Stacey Gordon, the founder and CEO of Rework Work, has made it her mission to reduce bias in global talent acquisition and management after seeing countless professionals in traditionally underrepresented groups being discriminated against during her time as a recruiter.
We asked Stacey a few questions about her experience as a female entrepreneur and what her plans are for the future.
Tell us about your work. What inspired you to start your business? Where did you start and where are you now?
I started a recruiting business in 2011 because even though I had recruited and hired for four years at a fortune 100 company, I didn’t have the title of “recruiter”, so companies refused to hire me as one. This is a great example of the box companies refuse to step out of.
Rework Work was inspired by my time as an independent recruiter and my first-hand accounts of discrimination in traditionally underrepresented groups. I would have to work so much harder to get a woman, a black man or a woman with an accent hired. It was tough and I was frustrated with how they were treated.
What do you see for your future?
I see a future where companies make the decision to step out of their box in order to create a culture that works for all people, which is where Rework Work will come in. Our vision is to make all the difference in the world – we want to do this but we can’t do it alone. Company executives and leadership don’t realize the impact they can have on a person, a family, and a community when they treat people appropriately. We see a future where we can help them make that positive impact.
What did you eat for breakfast?
An English Muffin. I’m still British!
What’s your workout?
I never used to work out but I decided I’d stop setting myself up for failure by telling myself to go to the gym – I am that stubborn, so I would never end up going. I recently started doing 10-15 minutes of exercise daily. I downloaded a few exercises from Pinterest and I do them in my living room with a small set of weights and a yoga mat.
What gets in YOUR WAY? What’s the one thing you’d like other female founders to know about overcoming that.
Taking on too much. I want to do everything and I want to do it all now! My advice is to complete one important thing, make money from it and create processes that can be duplicated before moving onto the next thing. But as an entrepreneur, I will never be happy doing just one thing, so sometimes it’s hard to follow my own advice. Overall, do what you want to do, but have a system in place for making it happen because, without a system and a plan, you won’t succeed.
What’s your favorite tech tool today–a must-have app, platform or software that helps you run the firm.
Slack, Zoom and Microsoft 365 have all been helpful. If one system could get Apple, Microsoft and Google products to work well together, that would be an app I could get behind. Otherwise, everything is lacking.
As an entrepreneur, I have to use so many different tools and resources to keep all the balls in the air – it’s exhausting! And at the end of the day, it’s people who are the most helpful.
What would you say is your “entrepreneurial superpower?”
I want to laugh at this because I just read this morning that being awesome is a superpower and I totally agree with that. I don’t say it as a brag, but if you ask anyone around me they’ll say I get done in a day what most people get done in a week, and I get it done well.
Who is the entrepreneur you admire most right now? Why does s/he inspire you?
The entrepreneur who comes to mind is Marcus Buckingham, mainly because his ideas on systems and behavior helped me start my business. He freed me from mediocrity by allowing me to outsource the things I dislike doing or am not good at doing, so I can continue to improve on the things I’m good at and enjoy doing.
What the best advice you ever got, and from whom?
Best advice is to stop beating myself up. And I’ve gotten that advice from too many people to count. I always struggle with being a good mom (I have 3 daughters), a good wife, a good daughter, a good sister, a good consultant, and business owner – I want to be good at everything all the time. But all you can do is your best and that has to be good enough. Sometimes, good enough is good enough.
