Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in human resources but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Brittanie Young, Founder of Rejuvenate HR, located in Memphis, TN, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Rejuvenate HR is a strategic and innovative consulting firm that takes a holistic approach to human resources. We specialize in helping small businesses and nonprofits align business strategy and talent strategy to create a positive employee experience. We mostly work with companies with less than 200 employees to help them build the best team for the strategy their pursuing and ensure they have the right people, with the right skills, in the right positions, and at the right time. We are firm believers in driving business success through employee success and improving the full employee lifecycle one stage at a time.

Tell us about yourself

I started in human resources back in 2009 when I was still an undergrad at the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN. I actually started off as a pre-med major and actually had my heart set on being a doctor. But I quickly realized that it was not the career path I wanted to pursue and took an intro to business class, where I learned the basics of HR and its impact on the business world. I landed a few HR internships that solidified my passion, and the rest is history!

I've been in the HR field for over ten years now, where I've mostly worked in nonprofit, small business, and startup environments where I helped build up the HR infrastructure from scratch. Being able to lay the foundational work in creating a positive employee experience in the business world early on is what put the bug in me to go into consulting. I'm a firm believer that a talent management strategy is just as essential to a company's business plan as marketing and finance, but often times business leaders have more of a reactive view of HR and only reach out when something is wrong. So my motivation for starting Rejuvenate HR is to shift the narrative of HR being glorified admins to strategic partners.

In addition to making a positive impact on the workforce, another thing that motivates me to do what I do is the ability to work at my own pace and have more personal freedom without having to ask for permission from corporate HR (I still love my corporate HR colleagues though).

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Definitely the clients and different types of projects I've had the pleasure of working with. Other accomplishments I would say would be being featured in SHRM's HR Magazine as well as recently becoming a certified partner for Predictive Index.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Money! When you're used to a steady salary, you have to really get creative about pricing. I think finding that balance between growing my business but also being able to keep the bills paid and still live life was very challenging starting out, especially since I jumped right in and didn't ease my way into entrepreneurship like most. You also have to consider that there will be times when you will not have any clients and will go through dry spells. But the hard and beautiful part of entrepreneurship is that it forces you to be innovative and diversify your services.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Do some real soul searching about the life you're envisioning as an entrepreneur. There are a ton of influencers trying to convince you that you can live your best life now and take expensive trips. Know that the life you think you want as a business owner might not be the reality. Running a business is hard work, and sometimes it can be far from glamorous. So know what's really important to you for your life and make sure the business you're trying to build reflects those long-term goals.
  2. Save as much money as you can. Following your dreams is great, but that doesn't mean you have to be broke and live in a cardboard box eating pork and beans out of a can to make it happen.
  3. Partner with free resources such as Score to help you build a solid business plan. Don't go at it alone. Also, get involved with your local chamber of commerce to learn more about the resources they have available to help you grow your business.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

You really won't need all the bells and whistles you think you do to run a successful business. Focus on the quality of the products and services you offer, serving your customers well, and everything else will fall into place.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.rejuvenatehr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RejuvenateHR/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rejuvenate_hr/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rejuvenate_hr
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3zbEBMa

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.

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