lives, not businesses. I was done with the corporate grind.

So, it was time to return full circle to being an entrepreneur, letting my heart lead.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Your team wants to succeed. They want to feel listened to. They want to contribute. And they need to understand the expected outcome. Managers who forget these things have an unhappy, unproductive team.

I know I cannot come up with the best solution on my own, so I often think of the saying, “It takes a village,” because it does! Consistent communication and collaboration done well are fun! It’s also the best way to begin building something with fewer gaps than if you shut the doors and think you can do it all yourself.

So, ask your team many questions about everything – their vision of their future, the direction of the business, the needs of your clients, and ideas for improvements. Keep talking, then talk some more. And it doesn’t always have to be about business, around their work. Get to know them, their strengths, their dreams, where their blocks are, and help them get grow as a person, not just an employee.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://harmonyvirtualpartners.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hillary_sciscoe/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hireHVS
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsciscoe/