This week, something happened for the first time! I was featured in an editorial for the Irish News as part of the celebration for the Women In Business Awards. Please see below the copy of the article which was first published on 22/03/22.
Donegal girl, now living outside Magherafelt, Johanna Scullion is a mum of three and owner of HR Made Easy. In October 2019 she was shocked to admit that she had fallen out of love with the business she had worked so hard to create. Using the Megahan Markle quote “It is not enough to survive, we are here to thrive” as her inspiration, Johanna decided to pivot her business model from traditional HR Consultancy to a completely online service.
Explaining her decision Johanna says “Traditional HR Consultancy is linear, for each complex HR case managed, I’d turn down new clients due to lack of capacity. Pivoting to online model enabled me to leverage my experience and skills, replacing a single revenue stream with five new ones. No-one is turned away online. No more re-inventing the wheel for each new customer. Each new digital resource is building knowledge collateral and creating future services for the business.”
Two years on Johanna has achieved the goals she set in 2019 and more. She embraced technology and created a bespoke online portal to support employers 24/7. HR Made Easy now offers flagship HR Membership, suite of Employee Contract Packages, Online Mentoring and with new business planning courses, the online hub is continually growing.
Clients have benefitted “Traditional HR consultancy tends to create dependency on the consultant by small employers. I realised this was limiting clients’ growth as leaders. I was their over-protective mother. By creating new online services aimed at educating and empowering clients I have taken off their training wheels, “standing beside them” rather than “standing in for them”.
Johanna’s message is “if you are unhappy, don’t let the fear of “big change” put you off taking a risk. Nothing happens overnight, but if you really want something and take action towards making that happen, in six months you will look back and see how far you have come. Know your destination – your big goal – but remember the best road trips have many detours on the way. That’s part of the journey. But you have to start.”
Johanna’s vision and quest for joy in her work has seen her recognised as this year’s award winner of the Outstanding Innovation in Small Business. Having completely revolutionised her business Johanna is delighted to say she achieved the most important goal: “fallen back in love with my business again”.
That is one outstanding achievement right there.
