It’s been brought to my attention that I’ve been so busy introducing you to other local black female owned brands that I actually haven‘t introduced myself (haha). If you know me well, you know that I'm really sociable in person but not so much online (but I'm working on that). So here goes...
This is me. Leigh, the face behind L&S People Solutions and CV Professional. What you see is what you get with me (evident in the pic haha). Also, I wanted to formally thank you for following me on this journey, for your business, likes and shares. I am so grateful!
So for this interview much like in reality, I’m working both sides of the desk.
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
I am a wife, a dog mom to two Bull Terriers and small business owner. I am a qualified HR practitioner with 13 years of experience and I now run L&S People Solutions - HR Consulting Agency and Social Media & Creative Content Development; as well as CV Professional - an online service whereby CV’s and LinkedIn profiles are professionally revamped by an HR professional (me). Hence, I work both sides of the desk, both sides of HR.
How old is your business now?
CV Professional is two years old and L&S is just 1.5 years old.
How did you come up with the idea of and name for your business? CV Professional started as a hobby, seeing so many poorly put together CV’s in my day job, I knew I needed to help fix this and help others land the jobs of their dreams. In January 2019, L&S was born. My friend, Sean (the S) was keen to join at some point but my hubby (Rowan) and I tease that it’s Leigh & Spouse because he ends up doing all of my technical aspects like this website and countless other things. (Thank you)!
What makes your business unique?
I think the fact that I do work both sides of the desk, so to speak, makes it unique. Also the content planning. I’m a creative! Not typical to all in HR.
How do you market your business and which methods have been most successful?
Social media and most definitely word of mouth.
What does a typical day look like for you? And how many hours, on average, do you work daily?
Since most of my work is project-based, I don't really have a typical day. My day generally starts with coffee while posting on my social media business pages, then checking and responding to emails and sending out quotations. I start working on 'actual work' from 9am and generally work until I'm done; generally around 11pm (although with lockdown my times have been very erratic, and sometimes still find myself working at 2am); I'm a perfectionist and I won't rest until it's perfect.
How has being an entrepreneur affected your life?
I love the flexibility and motivation that comes with being an entrepreneur. There's something about working for yourself... I just can't describe it. All I know is that I wouldn't trade it for anything. The days are much longer and there's no such thing as weekends and work days but I have more time for my family and I can work around anything.
If you could go back in time and start up your business all over again, what would you do differently?
I would have started in my twenties, before big bond payments (haha); although the corporate experience I gained has helped me a lot, especially in terms of professionalism. I wouldn't really do much differently... perhaps have a steady client base before diving right in.
What is one piece of advice you’d like give to someone just starting out?
Start while you are scared, before you are ready! There are people out there with less experience than you running their own business so why aren't you? You are capable of so much more than you think.
Where can we find your business on social media?
Facebook page link: https://www.facebook.com/lspeople/ AND https://www.facebook.com/cvprofessional3/
Instagram handle: @lspeoplesolutions AND @cvprofessional3
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