March marks the 20th anniversary of peoplezest as an executive recruiting company. There are so many moments to celebrate: past, present and future. First though, we thought it would be fun to have the owner, Jonna, answer a few questions about herself!
What drew you to the property management and recruiting industry?
It wasn't anything that I had really planned on doing. I didn’t think, I'm gonna go and be in property management, but I was working for a gentleman by the name of Rick Ellis, who I think very highly of. He had a single family property management company, and I would go in and lease those homes. Well, I had a friend who worked for JPI, so I knew about the company but I don't even remember why I decided I wanted to pursue it. I applied, got an interview, and got the job. When I told Rick I was leaving I remember him saying, “I'm really excited for you, you will be great. But I cannot see it being a good fit for you, because of how structured and corporate it is.” Looking back at that I always laugh and am sure to tell him, “Well, I proved you wrong!” because I ended up being there for 13 years. starting out in a leasing role and leaving as a vice president. So it did work out, but in some ways he was also right …
What then drew you to go out on your own?
Kind of going back to saying Rick wasn't wrong… JPI was a fabulous environment, it allowed me so much growth. The company was growing so much at that point and it was just full of people who were extremely talented. I guess I was one of those people and ended up in a Vice President role. The role ended up just not being a good fit for me and my skill set. So I looked at what I loved the most and what I was the best at. It was really being in a frontline recruiting role and talking to the people because I really cared about what they said, who they were, what was the best spot for them. I wasn't able to do that in the VP role, that role needed me to be more strategic and visionary, and I enjoy the frontline work. So, I realized I still had so much to give and starting my own company just made the most sense. I think it goes back to what Rick said, I just don't fit in that corporate structure, really. I want to be who I am, not who people want for me to be.
What's a piece of advice or something you would say to yourself, to the person you were just starting out on your own 20 years ago?
I probably would have told myself that you can make it, that you're smart enough and you can figure it all out and you are gonna support your family and be there 20 years later. Just believe in yourself and stay true to who you are. I feel like I've done that along the way but could have had more confidence. . . With confidence, I would have expanded earlier on than I did, I was just so afraid to take the risk. I would've just told myself, you're gonna be okay!
Any advice that you would tell somebody now wanting to go out on their own like you did?
It's hard! I think that people that go and start a company, they know it's gonna be hard, but it's not so much of the working hard, it's more that nobody is gonna be telling you that you're doing a good job, doing it right or that they appreciate you or that you exceeded their expectations, like in a more traditional role. When you work for a company, you have performance reviews or you have a supervisor that's giving you direction and saying your deliverable was right .You have to find within yourself that you're doing a good job. Being a business owner can be lonely at times. I had to really dig deep and I made a pact with myself—when I looked in the mirror the person looking back at me is who I had to get that fulfillment from.
What have been your biggest challenges along the way?
One of my biggest challenges has been business development, which doesn’t come naturally to me. I feel really good about finding the candidate and making the match. It is just seeking out new business to keep those job orders coming in. . . I believe peoplezest is a really good recruitment company. It is just out of my comfort zone to go out and let everyone else know that we are great. I still wake up sometimes and wonder, am I gonna make it? Some people may say, 20 years is making it. But I still think about making it to year 21 or year 25. I know I have to just have to keep believing in myself.
What are some of your biggest wins over the last 20 years?
One of my biggest wins is staying true to myself. Being a business owner allows me to really be who I am. Being as authentic, as raw, as honest as I want to be, all of those things are my choice and that feels good. I don't have to worry about somebody else not doing the right thing, it's about am I gonna do the right thing? If I think something's not right or the match is not right, then I can say something about that. I think another win is being able to be a successful woman in our industry and being able to have my own company, run a business that financially supports our family, while also being there for my kids to be a present mom and raise a family. I got to do all those things and a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to be as present as I have been.
What was one of your favorite memories that you can think of?
Probably the times that I have worked with candidates and that I was able to give them some council or even a client that was doing a reorganization. The biggest memories that stick out for me have been when someone felt like they were heard, that they were listened to. That I was able to provide them something that they couldn't get somewhere else, maybe that was honesty, or the person who really wanted that job and being able to coach them to show up the best that they could. Or someone that had lost their job for whatever reason, but to be able to show them that they are a person of value, they just weren't in the right place or the right spot. It's those times, the connection. I love being a part of someone getting a job offer, I love seeing it be a good fit, I love seeing them get promoted. At the end of the day, the things that are the most memorable for me are those people that I made a difference in, and was able to help progress their career path.
