Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in consultancy but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Brittany Wells, CEO of Modern Government Solutions LLC., located in Fairfax, VA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Modern Government Solutions, LLC. (MGS) provides human capital and human resources consulting advisory services to federal contracting companies, the federal government, and local and state governments. We provide our clients with technical and contemporary solutions to address workforce, staffing, and retention challenges.

At MGS, we believe that a "people-first" culture corresponds to an organization's success and sustained growth through a commitment to excellence, integrity, inclusion, and an attitude that welcomes challenges, meets demands and drives innovation. We provide custom solutions to improve and unleash human performance by leveraging our small business agility and readiness to deliver a wide breadth of large-scale capabilities.

In addition to our human capital services, MGS offers a proprietary, organized and systematic talent management capability called AQHR™. AQHR™ is a long-term holistic human capital management solution helping our clients develop long-term strategies to Attract, Qualify, Hire and Retain (AQHR) employees.

Tell us about yourself

I am the Founder & CEO of Modern Government Solutions LLC. I bring more than 15 years of recruitment and staffing expertise with a focus on 'cleared' technical professionals in support of the Intelligence Community, DoD, DHS, DNI, DoS, and public & private commercial clients. I started my business in 2021 after supporting Accenture Federal Services Intel Community practice for just under six years. Throughout my career, I have recruited and staffed thousands of cleared IT professionals throughout my career and decided to take the leap and take the path that would allow me the opportunity to create jobs and be an enabler for all employment seekers, particularly physically disadvantaged professionals.

MGS was founded upon my belief that people always come first. Having spent 15 years in the human capital industry supporting small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses, I witnessed trends in retention that were all too common. Since starting MGS, I have built a foundation with a 'people-first' mindset and developed a (proprietary) scalable human capital solution called AQHR - Attract. Qualify. Hire. Retain. We aim to help organizations create 'people-first' organizational cultures where employees feel included, needed, and valued in the system.

As a disabled business owner myself, my hearing challenges have made me more motivated to harvest inclusive and diverse work environments. Now, as an inclusive and equal opportunity employer myself, and through the AQHR methodology and software solution, we have the opportunity to coach organizations on how to implement 'people-first' mentalities and best practices with inclusion, integrity, and a commitment to excellence. I share this because anyone within any industry and organization can utilize our methodology and framework.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner has been starting a business. As a single mother, I invested everything into the belief in myself that I have the capability and the drive to create my own success for myself and for my daughter. When I left Accenture, it was the most challenging yet liberating moment of my entire life. I look back at that choice now and realize that the moment I decided to take the leap of faith, trust, and believe in myself, it was the best investment I have ever made in my life.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Being a business owner comes with many challenges. I have been fortunate enough to have a very strong emotional support system. In my family, in my relationship, and in my friendships. That said, owning a business is a rollercoaster ride. There are very high highs and low lows. I have to remind myself that every day is a new day, the sun will rise again, and with that, a new opportunity to create my own success for myself and my employees.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Being your own boss comes with tremendous responsibility and accountability in yourself. Time management and prioritizing your tasks and schedule are very important. While working full-time and continuing my education at Georgetown, I had to learn to block time off my calendar for just about everything. I block time for everything, commuting, personal, business meetings, whatever the case may be. I ensure that time management is the top priority. That said, balance is key. Making sure you don't burn yourself out is also very important.
  2. Communication with employees and/or contractors. Ensuring expectations are set and everyone understands the vision and goals of the business is also very important. If everyone isn't rowing in the right direction, it could slow the business down. I stress this with my clients and have to remember this for my business too. When everyone knows where the north star is and how to get there, there is nowhere to go but up.
  3. When I first started recruiting in 2007, a mentor told me the most successful people in sales set aside 2 hours a day to cold call. Even as an entrepreneur or a CEO, business development is very important. Nowadays, people take a more passive approach to sales by sending an email; I have found that picking up the phone and making that trip to have lunch or coffee with clients has been the most effective way to gain new clients and develop relationships. No matter how successful the business is, human-to-human interaction, in my opinion, can make all the difference.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.moderngovernmentsolutions.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mgsgov/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-government-solutions/

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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