063. How to Get Started Hiring and Creating Culture with Alicia Miller

Welcome. I am marketing expert and business coach Melissa Kellogg Lueck. And this is the Doing Business Like a Woman podcast where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom one business at a time. Okay. I'm so excited this morning. It's this morning here where we are. But welcome everybody. I just wanted to welcome all of you as well as tell you I'm really excited to have a guest with us here today. And we have Alicia Miller from Alicia Squared and I'm going to ask her to introduce herself in a moment. But Alicia is a powerhouse woman female entrepreneur here in Northern Colorado. And I met her in a networking group and just was instantly attracted to her because she's such a giving and serving servant heart, but also a badass businesswoman. And so I knew we'd be friends because that's the kind of friends I like to have and be around. So I have invited Alicia here because to talk today about human resources and hiring and attracting and keeping great talent. And whether you are in this place, in your business now or you will be in the future, this is a really important conversation because as we all know, the landscape of hiring and working has changed just over the past since the pandemic really, and changed drastically. We know that there were, I don't know, 40 something million people that resigned from their jobs and a lot of them did that in order to follow their passion and start businesses. But there are still people out there working and so we want the top ones working for us. Right. So we're going to talk a lot about that. So I'm going to ask Alicia to introduce herself. I do want to point out she is an award winning businesswoman here in our local area. So she's going to tell us about that award she just recently received.

So.

So Alicia, welcome.

Melissa. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me. I've been looking forward to this since we've we chatted about it. So first of all, right back at you, my friend. The second that I even saw you, your presence alone is like you're jaw dropping. You make my heart stand still. So you're a powerhouse as well. I knew and felt the same way when we first met. I was excited to know that we were going to be friends and collaborate in our communities. And we have been doing that, geez, for, gosh, over a year now, I think years actually. So thank you so much for having me. I respect you so much I'm very grateful to be on this podcast. So, a little bit about me. I am a Northern Colorado native, so I was born and raised in Northern Colorado. I'm actually a fourth generation Colorado native. So yeah, Northern Colorado is my home and it gives me an extra bit of passion to make a big difference and have an impact in this area because it is so very special to me. So, born and raised in Colorado, my professional background includes actually a really long stint in corporate America. I was in the corporate insurance realm for a little over 15 years and it was February of 2020, actually, that I had that final urge, with the encouragement of a longtime friend of mine, to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Obviously not knowing what was to come, I. E. The pandemic, but starting officially starting a business in March of 2020. Looking back now, as we're about to enter 2023, I couldn't be more grateful to have started a business at that time, actually, because one, I've learned a lot of what not to do. I've learned a lot of what not to do by starting a business in a pandemic. But really, more importantly, I have a different passion and a different fire. I feel like, because starting a business in the pandemic and being boots on the ground in this community, you know, helping other people continue to open businesses in a pandemic and supporting businesses in a pandemic, I just have this extra fire to help people stay in business, start a business, stay in business and thrive. So I'm very grateful for the way the timing has all worked out. And so when I very first launched my business, I was actually doing virtual assistant work. So I was mostly doing administrative work, working people's inboxes, different things like that, which was a great jumping off point from corporate. But I quickly realized that, you know, I wanted something more, something a little more, something different. And so I actually have a degree in organizational management and human resources. So human resources has always been on my radar, particularly the people part of human resources. I actually love to kind of call it people operations. That's really what I'm in, is the people operations business. And so I was offering some HR services when I was doing my VA, but really it was at the turn of 2022, end of 2021, that I decided to really switch the focus in my brand and my services and offerings to the HR and marketing spectrum. So in that realm, what I do, my main goal for my clients, and my ideal clients are solopreneurs that are getting ready to make their first Hire ready to start building that team or really teams of like less than 20. I really work with a lot of like 10 and under businesses that, you know, either have never done, they have no HR policies, practices, documents in place, they don't have the knowledge, you know, or they've made a couple hires, they've done some things and they've realized it's just not their specialty. Right. It's. It's a very comprehensive part of the business. Hr, you know, often gets referred to as just like, hey, when somebody's in trouble, HR comes in. And that's a common misconception. Obviously HR helps with those types of things, but it's so much more than that. And what I really hone in on in that space is helping people create a culture that will attract and retain not only top talent, but top clients. Right, Melissa? Because if you've got an incredibly toxic culture or negative culture that exudes outward as well, the same as if it's good, right. We've heard of all those amazing cultures like Google and all these things where they have a real intention on creating this magnetizing culture. And that's what I want to help small businesses too. You can have that in any size business. So yeah, that's what I really love to do. So I help from everything. I, from a marketing perspective, I am a writer, so I can help write handbooks from, you know, scratch, helping write job descriptions. You know, all of those are key components in a business and they have to be done in a compliant way as well. Right. As we know, there are so many laws and restrictions and different things like that when it comes to the HR space in a business. So I'm teaching people how to create these things at the very beginning to set that solid foundation so that if they were to ever find themselves in an IRS audit or something like that, they would be covered. So, and then from a marketing perspective, as you know, I do a lot of events in the community, particularly with our chamber. And so I love helping business owners host and plan their own events because events are underutilized, but are an amazing tool to again attract and retain top talent and top clients. Because we're doing things like team appreciation, client appreciation, fundraising events. So maybe you're partnering with a local cause, a nonprofit, and you're hosting a company event to, to raise funds for them and bring your community in, you know, and then I always layer my efforts, have a photographer there, you know, then we can create posts on social media. You can really layer efforts with events that do so much more than just what people think of as marketing. So I love that. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm also helping with benefits, creating benefits. And what does a benefits package look like for a small business that really, you know, they don't have the deep pockets to offer maybe healthcare, dental, vision, 401k and all of that. I like to get creative with my business owners and do surveys of their teams and figure out, you know, maybe it's just a $50 a month health and wellness stipend that your employees can use for whatever they want and you just reimburse them $50. That's a huge perk. That's a huge benefit for people. So it doesn't have to be the traditional model. We are no longer in the traditional model, as you touched on already. Right. Melissa, we all know, I mean, you can't not know at this point that the employment landscape has changed and done a complete 180 in the last 2ish years. Right? Yeah. Employees have this whole new landscape. Right. We, the entrepreneurial spirit in America is so, so strong right now and we live in this time with advances in technology and just everything that's happened where you could be a cat herder full time and you really could if you put your mind to it. We're seeing all kinds of different businesses sprouting and people stepping away from long time traditional careers to, to do their own thing.

