Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business consulting ad services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chris Hagood, CEO of Kudos Strategies, located in Alexandria, VA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Kudos Strategies accelerates organizations' ability to grow, innovate and compete more effectively. We develop and deploy a people-first talent management discipline and culture that solves obvious and not-so-obvious issues by optimizing performance, engagement, and development across the entire organization, human resources spectrum, or specific team. We assist you in implementing positive change, evolving culture, closing gaps, and realigning skills, all commensurate with your organization's size and goals.
Tell us about yourself
I've worked in an array of industries and from organizations that were founder-led with less than 5 employees to global enterprise leaders that were over 160,000 strong. As I progressed in my career, I've been able to call on my various experiences in different ways to help me become a high-performing individual contributor and later a people manager. I typically found myself wanting more from the roles I was in faster than my company's growth path could offer me. Being born into a multi-generational line of entrepreneurs, I had a feeling I would someday pursue building my own company. Roughly 10 years into my career, I realized that regardless of the company size, type, industry, or role, I wanted an opportunity to both build an organization and deliver the services. My experience as a disengaged employee that navigated poor leadership practices from my entry-level positions through my senior management roles created a clear path for me to pursue a career in strategic talent management and people development.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is getting to a point to say no to prospects and clients. In the beginning, we all take on clients or offer deals that we know aren't the best for us but acknowledge it as a necessary evil for future growth. Building our company to a point where we have staff and can be more judicious in who we accept as client partners was a major milestone.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
I think managing internal pressure is the hardest thing that comes with being a business owner. Between growth goals, delivering our services at a level of quality we believe in, and wanting to ensure a substantive work experience for our people, it can become a lot if you lose perspective. Creating personal boundaries is the first step in your operating model.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Know your personal financial numbers and add a buffer before making the leap.
- Build your team early. Whether a coach, mentor, or partner in the business. You cannot go it alone and be successful.
- Not everyone is built for entrepreneurship, and if you share your aspirations with people who aren't oriented to business ownership, you likely won't get the support and encouragement you're looking for. If you think it's worth pursuing, strategize and execute. Failure isn't the worst-case scenario; haunting yourself with "what if" is.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.kudosstrategies.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisrhagood/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisrhagood/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisrhagood
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisrhagood/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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