The Hiring Advantage Origin Story: The ‘Why’ Behind The Business

I think it’s time we got a little bit personal – don’t you?

I want to share the reasons behind why I started Hiring Advantage at the beginning of 2022. I had two very young children at the time (call me crazy), and there was a heck of a lot going on in my life – but there are some personal reasons behind the move, as well as a very distinct business ‘why’. 

So let’s get into it!

Life before Hiring Advantage

Like so many people who launch their own business, I’ve been there done that with the corporate thing. (You can learn more about my corporate life and what I learned from it over on this podcast episode: “Lessons Learnt and why you should ALWAYS ask WHY”.)

After working in corporate recruitment and strategic hiring roles for over 12 years, I’d held a range of different positions and racked up a bunch of great skills and expertise – as well as a serious LOVE for talking your ear off about hiring.

But after the birth of my second child, going back to corporate just didn’t feel right. 

The drive to start a business

At this point, I’d been toying with starting a business for a few years. I don’t exactly have an entrepreneurial background, but when I gave birth to my son in 2018, that didn’t seem to matter too much. I found that there’s this SUPERPOWER vibe that comes with giving birth. Like I CAN DO ANYTHING! (Any other mums out there feel me?)

I started thinking about it, and actually even drafted a business plan for a hiring app! My sister works in tech for HR, so we put a bit of effort into this idea, but at the end of the day I realised it didn’t feel authentic to ME. Because let’s be honest: I’m a talker. Developing an app that just sits there isn’t how I can best apply my skills and knowledge to help people.

Fast-forward to mid-2021. I’d just given birth to my daughter and Sydney was entering a big, juicy pandemic lockdown. I used that time to do masterclasses, get business coaching, and essentially build the foundations of Hiring Advantage.

Making business fit my life (not the other way around)

Any working parents reading this will know how HECTIC life is with small children. I needed my business to have flexibility and support inbuilt, so I could prioritise my kids. 

I was never meant to do this thing solo. I always knew I’d need a team around me. Thankfully, I managed to find people with aligned values that could allow me to do this. I’m lucky enough to have the support of a wonderful VA/bookkeeper, and a superstar recruiter!

But beyond the Hiring Advantage Team, I’m honoured to be surrounded by an incredible community of female small business owners – many of whom I now call my clients. I can be a strong, proud single mum – a role model for my kids – and still spend plenty of time with them. That’s the dream.

So… Why is Hiring Advantage different?

Because I ‘GET’ your recruitment challenges

Why do any of us start businesses? We see a gap in the market that WE can fill. We know we have the perspective and expertise to really help people. Well, that’s how this recruitment biz became my bread and butter.

See, I’d sat with senior hiring managers in some of Australia’s biggest businesses for years. I’d listened to their challenges, and felt the frustrations of hiring firsthand. I know how stressful it can be. 

But the benefit of my experience is that it’s taught me how to get it RIGHT.

What I’m uniquely able to offer small businesses is the best of big business hiring strategies, but for small business budgets.

Because I offer affordable recruitment support for small business

Small businesses NEED good hiring support. With fewer resources and tighter budgets, you simply don’t have the time or capacity to add ‘hiring expert’ to your (no doubt already jam-packed) job description. The stakes are high, and making a dodgy recruitment decision can cost you BIG.

So how do you get the support you need?

Let’s be real: Recruitment agencies aren’t ideal. They’re not geared for small businesses and neither are their price tags. They’ll typically charge around 15-25% of an employee’s first year salary for a placement! 

So if you’re recruiting for a role that will pay $60,000, the agency might charge a fee of around $9,000 – $15,000. Yikes.

So what’s your other option? To jump into recruitment without any support? You could… if you’re prepared to spend upwards of 40 hours of your time finding an acceptable candidate… and that’s being very conservative, by the way. 

What many small business owners don’t know is that there ARE different recruitment options available – with small business pricetags to boot.

Exhibit A: View My Service Options

Because I want to support other QUEENS in business

If you’ve looked closely at my branding, you’ll see a queen chess piece in my logo. There’s a good reason for that: 

The queen is the most powerful chess piece on the board and she can move in any direction she wants. 

Isn’t that how you’d like to feel when running your business? Incredibly powerful and able to adapt and move around easily as the game changes?

The way I see it, the best chess players are always thinking a few steps ahead – and that’s what it’s like with hiring too. But while a lot of it is strategy and clever thinking, it’s also fun moving the pieces around and watching your play pan out. Yes, FUN! Hiring can be incredibly satisfying and fulfilling when you get it right.

My aim is to make you the ‘queen’ of your game.

Here’s my vision:

I want as many small business owners who want to grow and hire a team to Do. Just. That.

I want you to be able to scale, grow, and hire other talented people in the process, giving them flexible, realistic, post-pandemic jobs. Covid has changed hiring forever (something I’ll talk about in more detail some other time) – and particularly so for working parents.

Pre-pandemic, I was dropping my son to daycare at 7am, doing a 1hr 15 commute to work, leaving on the dot of 4.45pm and commuting back to pick him up at 6pm. It wasn’t nice, it wasn’t sustainable – and particularly for a single mum, this sort of lifestyle isn’t feasible or necessary in today’s world.

I never want my employees to live like this. 

So with Hiring Advantage, there’s this beautiful balance of helping business owners grow, scale and reach their goals, while also supporting their staff in leading flexible, enjoyable lifestyles. 

I’m passionate about creating options for incredible small business owners who want to scale and grow. That’s what Hiring Advantage is here for. To provide affordable and reliable recruitment support that meets the budgets of small business owners, while creating the sort of workforce that looks after great talent.

But enough about me! I want to hear about YOU. 

What are YOU doing? How are you planning to grow your business? How is building a great team going to help you get there?

Check out the outsourced recruitment options I offer, as well as my consulting and coaching services – and let’s chat about how I can help you reach your personal and business goals.