Stacey Randall: Turning Failure into Opportunity

Stacey Randall’s first business was destroyed by its own success. She launched the human resources consulting firm Randall Research in late 2008. Things got off to a great start, including her first client, which signed a two-year, almost six-figure contract. Other prominent clients followed, and soon Stacey was an in-demand business expert, writing articles and doing radio and newspaper interviews. But things were not as rosy as they seemed.

“The business looked awesome from the outside, but I was so busy doing the work that I stopped looking for new work,” she said. When her first big client didn’t renew its contract, the business began a slow downward spiral, and Stacey called it quits in 2012. “It was a huge blow to the ego,” she said.

But she didn’t waste any time getting back in the entrepreneurial saddle. She started Take Control of Your Days in 2013. “I help small business owners make more money and find more time,” she said. A key strategy she uses in both her own business and in coaching others is “referral marketing,” which is an automated process that helps business owners leverage existing referrals and create new ones.

Having learned some hard lessons from her first business, Stacey says she’s now more strategic with her time and focused on big-picture sales and marketing strategies. She’s also determined to remain “emotionally bulletproof” and surround herself with positive people. “You can’t let anyone talk you out of your dream,” she said. “Failure doesn’t define me, but it was certainly the swift kick in the rear that I needed to make different choices.”