What are some goals you have for yourself?
One of my goals has always been to expand and we have recently gotten to do that. . . Darla, our VP of Recruiting will now be here four years. We've worked so hard together to get her where she is, she’s enjoying it and doing such a great job, she's killing it! Then having you, our Marketing Manager and having Amy our Operations Manager join the team has added so much. I wish I had done some of that earlier, to believe I was ready to grow. It’s nice to have the time to grow the business and lead the company, but that I don't have to wear all the hats anymore. It's kind of freed me up to a point in my life that I get to experience other things outside of my job that I'm really enjoying. I moved to the farm, have all these animals and time to enjoy them. My goal is to continue to lead the company while being able to give myself the time to do some other things that I enjoy about living in a rural area. Being a vet tech and EMT has brought me a lot of joy and I feel it makes me a better person. And in return, I think it makes me a better business owner and a better leader.
What are some obstacles you've either hit in the past or in creating your goals?
When I think about being a business owner, I know that I look at other business owners and I'm thinking, they have done such a great job. They have grown or they've expanded or they've “made it”. I sit here and think I wish I could be more like them, or I wish I could be more strategic. I can be my biggest obstacle sometimes. People tell me that I'm an expert in the business and while I do think I know a lot it is still hard to see myself as an expert. My biggest obstacle is myself.
Who are some of the people that have made the biggest impact on you over the last 20 years or more?
One is from when I was working for JPI. I've never forgotten this, I worked under a partner, Ron Ingram. Ron was so inspirational in his faith and he really led in that. He was such a driver, he would put goals out there of what we could accomplish. I remember looking at those goals and thinking I don't even know if I know what those goals mean, they were just so strategic and it wasn't a checklist it was more of a big idea. I remember thinking, how am I ever gonna do that? Then at the end of the year, I was always in awe that we did that, that I contributed to a very lofty goal. He showed me that you can do anything you put your mind to, but you can do it with integrity and you can do it through faith. There was this one time that I was in a recruiting role and he had stopped by my desk and was asking me how it was going. I'd gotten off the phone with this candidate and I was really flustered by it, and I voiced that, and he said, “Well, why don't you tell me about it?” He's a partner of this big company and he cared enough about what I was hung up on. He said, “I've put you in a role to make these decisions, and if you think that you need to give that person an opportunity, offer the job, you have that ability, go with your gut.” To have that kind of boss, that kind of leadership, that belief in who I was, was really powerful. He was just a quality person, an incredible mentor. He showed me that faith has a place in the business world, he showed me that you can do both.
Another big one from JPI is Lucy Simone. She talked to people with kindness and made the workplace fun. She was a culture builder!
And of course, Rick Ellis, who taught me that you have to hustle, that you have to be willing to work hard and take risks and take chances, he definitely showed that.
What's behind everything that you've created?
Recruiting is a people business, it is all about relationships. That piece has always stayed so important to me, everybody has something to offer. I really love to get to know people. I don't want people to tell me what they think I wanna hear, I want them to tell me how they really feel or what they really think. I think so many times in business, and when you're interviewing you try to portray who you think you should be. If people were just more authentic and raw, I think some relationships would be different.
Living in a rural area has taught me things that I didn't know I needed to learn. I've been out here five years and it has just given me even a greater appreciation that everybody comes from a different walk of life. I love that I'm able to be here but still able to work in the corporate world, that I just get to be farm Jonna when I want to. When I feel like I need a break, one of my favorite things to do is go out and whistle for one of my horses so that I can just spend peaceful time while having a horse nibbling on my shirt. It puts everything in perspective.
What drew you to making that move from the city and what does it mean to you now?
I felt like the walls were coming in on me and I felt like I couldn't hear God anymore and he sure couldn't hear me because there was all this static around me. I just did not want as many boundaries and a silent list of rules. When I'm outside and can look out over a pasture, there's just so much more peace about me, It's almost like I have a whole other life to live. I love the life that I've lived and I'm proud to continue on this next journey. I'm proud of my kids, my marriage. I feel the farm life has just given me so much freedom, that I just feel like there's no boundaries of what I could do.
Anything else you want to add or speak about?
Don't be afraid to take the risk. I think that that holds people back, it's scary, but you get to figure it out.
Peoplezest is looking forward to what the future brings and continuing with what we love, matching clients and candidates.