I got fired for refusing to fire someone.
That's the short version of how my business started. Here's the longer one, and everything I wish someone had told me before I took the leap.
The moment I knew
I'd spent four years in a role I had outgrown. The next job had the same problems: no real impact, basically an admin with a director title.
So when my third in-house role came along, I was so excited. I was the first and only HR person. I could build the function, be a resource for leaders, and actually make a difference.
I quickly realized I was there to check a box. Leadership didn't want to do things fairly or treat people with respect. They wanted to do whatever they wanted, with an HR person on paper.
So I pushed back. Fair and equitable sometimes favors the business, and sometimes it favors the employee. I'm not picking sides. I'm looking for the fairest, most compliant solution. When the owner wanted to fire someone on a whim because he didn't like them, I said no.
Then I was told I was "resigning." I said, "I'm in HR. I know what you're doing. I'm not resigning. You can fire me and give me severance."
That lit the fire to take my life into my own hands.
What scared me most
Money. I graduated college in December 2007, the month the recession hit. I couldn't get hired anywhere, so I went back to retail. I wanted to freelance back then, but I was too scared of not having steady income or benefits. I learned early that I could only rely on myself.
All that fear came out a few months after I started my business, in a full meltdown. It is scary, and it is hard. It's also the most fulfilling thing I've ever done.
What I got wrong in year one
Pretty much everything. I priced myself way too low. I said yes to everything, even things I'd never done, because I thought I had to be everything to everyone. I started with fractional HR because it's what I knew, and quickly learned that going deep inside multiple companies at once was too much for me.
I don't regret any of it. I just kept refining.
What surprised me
Figuring out how, when, and where I like to work. After school, living at home, and 10 years in corporate, I'd never really had that freedom. It took patience and a lot of deconditioning to find what works for me, not anyone else.
What carried over, and what didn't
My people skills and networking carried over perfectly. So did my operations side: HR systems and HR ops have always been strengths.
Marketing was my blind spot. I had a real mental block: "Isn't HR boring on Instagram?" Now, setting up a camera and just talking is my favorite part. But I joined so many branding and marketing programs full of businesses nothing like mine. The principles were the same, but translating them to HR was hard.
If you want to do what I did
You've got this. You can absolutely do this.
Ask for help. Don't be afraid to get support where you have gaps.
Learn from people who do what you want to do. It's so much easier to translate.
Get clear on what you want. The whole point of building your own thing is that it fulfills you. If it doesn't, a company with steady pay and retirement might be the better fit.
The best part
I get to spend time with people I truly enjoy. I love my clients, I love meeting new people, and I control my schedule.
And something I didn't expect: protected energy. In house, people could reach me any time, stopping by, calling, texting, emailing. Most of it was complaints or problems to solve, with no buffer. Now people schedule time with me. Only two retainer clients have my cell. Everything else comes through email, so I can track it, bill for it, and prepare. That buffer changed everything.
Kirsten
PS: Thinking about making the leap yourself? The HR Leap Lab is a three month program for HR people ready to go out on their own. Ready? Grab your spot here https://kdzhr.systeme.io/thehrleaplab.
Not sure? Book a quick call https://www.kdzhrconsulting.com/contact-us-1
