SteveBuelow.com

“Oh… you’re going to miss it…”
“I bet you’re going to miss it…”
“Don’t you think you’ll miss it?”

I cannot count, even using ALL my fingers and toes, the number of times I heard similar sentiments from assorted well-meaning friends and relatives as they first learned of the sale of my business a few years ago.

And there was more.

I also heard… “Whaddya nuts…!”, “How you gonna spend your time…?”, and “You’re only forty, for Pete’s sake…!”, though as I said, most of it revolved around the concept of “missed” emotions… and the idea of loss.

“After all…,” I was told, “you started that business from an idea… a seed… from the ground up. Ameristaff USA was your baby… it WAS you! YOU were it! Of course, you’re going to miss it!”

Well, not so fast… ’cause I haven’t missed it yet.

Yes, it was a great business. Yes, it was leading edge. Yes, it had an incredible reputation as a leader in the Human Resource Consulting field.

And that’s not all.

More importantly, it also captured the hearts and minds of the most amazing team that I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. And yes, I miss THEM dearly… but not the business.

So okay, go ahead and say it once more… “How could you NOT miss it… you spent years in HR… isn’t HR a huge part of who you are?”

Well… no.

I’m into relationships… not processes and compliance.

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There is a very clear distinction that must made… and this is critical.

I was never an HR person who just happened to be business… in fact, it was exactly the opposite. I was a business person who happened to lead a company whose services were heavily involved in HR.

Big difference.

In 1987, I was going to start a business… period. Since at least age eight… there has been little doubt about my bent for free enterprise.

It could have been anything, but I started a staffing company for three simple reasons:

1) The staffing industry at that time was RED HOT.
2) I recognized a distinct hole in the competitive landscape that was big enough to fly a jet through, and
3) I could not put the genie back in the bottle, once I had let her out.

That’s right, I was involved in HR because IT MADE SENSE… it provided the resources necessary to move other projects and priorities forward.

Years later, I sold the business because:

1) The margins had been substantially reduced.
2) The hole had closed significantly, and
3) I believed I had found a new genie!

I was also at a point… personally… where I recognized that future growth would come at the expense of my wife and daughter… and I determined the price was too high.

Oh, and as for the new genie…?

Well, there’s no magic here… it’s the same opportunity that you have to direct your own future… beginning today.

Dream with passion… work with passion… live with passion.

I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Photo Credit:

AngelsWings