Yeah.

With that being said, you know, Melissa, you and I both know very, very well how hard it is to be an entrepreneur and to run a business. And so we're gonna see a swing back, Right. Unfortunately, we're gonna see a fail rate for those people that are out there. Because this is just such a hard thing and it's not for everyone. And you don't know that until you're in it.

Right.

Y. I don't wish that on anyone. Obviously my whole point out here is to, to prevent people from failing, but it, it is inevitable. And so, yeah, how do employers navigate this landscape? It's, it's like a whole new world out there for employers. Right. We all hear like, I can't find anybody, I can't keep anybody. But, you know, that's actually a misconception. The golden talent is still out there. And actually that amazing talent is the one that's looking for something new and different. Right?

Yeah.

They got that awareness that, you know, I think I can do something different and maybe I can switch into a career field that I've always wanted to, but I've been in this other field for so long. And we get those golden handcuffs of being in a position so long that it makes it hard to walk away. So, you know, there are a lot of people, people looking. And when it comes to finding and keeping that top talent, I think one of the biggest keys is that you've got to take your time in hiring. I think we oftentimes find that, you know, employers needed somebody yesterday, so they just grab the first warm body that's willing and able to step in the position. But it really doesn't serve a business to, to hire that way because turnover costs one and a half times more than just hiring. Right. The first time.

Yeah.

So I would love for you to.

Kind of walk us through. Like, I know that you specialize in solopreneurs and small businesses. And so, you know, and as do I. So what I see a lot as, as a coach is that clients will get to that point where, you know, we're all, we're the chief everything, officer. We can do, we can do everything. We've proven that for years and we can make money doing it. But there comes a point when we want to really take that next step and scale and grow and take our impact, our vision further. And so we're like, I need to bring in good people. So then we. And hopefully we haven't gotten to that point where it's just grabbing the first warm body. But, you know, it happens. I've done that myself, unfortunately, desperate times.

