Women in leadership roles are dominating and making headlines like never before. Over time, I have witnessed more and more women evolving into executive and c-suite positions in the tech industry. With this exciting leadership progression, I thought I might share my journey through entrepreneurship and how I’ve landed success.
Becoming a business owner
Seventeen years ago, my co-founders and I started Triple Crown Consulting (TCC), a niche staffing firm that focuses on software, hardware, and mechanical project placements.
Before Triple Crown, I was running a division at another staffing firm, and at that point in my career I knew I could go in one of two directions. Now I know the desire for security often outweighs the risk of trying something new; but I’ve always known that I wanted to be a business owner and that’s the choice that I made. No one can really prepare you for that journey and it never feels like the right time, but we took that leap of faith.
Starting a business is very challenging and will test your commitment to yourself, your goals and your business. It requires you to sacrifice the stability and certainty that you once had. Change becomes the only constant in your day-to-day and the roadblocks you encounter on a regular basis make you more resilient. I’m sure you’ve heard if you want to grow you need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. For aspiring business owners, this feeling of discomfort should not be avoided—it should be embraced and used as motivation. I used my own discomfort to double-down and ensure the success of our organization.
Maintaining company growth
One big piece of advice to leaders and entrepreneurs is to be strategic and diligent about who and where you are investing your money. For Triple Crown, investing in our support team which included HR, Accounting and Operations back in 2016, catapulted our company to where we are today. This decision resulted through revenue analysis and a deep understanding of the company’s needs. I encourage other business owners to look for ways to maximize the efficiency of operations, with the reality of the company’s performance in mind.
These three strategies are used to grow our organization:
- Balance short- and long-term goals. This has allowed us to grow to a 100-million-dollar company.
- Be knowledgeable and stay relevant in the industry. It is vital to educate yourself on what is changing, trending, and growing. If you are not aware, you cannot make the best decision for your business.
- Stay present and be engaged with staff. This allows you and your executive team to be in the loop of what is going on and where you need to steer the team.
Starting a business is difficult; consistently growing your business is even harder. The sacrifices are real, but the rewards are unlimited. Our hard work has paid off and we still have so much more we want to achieve. Triple Crown now has five offices nationwide, employs over 400 people, has seen over a 30% annual growth rate in the last five years, and ranks among the top 1% of staffing firms. It has not been an easy run to get where we are today, but it has been extremely rewarding.
My advice is to go into any new venture with persistence and a strong work ethic.