Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Patrice & Associates - Heather Haas

Flexibility! Many of my clients need a flexible work schedule because of family commitments. Often a stay-at-home mom or dad desire to have a career where they can contribute to the family income, but still allow them time to take care of the kids and the family needs. This is a real dilemma with a corporate America job and the solution could be a business of your own.

Our entrepreneur this month faced that dilemma head on and chose to open her own business with a business model that offered her the flexibility she needed.

Congratulation Heather and welcome to the world of entrepreneurship!

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   Heather Haas


 Patrice & Associates
Hospitality Recruiting
Heather Haas and I first connected in August of 2012. She was 42 years old, married with 3 children. Two of her children were challenged and required a great deal of her time and focus. She had been a stay-at-home mom for years and was ready to dip her toes back into the workforce. Ideally she'd like to work from home and was hopeful that we could find a business that would meet her needs.

Heather met her husband Joe when they both worked at Blockbusters. She was majoring in Business when she got a promotion to manager and decided to quit school and continue her career full time. She eventually was promoted to District Manager. When Joe got a promotion to Regional manager, they moved to Minneapolis. Heather went to work for Prostaff as a staffing supervisor before retiring to start a family.  Joe moved on to become a Regional Manager for CVS.

Heather is just a delightful lady full of warmth and enthusiasm. Her strengths were in management, customer service, training and relationship building. She likes a fast paced environment and she is results focused. Most important to her and Joe was that she would have the time and flexibility to take care of her family's needs.

Because of her caring nature and experience taking care of her challenged children, Heather expressed an interest in something health care related. Although Heather had retail experience with Blockbuster, the retail business model didn't fit in with her lifestyle needs. We also decided to explore something in the staffing arena which could be operated out of home office.

Heather entered our discovery journey with an open mind and her usual enthusiasm. And this is what she had to say, "Marty was exceptional during the discovery process. When I first decided to look into owning my own business I really thought I wanted to go into home health care. Marty helped me to explore several options. Based on my history, test results and what I was looking for, Marty presented P&A to me. From my very first conversation with P&A I felt that it was the best fit for me. Marty encouraged me to complete the entire discovery process with all 3 companies I was considering. I know that I made the correct decision based on all the facts! What a great experience!"

What is P&A, the business that Heather mentioned?  P&A stands for Patrice and Associates Hospitality Recruiting. It has grown to become one of the largest restaurant recruiting and hospitality recruiting firms in the country. A Patrice & Associates franchise owner is a recruiting manager with their own defined territory. They work to connect client companies (some of the nation's leading chain restaurant and hospitality groups) with qualified management candidates. Many of the franchise owners work from home or a small office. Some hire other recruiters and manage their hospitality and entertainment staffing agency.

In late November of 2012, Heather signed her franchise agreement and went to training in January.  She is still very excited about her business and shared the following: "I chose Patrice & Associates for many reasons. P&A offers a flexibility that I could not find in many other franchises. I can work from anywhere as long as I have my laptop and a phone. It allows me to create my own schedule to best meet the needs of my family. P&A has a great reputation in the industry and multiple national accounts that have a never ending stream of buil-in business. Plus, we can bring on our own clients. The mix of national account and personal clients keeps us very busy!

I purchased a franchise because I wanted a business that had a proven track record. The P&A system absolutely works if you follow the program. There is nothing better than hearing the excitement and gratitude in someone's voice when they accept a new position. We are changing our candidate's lives and that is a great feeling!

We have a great family of franchisees and corporate staff that are always available to help in any way needed."  

Franchises come in a variety of business models. We are all familiar with the retail models where we eat and shop. But, there are many franchise models that are home based and offer a lot of flexibility and often a lower initial investment. I have yet to see any correlation between the more money one invests in a franchise business and the financial results.

So how is Heather doing now?  Here's what she had to say. "Since starting last year, I have added one employee to help me with recruiting. Once she was up and running, my business picked up and continues to get better all the time. For this year, my goal is to double the placements I made my last year.  I am on track to achieve that goal. Next year, I plan to add more recruiters and continue to do so each year after that. I do plan to keep my business an "at home" business but there are more and more franchisees that are considering or planning to set up a brick and mortar location. You can really tailor this franchise to what works the best for you!"    

Heather had been a stay-at-home mom for years and was ready to enter the workforce. She had excellent skills, but her lack of recent work experience was an issue in finding a job. Plus her need to have a flexible schedule made finding a traditional job challenging. Her decision to become a Patrice & Associates franchise owner offers her the opportunity to grow her own business, be rewarded for her efforts and provide the flexibility and opportunity to look after her family needs.

If you've had experience as a manager of a restaurant, hotel or casino and are looking for a change, please contact Heather at 815-623-1660  C: 815-979-5086 or
 www.patricecareers.com/HHaas. She'd be happy to help you find a rewarding position

If you find yourself in a situation where you need a career that offers flexibility to take care of your family or perhaps you're entering the workforce after a long absence, than business ownership might be your solution. It was for Heather and she's most happy to be our entrepreneur this month.

Do you have the desire to be a self-sufficient business owner or perhaps build a business empire?  Success doesn't happen over night. It's a process taken one step at a time. Whether you are a corporate executive, manager, office clerk, mechanic or working mom, and if you have a vision or desire of being your own boss and being self-sufficient, reply back or give me a call so we can discuss your life goals and aspirations. Are you ready?   
Your comments and feedback are always appreciated.  

Wishing you continued success in the future.