Right.

And hired contractors. Right. And so I feel like that's kind of the first step is maybe we bring in contractors. Right. And most of the women that I work with are in service based businesses. Right. And so we bring in contractors to help us with bookkeeping and marketing and, you know, an executive or virtual assistant. And then like, what is our next step? Like, where do we go from there? Like, we've got contractors and maybe that's working out okay. We're kind of patchworking things together. But we're like, all right, I'm ready to make that next big jump. What do I need to be thinking about in terms of, I think what I hear the most, the greatest fear. And you can probably speak to this, you know, the fears that you see. But the greatest fear is like, am I going to have enough work? Am I going to have enough money to keep paying the staff person and who is it that I hire first? And, you know, so maybe walk us through those first steps.

Yeah, I love all of that. And you're so right that, you know, first of all, starting with an independent contractor is is an easy way to dip your toe in the water of scaling your team. And let's be clear, just because they're not a W2 employee does not mean they are not part of your team. They are not contributing to your culture, and that you shouldn't be taking all of the same steps that you would if you were bringing on a regular W2 employee. You should be creating the same space that you would for these contractors, too. Right. Because all of the amazing contractors out there were top talent, right? Yeah, that's a good point. They were top talent, and they left. They left the traditional mold so that they could do their own thing. So, you know, they're very valuable pieces to solopreneurs and businesses. And oftentimes, you know, depending on your model, you may always have contractors. And that's definitely one thing that we talk about, is the differences between contractors and employees and making sure that you are legally staying within those lines. Because oftentimes a common thing that I see, a common misconception, is just that, well, if I have a contract in place with them and I call them an independent contractor, then they can be an independent contractor. Unfortunately, the government doesn't look at it like that. There is a. There's a test and there's steps that we go through. So that's one thing that I obviously go through with my clients, is making sure that if you are hiring independent contractors, that we're doing it the right way. Because that is actually one of the biggest ways to get slapped with back payroll and benefit taxes and all of that, if you were to be audited, is that people are misclassified. So obviously, we're looking at things like that, compliance things, making sure that whatever move you want to make is legal and isn't going to get you in trouble. But, Melissa, I really like to. When I'm talking with people, and even if they're. They come to me and they say, I just want your help with hiring. I want to take a step back and kind of start big picture. And then we narrow it in. So I want to chat with them about, do you have an organizational chart? How big do you want to grow your business? You know, like, for you, Melissa, maybe your vision is just to have you and your assistant and, you know, your people that help you on the back end, and that's as big as you want to be. You know, so how do we properly structure a team that will support the level of growth that you want? And then when we can identify who are your players, who are your key players? In what order do we need to hire them? Right. Because there is a particular order, you know, if you're looking at, hey, I need an executive assistant, but I also am going to need an accountant and all these other people. What order do you. So obviously we're looking at, you know, wages, you know, how much are we going to be paying out? We've got to crunch numbers to make sure that exact. Exactly as you already mentioned. And the biggest fear of people, and it should be a big fear because when, when you bring someone onto your team, it's no longer about you. You are responsible for someone else. And so making that step, you do need to ensure that you have what they need to be successful. So making sure that we're looking at things like cash, runaway calculators, you know, how much money you have versus how much you need to put out for this employee, how long will that money last? How much do you need to bring in? So we're looking at so many components. It's not just about, I need this person, can you help me interview? There's so many factors that go into that. So we're looking at all those different things. Are you, do you have a job description? How are you posting for this job? Where are you looking for talent? You know, you need to have something that they can look at that's attractive. Right. We've all looked for jobs before and we've all passed by job descriptions that were like, no way. Right. So how are you, how are you creating compelling materials to attract that top talent? So there's a lot of different steps in that, but there's a lot of prep work that, that goes into hiring. And I think that's just a lot of, of what gets overlooked and missed in the process, particularly in small business. Because again, like we already touched on, typically when they're hiring, it's, it's in a bit of a frenzy because this solopreneur is like, I'm totally maxed out and I need someone yesterday. But actually, when you're hiring, I work with people and we are probably not bringing on someone. It takes a good eight plus weeks, sometimes take the time to sort through candidates, to interview, not only once, but usually multiple times. So there's, there's just a lot more that goes into it that, than people think about or realize for it to be successful. So hopefully that answered that question in a roundabout way. But yeah, it's just not, it's not cut and dry like people think.

