Hey there –
I’m Kelly, and I’m the lucky person who gets to be called the Founder of PeopleGetters. This Winning Work community was born much like my own children were – it took a long time, it was kind of painful, there were a lot of people involved, mistakes were made, joy was found, money was spent, forms were completed, tears were shed, and there were moments strewn along the way punctuated with thoughts like: What am I doing? Why am I doing this? Oh shit! I’m not ready for this!
And similar to the beginnings of my children, the beginnings here are written one day at a time with big aspirations for growth and maturity and a gigantic expectation for change along the way. I also expect the shit to fly on some days.
This is not my first business building journey. Back in 2004, I started a little outfit called HireBetter that continues to grow and shine under the fantastic leadership of the folks that acquired the business in 2011. Again in 2013, I created a one-woman consulting operation called Get Geary – because you know, if your company hired me – well, that’s what you got, Me. And then the itching began.
I wish I could say it was a calling or something that sounded less disease-like – but it was an annoying itching feeling. And the itch grew and grew, and like any normal person, I decided this meant I should GET A JOB. As the universe is known to do from time to time, it kicked me right square in the ass about four months into that job – I GOT FIRED. Oh, yeah – shitcanned, y’all.
It is such a good story, I will save the firing bit for another time to share with y’all. I will quickly say that getting fired was one of definite best things to happen to me in my entire life, and I want to start a whole string somewhere where folks can feel comfortable sharing their firing stories – because believe me, the vast majority of great talent out there has at least one good shitcanning story.
After being freed up from my job, I licked my wounds for a couple of days, and was saved by the fact that my three children were released from school for Christmas break. Non-stop parenting saved me from my feeling sorry for myself. And then all the children left. You see, I’m also a member of the Blended Family Tribe. We have these amazing/weird times where the kids are off with their other parents, leaving my husband and me with a deafening silence in our house that is at once a blessing and a curse. In that quiet, I discovered what I was seeking all along: community.
I did not want a job. I wanted connection. I did not want to build another business. I wanted to build a community. I did not want to chase money. I wanted to create value.
And thus: PeopleGetters. A Winning Work community. In our day to day, we are doing the work that looks a whole lot like recruiting from the outside in. But from the inside out, we are creating the meaningful connections between people and opportunity. Most days, kind of like in parenting, are not pretty – are not filled with laughter – are certainly not Instagram-ready – and the register does not ring on fire. But you know what?
That’s not why I went into parenting. I went into parenting to build lives from the ground up, to witness the growth, to encourage from the sidelines, to speak truth and breathe love into these lives. And in similar fashion, that’s what we are trying to do every day at PeopleGetters. To build connections, to listen, to ask questions, to be honest, to serve others and to help people along their journeys.