We recently connected with Shannon Buchholz and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shannon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Starting my own business was a huge risk that I took after leaving corporate America. I had worked as a recruiter for a company for over a decade, where I faced verbal abuse from my boss. He threatened to kick me in the stomach when he learned that I was pregnant. I was so terrified of disappointing him that I hid my first pregnancy for five months. It was a horrible experience. I even worked from the hospital room after giving birth to my baby. As I grew older, I realized how toxic some of these work environments were. I quit that job after almost 8 years and joined another recruiting firm with yet another toxic environment. Not as bad, but still not where I wanted to be.

When I became pregnant with my second child, I decided to make a change. I had always dreamed of starting my own recruiting firm and it was time to make that happen. My best friend and co-worker, who was moving to a different state and leaving the company we worked for, agreed to join me in my crazy plan of starting from scratch. She is an amazing person and we have grown our business into something beyond my wildest dreams. I have the freedom to attend all my kids’ events at school and be there for them everyday when they get off the bus.

That’s not to say that this was easy. While I was still working my full-time job, I spent another 2-3 hours every night to get Flexo Finders up and running. I worked on weekends, holidays, and very long nights. Seven years later, we are expanding even more this year and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have built.

If you have a dream of leaving corporate America and doing your own thing, I assure you that you can achieve it if you work hard enough!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My career in the printing/packaging industry began over 15 years ago, where I joined a company as a recruiter right after college, strictly recruiting in flexographic printing. I enjoyed my work there, but I left due to the poor work culture. I switched to accounting and finance recruiting for two years, but I realized that my passion was in the printing and packaging industry.

Flexo Finders helps clients find qualified candidates in our niche. We also offer resume writing, job search assistance, and an industry-specific job board that we are developing to help companies connect with relevant candidates.

I love what I do, especially when I can help someone who has lost their job or is looking for a change. It is very rewarding to help our clients find the right talent, and our candidates find the right employer.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met Kellsie while working at the accounting/finance agency. Kellsie and I immediately hit it off and began a friendship that has spanned nearly a decade. We work together very well, and I am so proud of us for creating something that gives us both some purpose and passion. We are able to be full time Mom’s as well as creating the business of our dreams.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had to pivot many times in life and my career. I went to college for journalism and communications. I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. And somehow here I am, in a career I love. Sometimes you just have to trust in the process and let things flow. I have worked during the 2008 recession, covid, and the paper strike in our industry. We have gone through challenging times, but as long as you work hard you can be resilient and survive through the hard times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.flexofinders.com
• Instagram: flexo_finders
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flexofinders
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flexofinders/