Yeah. So what I hear you saying is like, we've Got to give ourselves time and really be thinking ahead. And I think that that comes back to intention. Like what, like you were saying, like, what is my intention with my business? What is my plan for this year? And, you know, we're in December now, so it's a great time to think about this coming year. Like, am I going to need to bring somebody on? And if so, what do I need to be putting in place now? Like, you know, I need to have the cash flow planned out. I need to be creating a job description and doing all that thinking. So that's. That's super helpful.

Oh, yeah. You know, what else is a big thing too, is oftentimes the people I'm working with, they've been doing everything on their own. Where are your processes and procedures? They're in your head. That's gonna work for an employee. So, yeah, that's a lot of prep work that we do too. You know, when they start on their first day, you shouldn't be introducing them to a giant mess. That is a really easy way to get rid of somebody really quickly. That's not how you're going to keep someone. So making sure that you have a plan for when they come on. Do you have an onboarding process? You know, there's just a lot more to consider when it comes to hiring for it to be successful than people think and often are solopreneurs, because they've just been going on their own for so long, they haven't thought about these things. And we become our own bottlenecks as entrepreneurs. So that's also why I love to come on as an independent contractor, by the way, and as much or little capacity as people need me because I can bring that outside perspective. Right. We get in our own groove and we're not thinking that we are our own bottleneck and we're not thinking. I didn't think about that. Oh, I didn't think about that. I didn't think about that. So I'd love to come in and help point out the things that just aren't on their radar as well. Yeah.

And I think that's really what we need to be intentionally creating space for in our business is having that time to be a CEO. Right. And just to pull back from the business and say, come out of the weeds, come out of the forest. Right. And take a look. Where are am I going? And yeah, I think that's such a great point. Like, how am I a bottleneck? Like, if I want to get to, you know, X amount, you know, X dollars in revenue next year. How am I holding that back? Because I'm only just me. Right. And then thinking about who I need to bring on and what I need to be put and what needs to be put in place. And I, I would love for you to talk a little bit also about creating culture, because I know this is also part of your work is making my company attractive to potential, to that top talent. And I think that all begins with creating in the culture and then marketing that culture. Right. So talk some about how that works.

Absolutely. So we talk about this in networking a lot and we talk about creating raving fans. Right. And oftentimes we're referring to clients or even sometimes our referral partners. But creating a magnetizing culture is creating raving fans within the organization as well. So basically, what steps do we need to take to have your employees raving about you? Right. Would your employee refer other people to come work for you? That's what you want. That's what your goal is. Are your clients referring you to other people? Like, you've got to come work with Melissa. You have to. Right. So a lot of that comes down to really basic things. You know, people think that it has to be over complicated and it doesn't. So communication is a huge thing. What does communication look like in your company? Are you making all the decisions and then just casting them down? Or are your team members a part of decision making processes? Right. And they should be, right. In theory, they are the ones doing the work. Shouldn't they have a say in how things are being done? That goes a long way. So asking feedback. So I think I mentioned a little bit, but if I didn't, something that I do is I have different surveys that I help my clients create and administer, you know, benefit surveys, just getting a pulse on how people are feeling or what it is they want. Right. So surveys are a great way to create that culture. Having open lines of communication, letting people have a say in the processes and building them out or changing them. Right. Because processes typically don't always stay the same. So delegating and letting people have a say within the business is huge. Obviously different things, like I mentioned having those team building events, you know, fun events. What kind of training and development opportunities are you providing for your people? You know, oftentimes business owners just think, okay, I have this person, I want them to stay with me forever. What are we going to do here? So yeah, we need to be realistic. The chances that they're going to stay with you forever are smaller. So how are you setting them up for success no matter where they are. Right. How can you make them be the most successful person that they can be while they are with you? And then you're actually setting them up for the next step of their journey. That's really how we should be thinking about. That's a great culture. Right. Because they know you aren't just trying to trap them there. You really care about who they are and what their ultimate long term goals are. So understanding your people, who they are, what makes them tick, what are their goals, you know, do they have a family? What's important to them? So really just knowing your people and then implementing strategies that fit that within the organization, those are a couple really easy ways to start creating that culture.

