Meet the Tribe - Stephanie McDonald
Each week we bring you the story of one incredible entrepreneur who can be found inside the Hatch Tribe Members Circle. Today we're excited to introduce you to Stephanie McDonald of Hire Performance.
photo from Stephanie McDonald
Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl? Early bird..I wake up without an alarm between 5-6am daily. I don't get up, but I'm awake!
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Breathe, pet my dogs.
What are you reading now? A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted by Will Bowen.
What's your favorite podcast or YouTube channel? Podcast: Unmasking a Killer. I realize that's weird, but as someone who spends so much time researching people, the techniques the detectives use to find people really fascinate me! If I wasn't a recruiter, I'd be a researcher for law enforcement.
Favorite place to getaway from it all? The mountains, or my sisters pool in Lexington, SC.
If you could get an extra hour today, how would you use it? I should use it to work out. I would probably use it to do goofy stuff with my guy.
Do you consider yourself more of an Introvert or extrovert? Introvert, but I'm open and love people. Most people don't know I'm an introvert, I'm really good at hiding it.
What's your favorite food? Lobster, fried chicken, my mom's curry, Lewis' BBQ, too many to pick one. Oh, and ICE CREAM.
I'm on a mission to... Make finding great talent painless for small businesses, and normalize failure and mental health in the workplace.
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How did your awesome business come to be?
I was actually fired for the first time in my life (ask me about it, it's a funny story..now!) and after sulking for a couple of weeks, a dear friend in London asked me to help her find sales people in CA. I dove in and over 5 years later I'm still going!
Who inspired you to pursue entrepreneurship?
I got a lot of encouragement. My parents had their own business and my dude, Alfredo also had his own.
Have you ever had a mentor? And how did they help you?
I have. I have a dear friend who has an HR consulting firm and she gave me tons of advice from working with clients to pricing. I really appreciate her ideas. I also have another dear friend who is an amazing executive coach who always lets me work through things with her and coaches me to keep focused on what I love.
How do you define success for yourself?
Feeling calm, balanced with happy clients and happy family.
Stephanie's dog
We all love failure & flop stories! Tell us about something you tried in business that didn't work, and how you moved beyond it.
I recently took a contract recruiting assignment with a company who is outside my "ideal client" profile. It's been a miserable experience that I'm working on fixing right now. I know through the work I've done with the Tribe that I have to stick to what I'm passionate about or things go badly. Lesson learned!
What is a recent success that you're super proud of accomplishing?
Making it to the 5 year mark of my business. I never thought I'd stay in it this long through a recession where not a lot of people were hiring.
What is your superpower?
Making candidates feel great about job searching, and making employers feel happy with their choice of candidates. Taking the burden and fear out of hiring.
What is the least sexy part of your job?
Just the admin crap that we all have, billing, maintaining the database, that kind of thing.
What do you hope to learn from your fellow entrepreneurs in the Hatch Tribe Members Circle?
I want to learn more about this journey, what others have learned, how to fail well, how to sell and prospect new business, when I should hire a coach, when I should push into new markets, what my ideal client is, there is soooo much I could go on for days!
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To connect with Stephanie McDonald directly join us INSIDE THE TRIBE! Become a member today at www.hatchtribe.com/memberscircle.