Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Meredith Bowen, Co-Founder of Walker Bowen Talent Partners, located in Fulton, MD, USA.
What's your business and who are your customers?
My business partner, Faith Walker, and I provide professional staffing services on a contingent and retained service. Since our inception, Walker Bowen Talent Partners has been focused on building a strategic, quality search practice. We are in this business because we love connecting people.
We have advised start-ups and established companies on how to grow their teams and bring them to the next level. We have helped candidates launch their careers, succeed and thrive in new environments.
We are solution, individual and partnership-focused. We strive to understand the unique challenges facing building teams and offer accessible, effective hiring strategies that allow our clients to focus on building their brand and profitability. We are focused on helping talent grow in their career paths. By combining the clients' needs to grow and a candidate's desire to take the next step in their career, we are able to develop everlasting connections.
Tell us about yourself
Faith and I are both professional working moms. We loved our corporate jobs and working, but we also wanted work-life balance and to still be able to provide for our families. We found the staffing industry to still be very male-dominated and geared toward a 24/7 on-call type of mentality without remote flexibility that makes it difficult for working parents to find a strong work-life balance. We knew we could change that and set different standards for the industry.
Even prior to the pandemic, we valued remote work and the flexibility it gave us as working parents. We had the vision to create a distributed team of like-minded people who could work independently on their own schedule, effectively and efficiently produce, support our clients, and still feel like a united team. We also wanted to place a focus on diversity and inclusion internally, with our clients, and with our candidates. We are motivated by helping our clients and candidates make connections and positively impacting their lives through career choices.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our biggest accomplishment as business owners is getting our business off the ground without taking out loans and building it from personal connections and personal and professional referrals. We value our relationships and are grateful that we are considered a trusted partner to those we've worked with in that they are willing to introduce us to their networks.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I believe the greatest struggle in any business is setting yourself apart from your competition in order to get new customers. And really, it's difficult to do that until you are actually given a chance to prove yourself.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't delay! Faith and I had both considered starting our own company for several years before we actually did it.
- Believe in yourself - you are stronger than you give yourself credit for.
- Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway - Susan Jeffers.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
We have over 20 years of combined industry experience. The bulk of our current business is in IT across various industries, including healthcare, technology, travel, and finance. We also have vast expertise in Marketing, HR, Learning & Development, and Legal. Our business is all permanent placement, and we focus on companies that share our same values. You can learn more about us and search for open positions on our website.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.wbtalentpartners.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WBTalentPartners/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wb_talent/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wb_talent
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wbtp/
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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