Starting a business was always in the back of Laurie Wajda’s mind, but her satisfaction in the corporate environment kept her vision just that.
After leaving her corporate Human Resource executive position to spend time with family and continue serving as a board member with Bucks County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Wajda sought an outlet for her human resources expertise.
Following 25-plus years of work in human resources, she made the move to become her own boss and in April 2023 launched LKW Human Capital Solutions LLC. This new venture allows her to flex her human resource generalist skills to meet the needs of a variety of clients.
Her work to date has included HR strategy development and execution, change management, and executive coaching to name a few. Her clients range from U.S. based companies with 40 to 200 employees to a global organization with over 1,000 employees in the U.S.
“I pride myself on being a trusted partner,” Wajda said. “I’m flexible. Because of my diverse experience in human resources, I can flex and customize solutions specific to the client.”
From a business startup perspective, Wajda, of Yardley, knew what type of work she wanted to do and where she wanted to focus, but was unsure of where to begin. She enlisted assistance from SCORE Bucks County mentors Linda Zangrilli and Joe Lutes, who provided a very personal touch.
For example, Lutes, through a virtual meeting and a shared computer screen, assisted Wajda with completing and filing the necessary paperwork to apply for her LLC.
“To me, that was going above and beyond,” she said. “It gave me peace of mind that I completed the process to register my company correctly. I was grateful!”
Zangrilli, whom Wajda calls her “accountability partner,” provided critical feedback in development of the company’s mission statement, unique value proposition and marketing materials, and also assisted in setting financial goals.
“Linda is always there for me to bounce around ideas and answer questions,” Wajda said of Zangrilli. “She’s always available. I needed to do the work, but she was there to guide and support me.”
Wajda maintains her meeting cadence and connectivity with Zangrilli. She looks forward to paying it forward to support other SCORE clients. “If there are others that can benefits from my knowledge, I am happy to help.”
In addition to support from SCORE, the biggest boost to LKW Human Capital Solutions LLC stemmed from Wajda’s success in networking and connecting with others. She reached out to former colleagues and referrals, attended networking events and followed up.
“You need to always be networking,” Wajda shared. Even though she is based in Bucks County, none of her clients are in the local area. The power of virtual meetings enables her to collaborate with clients in Chicago, New Jersey and beyond.
Today, “fractional” and “project-based” human resources is a need that is common across all businesses, both large and small. Considering this, Wajda is confident in her business trajectory.
“I’m having fun, which is great,” she said. “And I love my clients and enjoy the work.”
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