Kristy Lee’s business The Footprint Group came about after she moved to the central coast.

 After moving from Sydney to the central coast, Kristy Lee realised no one was offering professional recruitment services on the Coast. Initially, she took up her job applying her experience in professional services and psychology degree but soon wanted to get back to the business world.
Kirsty took up the role of Branch Manager at a large national recruitment company. She raised their profile by marketing the company as the first professional service agency on the Coast. However 6 weeks in the company decided to restructure offering her another position, she decided not to stay.

Kirsty took this opportunity to start her own business and setup The Footprint group within a week.

Kristy-Lee is driven by her passion to see businesses succeed by having the right people in the right roles at the right time

Who’s your favourite entrepreneur and why?
My favourite would have to be Richard Brandson, I love his commitment, he goes all in and I love how he wears his heart on his sleeve and his values are evident throughout everything he does and has a great sense of leadership. He gives his employees the opportunity to try and learn. I also like that from the very beginning of his career he built his team on the values of culture.

The more personal example is my grandfather and he really inspired me, I think that we had very similar characteristics in many ways. He was in a more working-class kind of business in Sydney and he would very passionately pursue whatever he felt was right and just. As I was growing up I saw how he had this strong focus on Australian and the workers that he employed, this is what I found very inspiring.

What do you enjoy most about running your own business?
It’s not always easy, but I really enjoy the flexibility. It allows me to really be there for my family. For example, when I need to go to my children’s school I don’t have to run it by my employer before I go do it. I have the freedom to do what I want. I’m able to structure my workload in a more family-friendly way. I also like being able to make all the decisions.

What advice would YOU give someone thinking about starting a business?
Don’t procrastinate about starting something, if you have an idea that you have a real drive for just go for it. It is important to get started and get moving, this is because the longer you procrastinate, the more likely someone else is going to get in before you. If you have the knowledge and the skills just jump in and take the risk.

Also running your own business is not easy a lot of the time, and you have to understand that if you are going to start your own business you have to be all in. It can be all-consuming sometimes because there are some weeks and months that it takes up your entire life and you have to be prepared for that.

What does your IDEAL business look like? Even if you’re not there yet, what would it look like if your business was ideal?

My Ideal business involves me having a regular recurring revenue stream that doesn’t involve me charging by the hour for my time. To have a steady flow of some income which is reliable and is coming in regularly. Also, I would like to be able to run my business from anywhere in the world, which would allow me to travel.

What problem does being a Member of the HerBusiness Network solve for you and your business? And, how?
I find that being in a small business can be quite isolating so what I have found is that being apart of HerBusiness allowed me to feel connected and part of a network where you can bounce ideas off each other, get advice or if you need support in a particular area there is always someone who can refer you. So it really gives you that feeling and sense of connection.

Especially as I’m a little bit removed being up on the Central Coast, but with HerBusiness I can tap into people anywhere without having to get in the car and drive two hours to go to a networking lunch for example. It is just so much more accessible and convenient.

The other thing is all the information that is available in the member area, there is just so much value in what I learn from the webinars, podcasts, the masterclasses and all of the content that is available to the members. I know that if I have a problem I can type it in and there will be something that I can watch, reader view that will help steer me in the right direction.

What have you done through the hard times of your business? And what helps you get through them?
I think that it is important to surround yourself with good people, that has been a bit of a challenge for me because I have often been isolated and I like to be very independent. I have a group locally of fellow business people that are all about at the same stage in their business as me and experience, so I found this great as we go to lunch and debrief with each other. I also find that physical exercise is very important as it has mental and physical benefits for me.

What are your success habits?
I think it would be creating the habit of daily routine, which allows me to escape getting caught up in a muddled headspace. I am also really good at focusing on a task and putting my head down and getting it done.

I there anything that you have in the pipeline that you want people to know about i.e. promotions events?
I’m just working on an offer for our HR limited service, I’m actually building that in the IDEAL business program with Suzi and the team there. It is not quite ready yet but once it’s ready I will keep you all updated!