Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Peter Phelan, Founder of ValuesCulture, located in New York, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is about Data Driven Organizational Culture Care: Assessment, Audit, Branding, Codification, Curation, Evolution, and Executive Search. If you need a sliver of a Chief People Officer for some very strategic culture work - I can help! Or, if you need a whole Chief People Officer, I can likely find you the perfect hire!
Tell us about yourself
I was enjoying working as a Chief People Officer in rapidly scaling global technology companies but not seeing my family as much as I'd like, so I thought I'd try to do my favorite 10% of the job with multiple organizations. After over six years - I'm very glad I went solo!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The Executive Search part of ValuesCulture has been particularly rewarding. Placing 80+ progressive People/Talent leaders in roles with great growing companies has been amazing!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
You have to be comfortable being in every department in an organization yourself. Accounting, Finance, HR, IT, Marketing, Operations, Sales, etc. It's all you!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Listen to your target market. You may think you know what they want - but what they actually want could be a little different - or maybe even a lot different! Illustratively, the biggest part of the business today, Executive Search for People/Talent Pros, wasn't part of ValuesCulture's offering for the first 18 months in business at all.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Having a "calling card" that helps afford you some immediate credibility is very helpful. In my case, when I was Chief People Officer at MediaMath, we garnered a lot of Best Places To Work awards. So, if at all possible, before you make the leap from employee to entrepreneur, see if there are ways you can build your personal professional brand in helpful ways.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.valuesculture.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/culturedoctorny
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterphelanhr/
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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