We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Varsey Laurelle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Varsey below.

Varsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Entrepreneurship is the biggest risk of all. Once you make that risk, to not get a “reliable” check every two weeks, not have people directing you on what to do, there’s just a whole bunch of associated risks that come with that in your duration of entrepreneurship.
– The risk on trying new things + new offerings
– The risk on pricing (is it too high? Too low?)
– The risk on hiring subcontractors + consultants (will they help your mission or hurt your brand?)
– Hiring employees (will they drive the needle forward? Will they support?)
– Taking time off (every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else)
It’s just a big ball of risk that some risks you get more comfortable with, some risks you don’t, based on your experience, make up values. So entrepreneurship equals risk.

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?

I am the Founder + Chief Change Officer of Varsey Laurelle Consulting, where we help leaders + teams get shift done. That shift could look like clarity coaching, supporting with fractional HR + culture work. and one-off HR projects. I’m also a speaker + workshop facilitator. Everything I do is anchored in self-leadership – how can you align your values with your goals + have intentional movement forward which looks like culture + community as well as creating processes that support the culture + community.

I have a background in marketing, HR, + training + development. This was a natural progression. I’ve always loved training. I’ve always loved shifting people + seeing the “aha” moments. That’s what fuels me. So I decided to leave corporate in 2021 + take a RISK + do my own thing. It has been one of the best decisions of my life.

I provide clarity overall for my clients, clarity + a clean line forward to get to their next best. Sometimes in life we need a thought partner or a guide to confirm, support, or illuminate. + that is what I do. I help build HR infrastructures for small organizations so that there is clarity + consistency in how they do things, which helps the team be more confident + aligned in their work + in the organizational goals. I also just love to make people laugh. It’s one of those things that I have been doing from as far back as I can remember consistently, + it brings me joy. Laughing is one of my favorite things. I don’t know if I go one single day without laughing. + I probably have, + that’s probably in seasons of depression is where laughter was scarce. + so with that, I have always had comedy + laughter as a part of my facilitation + speaking style.

So I have recently taken another risk + started doing improv + stand-up, + it has been so amazing, so terrifying, + as an adult to be new to something totally out of your realm + just be that level of vulnerability has been terrifyingly refreshing.

What sets me apart from others, just going off of feedback, has been my relatability, adaptability, authenticity, + good energy/vibes that I bring. I make people feel seen, I’m a good listener, + I’m really good at connecting the dots, which is an output of having clarity. People really appreciate that + value that in the work that I am going to tell + dig into the hard truths.

I am just most proud of anytime someone references something that I said or did that sparked their curiosity, insight, or awareness. I feel a hum in my heart – like I feel so purpose-driven when that happens + very confirmed. I am proud of that, + what I would want potential clients, followers, or people that I influenced to know about me is:
– I am genuine
– I am caring
– I am human
I truly have a vision to create a human-centered world one shift at a time. That’s what I’m doing with this work. It feels like a calling, but it also feels like me. I would want you to know most importantly that everyone’s dream is unique to them. + if you have that dream, it is supposed to be fulfilled. Yes, external factors are a thing, but mostly we are all getting in our own way because we are afraid to take risks, afraid to look foolish, or afraid to fail.
My work is all around letting me give you a space, a safe space, to activate your dreams.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Yeah so based on what I had in the pipeline Q1 of 2025 was by far going to be my best quarter yet in four + a half years of business + so um I prepared for that I had a I got a part-time employee with that expectation um + I set up systems + processes to support you know these clients + um you know we took a me + the kids took a great like spring break trip where we balled out I don’t think I ever said no to anything the whole week + um I came back at the end of March from spring break um to emails of everyone canceling the contracts + pulling the plug + saying you know I don’t know when but let’s talk later right + the devastation that came over me was rough it was rough um Q2 + 3 continued to be very hard um taking out personal loans + scaling back + you know just being behind + feeling um unsure um it got me to get really creative + identify okay what are people concerned about how do we pivot how do I stay true to my brand in what we do but also structure it in a way for what people are needing right now you know what sacrifices do I need to make to just be able to survive + I don’t know how long this is going to take like um I cut back the hours of my part-time team member but I knew I still needed her to um you know do more marketing + expand + you know collaborate with um a lot of conversations that I didn’t know where they would go I had the opportunity to uh put to get my name in the hat for a full-time role I went through the whole process um i was very attuned with like if i get it then i’m all in i’ll do my business on this side if i don’t get it then i need to go super hard with this with my business + I was happy that I was 8 willing to go back to full-time work + work for a corporation because I said I would never do that um I did not get the role + I have been going extra hard on my business um I thought I was going hard before but not really compared to the pressure that I was feeling that motivated an extra umph in me + Q4 has been an amazing quarter um I have learned so much i have grown so much i manage money differently i manage relationships differently + um that all took me sticking with it + it also took a discernment + um + a flow like I couldn’t force my way through things I really truly had to be open + not attached to the outcome + not attached to other people’s feelings about my decisions I really had to tap into myself get to know myself more + what I needed um + be realistic about what my situation was + what i needed to do to move forward

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is putting expectations based on roles or proximity in my life. This default setting of what a client does, what a contractor does, what a mom does, what a sister does, what a partner does has really helped me to have more freedom in allowing people to be who they are + how they show up + accepting that + doing what I need to do with that information. It has helped me lower expectations in business dealing with clients, dealing with colleagues, subcontractors, team members, when I’m networking, when I’m vetting a potential client. Now I flow + inform + share to those that I think can handle the information or have said they want to hear the information, + keep going. Releasing expectations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://varseylaurelle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/varseylaurelle?igsh=MTBlOW80YWlrZndnbA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varsey-laurelle-mba-celc-58aa1254/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@varseylaurelle1435
• Other: Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/Varseylaurelle

Image Credits

I have rights to all images. They are my own personal.