I have a confession to make, over the years of running my business, I’ve been tempted by the idea of going back into the corporate world. I loved working in HR, seeing the world and getting to grips with the nuances of various industries, being part of a wider team and knowing that I could always get help with the hard stuff.
Do you remember those days?
Don’t get me wrong I remember why I left the corporate world too, I knew that there was more to life than helping multi-nationals make more money, while reducing staff numbers. My desire was to use my skills to help others achieve their aspirations but building and scaling their businesses and nowhere is that needed more than for small business.
But I also know first-hand that running a business is hard work, I know lots of people talk about the laptop life style and working 4 hours a week, and while I have a laptop that certainly isn’t my reality. Until this year, I’d never taken a holiday without taking my laptop along – I remember getting up early in the morning while in Barbados to video conference with a client in crises and working frantically while my hubby took the girls out for fun in the sun!
So, when I get approached by agencies or well-meaning friends as role pop up that I’d be ‘perfect’ for and I’ve a hard day, week or month, I do entertain the idea of going back to being an employee. Like last week when our boiler exploded and I couldn’t work properly for three days, while the repairs were happening and I got a call with a really interesting proposal, then …
I received two calls, one was from a client who needed to get my opinion on an ongoing issue with an employee, at the end of the conversation she said “I feel so much clearer on the way forward, I just needed to bounce the idea off someone else and get another view point”
The other was from a young lady that I’ve been helping to prepare to open her business, telling me she’d just gotten the approval from the regulator that she needs to launch!
It was a timely reminder for me about the impact great bespoke HR support can make to a business, both from a reactive and proactive point of view, which is all I ever wanted to.
So, Hi, I’m Melanie, CEO of Eden Mayers HR Consulting and I’m here to stay!