Yeah. And I think it's just like, you know, even asking it starts. I mean, you can talk to a little bit about how it all starts, but I'm thinking it starts with just asking yourself, you know, what is the culture I want to create?

Exactly. Yeah.

It's for my, you know, we think a lot about the culture we want to create for our clients and the experience for our clients. But I think like you're saying, we also need to really be thinking about that for our team.

Yes.

Even if they're contractors, right?

Yes, yes. Because it's good.

It's almost like it's good foundation to lay. You know, I'm thinking about this. My own contractors, it's a good kind of almost practice.

Right. They have the ability to fire you. It's opposite, you know, they can choose, you know, you're not. This isn't a great fit for me. Yeah. I've been there. I have been there in situations where it's like, you know what? This isn't going to work for me. Yeah. And you know, I have to walk away, so. You're exactly right. The contractors are a great starting place to, to help. They can really help you start the foundations of your culture as well. Right. You can tap into them for feedback in a different way than you can employees. Right. I feel like you can. The transparency is different with contractors. Right. They're running a business. They're more apt to give you true feedback. I feel like, you know, that's the ultimate goal with employees. You want, you want them to be able to be honest with you. But we all know that when they're, when it's an employer employee relationship, that can be tricky. It can just be tricky on both levels. Right. Because you know, we don't want to offend people. People are afraid of retaliation and Getting in trouble or something like that where your contractors really aren't down to that. Yeah, yeah, totally. So, yeah.

And I think it's, it's a lot easier for them to. Yeah. To just fire you. Say goodbye.

Totally. Well, for an employee. Exactly. But you know, your, your independent contractors also have this magic ability of referring people to you, so you really want to make a good impression. So. Yeah, it's, it's interesting how many people just kind of write off independent contractors when thinking about building their culture and their, their team environment, but really they should be utilizing them. Yeah. As much as possible.

Great point.

Yeah.

So just in thinking about that, like, what have you seen are some low cost but really high value benefits that we can offer to. Whether it's team members or contractors that.

Have been real popular. Yes. So one thing that I have to mention because I'm really passionate about it and something that I offer to all of my clients is a benefit called Legal Shield. So my, my long time in insurance, I never had a legal option and I always needed a legal option for my clients because, you know, I was dealing with settling claims and things like that. Those are always legal. So I discovered this in my, in my solo journey. Legal Shield is something that can be offered as an employee benefit. So I am broker certified to offer this as a group benefit. And this is a group benefit that costs nothing for an employer to offer. Just by offering it, they get a special discounted group rate that their employees or themselves could not access. Were they just to go to my website, legalshield.com or something like that, they get a special discounted group rate. It's what we call a portable benefit. So if the employee were to leave the company, they can take this benefit with them. They can continue to pay for it at the discounted rate even if they're no longer with the employer. So what's really amazing about this benefit for anyone and everyone is that under the, for about dollar dollars is what it costs a month, you can get your will and power of attorneys done. Wow. This is huge for everyone. Right. And this particular benefit brings peace of mind to your employees. Right. They have this option to have unlimited legal consultation as well as other services from the provider law firm to bring them peace in their lives. As we know, if your employee is going through something difficult in their life, it is going to trickle over into their work. It's just inevitable. It's, we're human, we are human. It's all of us. Right. You know, when things go wrong in our world, Melissa, it impacts our business. It just does. So being able to provide that peace of mind for your employees, that's a huge thing. So keeping that in mind with benefits is a great strategy. Is what's going to keep, you know, what outside of work is going to keep them focused at work. So that is one big one. Another one that I am loving that I touched on a little bit are stipends. So stipends are great for small businesses because, you know, I'm working with a lot of people that don't have the funds yet to be able to offer a full, you know, healthcare package or anything like that. So I'm talking about stipends. And what I'm really loving right now are the health and wellness stipends. You can really create a stipend for anything you want. So more basically a health and wellness stipend is, let's just say $50 or $100 a month you want to provide for your employees. When you keep it a generic stipend for health and wellness, they can then use it for whatever they want. Health and wellness related. Maybe that's to go see an acupuncturist, chiropractor or massage. Maybe that covers a therapy appointment for that month. Maybe that does contribute towards a medical premium payment that they could. They're paying on their own because you can't provide it, but it gives flexibility. That's another key thing in this time that employees want is flexibility. So you're giving them this benefit, they can use it on whatever they want. And then the way the stipend works is they give you a receipt and then the employer can just put it back in the next paycheck so they can reimburse them via payroll on the next paycheck. One big thing to keep in mind, employers, are that stipends do need to be run through payroll and taxed as a benefit. Don't just do it flat or anything like that. Make sure you're working with a really good payroll provider that understands all of that. But you can just run it through your payroll and you can set that bar, like I said, at whatever you want. Even $25 a month would be a benefit to your team and you can increase it as you go. But stipends are a huge love of mine in, in this time and moving forward. So that's awesome. I love it. Right? Yeah, it's. It's amazing. Yeah. So actually really cool story. Really quick. There's a local restaurant in town that is working with one of my other clients, an ACUPUNCTURIST client to offer a stipend to their employees. And then they've gone an extra step further and created a special deal with this acupuncturist that if their employees come in, they also get a special rate. So they're incentivized to use this provider. They've created a partnership, which amazing. For my acupuncturist client. Right. He's getting this guaranteed source of income and treating these people. These employees are getting a benefit. This restaurant is going to have higher retention rates than they already have. They have great retention rates because they're very intentional about their culture. That's just a cool kind of example of it in play, where two local businesses work together on a stipend and they're supporting both businesses.

