Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in human resources but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michelle Yu, Founder, and CEO of Aspire Talent, located in Irvine, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Aspire Talent is a woman and minority-owned boutique coaching and HR consultancy that focuses on supporting small and medium-sized businesses. We help companies and individuals during periods of growth and change, so they can navigate transitional periods with ease.
Consulting-wise, we advise across the entire people and talent stack on various 'people and talent' related topics. Coaching-wise, we are focused on helping support women and people of color in building more confidence and bridging the professional divide.
Tell us about yourself
I am personally motivated by a few things:
- I want to make the workplace a better place to work. We spend a third of our lifetime at work, and I believe the time we spend in the office should be meaningful. That said, I'm driven to help companies create better policies, practices, and systems so their employees can feel better supported and have the support to better live up to their potential.
- I am here to empower and uplift underrepresented voices. As a woman and minority child of immigrants and refugees, I'm driven to help bridge the divide and create more access to opportunities for marginalized communities.
The combination of the two points above is what drives me at Aspire Talent.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I'm incredibly proud of creating a budding client list of corporate and individual clients over the last two years, making multiple six figures in my second year of business, and surpassing my corporate salary. But I would say that my biggest accomplishment goes far beyond these externalities - it's the internal shifts of who I had to become and what I've had to work through to get to this point.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Unlike working in a corporation where you have colleagues and coworkers, becoming your own boss can be a lonely process, especially if you are the only one in charge of making all the decisions. This is why it's important to surround yourself with community, mentors, coaches, and others who are on a similar journey to help uplift and hold you accountable. When you are an entrepreneur, it's you against you, so learning to pick yourself back up time and time again is invaluable.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Just get started. There are always going to be a ton of reasons, fears, and excuses that we use to not build our business. If there's any inclination to starting your own business, there's really no better time to start than the present.
- Fear and discomfort are simply part of the process. When we can learn to accept this and stop resisting discomfort, then we'll stop wasting so much time doubting ourselves. Our mind is our greatest tool (and blocker), so once we learn to get a grip on our thoughts, we can become unstoppable.
- Baby Steps. Starting a business is really a journey of personal discovery, so we can't compare our chapter 1 with someone else's chapter 20 since everyone moves at their own pace.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://aspiretalent.io/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle.k.yu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekyu/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.