Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in human resources but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jeremy Ruch, Founder and CEO of Bandalier, located in Binghamton, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Bandalier hires, trains, and deploys fresh talent onto customer-facing teams to help businesses scale up faster. We started building outsourced inside sales teams in 2017 and have since expanded to building customer service, customer success, compliance, and operations teams. We've had the pleasure of working with start-ups from a wide variety of industries. We tend to work with tech-focused organizations, but that includes clients in the consumer wellness, healthcare, and FinTech spaces, to name a few.
Tell us about yourself
There were a few factors that inspired me to build Bandalier. First was my own experience managing a sales team for a start-up - hiring people was painful, and managing poor performers was even worse. The only outsourced sales team I could find catered to much larger organizations. As I explored the idea of building a company that offered outsourced teams for start-ups, I realized that there's this fundamental mismatch between where talented people are located and where those opportunities are located. Bandalier's goal is to connect people with opportunities. We give our clients the option to bring team members in-house, and seeing those successful pairings is one of my greatest motivators.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I take the most pride in the impact we've been able to have on hundreds of careers and companies since we got started in 2017. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing our current team members and alums excelling in their careers and delivering great results for our clients.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest thing, without a doubt, is navigating the inevitable ups and downs that come with running any business. It's a cliche at this point, but it's certainly true: the highs of running a business are high, but the lows are very low, and you need to be prepared for that.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The most important tip I'd give someone is to ensure they have a genuine passion for whatever problem they are solving - I think without this, it'd be very difficult to stay motivated. The second is to spend a TON of time talking to your prospects and customers and make sure you have a really solid understanding of their pain points (something I constantly have to remind myself to spend more time doing). Finally, I'd recommend taking care of the basics: good sleep, exercise, and dietary habits can be tough to maintain but critical for keeping your balance.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.bandalier.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bandalierusa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bandalierusa/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bandalierusa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bandalier/
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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