Wow. I love that.

Yeah.

I just have really loved this conversation because I think it really helps me to see that the days of building a team, you know, are not that far away. And I. I know that I need that to grow my own business. And, you know, I know we all do. Right. If we have aspirations of getting, you know, to multiple six figures to a million dollars, that we definitely need to be thinking things.

Yeah. You can't do it alone.

Yeah. We can't do it.

Next levels you need. People are the heart of that.

Yeah.

Your team and your clients. Right.

It's all.

It's all this ecosystem. It's all this culture that plays off of one another. So I'm excited for you, and I can see the growth coming for you. So I, you know, I also want to just say that it is a lot. There's a lot to it, but it doesn't have to be scary. And that's really where I love to come in. And I more or less am there to hold your hand and. And take the next leap. You've already taken the leap into entrepreneurship. This isn't the next big leap is when you're ready to bring on a team. And so I love to be that partner by people's side and. And walk them through every step of it. So.

Yeah. And I think the major piece of advice that I can give. Having experience, done it. Done it the wrong way before, and I'm sure what you would say is hire and start thinking about hiring, prepare for it before you think you're ready.

Right.

Earlier rather than later.

Because I agree. The biggest piece of advice. Yeah. If you. Even if you're thinking that you need somebody, then you probably need to start planning now, you know, and there's so much like I said there's so much prep work that you really should have done before you bring that person on. That's just another key and another trick to retention is organization.

Yeah. So if hiring, bringing people on or getting help is part of your strategic plan this year, this coming year, you need to start now and like that plan in place. And so talk to us a little bit about how you work with clients, like how we can get started with you, how to keep up with you.

Get to know you better. Absolutely. So I have a really amazing offer that I put together this year that I am loving. It is a great point of entry for clients and we touch a lot of stuff. So I'm doing an assisted HR audit. So this is a, I do this virtually with my clients. So we, we hop on a call for an hour to an hour and a half depending on the amount of questions and things like that. And it's, it's about 100 point checklist that we go over that covers all of the really high level areas of human resources, in particular the area particularly the areas that would, would leave you subject to an audit. Right. So just to, to preface for, for people that aren't familiar with IRS audits, one, they just hired about 90,000 new IRS auditors. If you haven't heard that in the, the most recent months here of the year. And the way the numbers are looking and the people that I've been talking to in my partners is that every business will be touched with an audit within five years. Wow. So audits are random, but they can also be opened if somebody calls the state on you. If someone has a complaint or a concern, they can just call the IRS and an audit is open. So they don't have to be scary. But if you aren't prepared, you know, these can make or break a business. For example, we all know Uber, right? We're all familiar with Uber. Uber is going through a major lawsuit right now because they improperly classified people as independent contractors and they should have been employees. It just settled for $30 million in California and now every other state is cross suing. This may bankrupt them because they have to pay back payroll taxes and benefits. Back to 2, 2012.

Oh my gosh.

Yes. So this is what can happen in a business. So again, it is scary, but there are ways to be prepared for this. So yeah, so this HR audit we go through, you know, obviously employee classifications because I am still licensed in insurance in Colorado and New Jersey. We're talking about your business insurance policies, making sure you have the right Protections. Do you have an operating agreement, financial agreement? Yeah, we just go through a laundry list of different things. Recruiting, hiring, you know, all those big compliance things. Like here's for example, are you putting your pay range on your job descriptions and postings? Because you have to. That is a law now. You have to list the range of pay for that position because people are still, there's still pay discrimination happening. So yeah, there's just a whole template and walkthrough that I go through. They get to keep this editable template for their own record. So they have this master checklist that they can refer back to. So that is a really great offer that I have and it really just opens up the whole business. We can look at the areas of concern, the areas we need to button up. And I love doing that before we hire. Right. Because we can make sure everything's prepared. So yeah, I have the HR audit and then the handbook review. If you do them together, I offer a discount. But we're either reviewing or building out a whole new handbook, doing an audit review and preparing you to scale your business. That is one thing that I'm loving to offer before I do anything with anyone is doing that assisted audit. So.

Awesome. So what is the best way to get in touch with you? Do we schedule like a consultation call or.

Absolutely. Yep. So you can check me out at my website and contact me from there. Aliciaswordllc.com. or you can shoot me an email at Alicia leishasquared. Llc.com and I'm sure Melissa will put all the spellings and all of that. Yeah, when people ask this. But yeah, just you can reach out to me on social media, however you can find me. We'll get in touch, set up a consultation call. I do free initial consultations with everyone and then I set up a customized game plan for people from there. Nice.

That's awesome.

Thank you. And I also want to say that if you are top talent and you're looking for a new opportunity, that's what I have an ever growing pool of talent. That's the whole goal as well, is to find these people that I, that I come across from interviews and networking and different things like that. You know, I have people that I've interviewed that I didn't place in that particular job, but are still top talent that I have in my back pocket for the people that I help hire. So. So I'm always accepting resumes as well.

Nice. Perfect. I love that.

Yes. You got it all, girl. Yeah, I love what I do. I love what I do. Ultimately. I love connecting great people to other great people.

Yeah, I love that. And as a product of that, you didn't talk about your award. You're an award winning here.

I know. Yes. Yeah. Well, thank you for reminding me about that. I am still on cloud nine from being awarded Windsor, Colorado's Young Professional of the year for 2022. I was so. I'm so honored that you were able to be at that event that evening where I accepted that award, but I just can't believe it. I really can't. I mean, I can, but I can't. You know, I. I know the work that I put in my heart and obviously we don't do these things for awards. I said that in my acceptance speech. But to receive them is truly a gift and it means the world. It really means the world to me because this, this award was based off of votes from the community. So I was nominated from my peers and clients and other people in the community, you know, and then it went to a review board. So I, I can't explain the feeling of receiving something that prestigious and knowing that it came from other people. So I, I'm very honored. I have to shout out the other top two finalists, Mona Tolleson and Dr. Maggie, because trust me, when I saw their names go up there, I was like, no way did I win this. No way. They are amazing women, amazing professionals. So I just have to shout out to the those nominees and finalists that anyone who was nominated, you know, should be honored because we're all out here doing amazing things in the community. Yeah.

So just step into that. Right?

You.

That's how your peers, your community views you. And yeah, we're so honored to get to work with you and I'm so glad that you're here with us today. So thank you so much for your time and for your expertise. It's so valuable and I think. And you know, there's a lot we didn't even get to. So I encourage everybody to get in touch with Alicia and follow her on social media. She has a great social media presence and continue to learn from you. So thank you so much for being here.

I'm always learning too. Always. We all are. So I just, I appreciate the kind words. I appreciate you having me. I appreciate our friendship. So thank you so much. It's been so fun.

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