Nicki Perchik, Founder of The NLP Group
Name: Nicki Perchik
Founder: The NLP Group
In one sentence, what problem do you solve and for who?
I founded a boutique search firm that helps companies hire top talent and helps professionals of all levels navigate job searches, interview processes, and negotiating offers while providing a depth of service that has resulted in us being 100% referral based.
In addition, I'm a published author looking to increase literacy rates in our youth via an incredibly fun adventure filled book series, "The Adventures of Nana Z" about a wacky, Harley riding, tattoo'd, fauxhawk-wearing grandmother who becomes a global star after becoming adopted Grandma to the worlds' biggest rap artist, RIGHTEOUS.
What's your story?
As cliche as it sounds, I always wanted to make a difference in people's lives and while selling payroll solns for ADP was fun, it didn't fulfill that need. I started my search firm because helping people with one of life's most critical and consequential decisions (career choices) felt like it truly mattered. Not only am I exceptional at helping professionals navigate what is often an anxiety filled and stressful time, I get to help companies hire top talent into key roles that enable them to exceed their businesses' goals. It's beyond rewarding!
At the same time, I've always been passionate about writing and have published 2 books: A Recruiter's Truly Simple Guide To Stop F*cking Up When Job Searching & Interviewing, which is an easy to read, sarcasm-filled guide that helps professionals learn the do's and don'ts of both job searching & interviewing in a way that the material is memorable and impactful rather than boring and dry. I also published my debut novel in tween fiction. As a mom of two boys, I know firsthand how hard it is to get kids off electronics and instill a love (or like) of reading in them. My boys didn't love fantasy and sci fi books...rather they preferred graphic novels which, while fun, had very few words and did little to nothing to strengthen reading skills. Knowing literacy rates are abysmal and that kids have scary short attention spans, I wanted to take advantage of what I learned with my boys which is if there's a book full of adventure and laughs AND it's part of a series, that was like a pot of gold. In addition, my own mother had a way of telling stories about her past that really grabbed their attention AND their friend's attention too. So I wrote The Adventures of Nana Z.- IT'S RIGHTEOUS as the first of a series. It's loosely based on my own mother's tales and is a hilariously funny, action packed story told by the youngest grandson, Max. The reader learns quickly that Nana Z is not like most grandmothers; she rides a Harley, loves to get tattoo's, has some trouble keeping jobs and a little history with the police (no felonies!) AND has a fearless zest for life that's somewhat contagious. She's an incredibly warm and loving grandmother who teaches many life lessons without the reader even knowing it. One critical lesson is the importance of giving back which is why each book in the series has a story line tied to a charity; the 1st book Nana Z befriends the world's biggest Rap artist, RIGHTEOUS. He adopts her as his grandma and together they start hosting charity events; the 1st being for an animal shelter. Similarly, I'm partnered with a local shelter, Tails Together, and am not only donating a portion of all book sales but also doing events with them to raise awareness, $ and find animals homes. The next book in the series has a storyline about autism so I'll partner with a charity in that space and donate to them and hopefully do events. The 3rd book will be Type 1 diabetes, then dyslexia etc. I'm so excited to be doing this and in a perfect world, I'd love to pivot into writing full time and let my partners take over my search firm. But....reality is becoming successful author is incredibly hard, so I'm giving it my all but also know the reality.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
I'm truly so very excited and honored to be a part of this group. I honestly didn't realize what it was till I paid a bit more attention. It's going to be amazing and I can't wait to give back as I spend so much time coaching others and am happy to help here too!
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
I'm huge into Jewish women's brands as this is something I've become a staunch and loud pro Israel advocate and someone constantly trying to combat antisemitism. I went to Israel last October with Aliza Licht. It was life changing. Any Israeli products/founders, I'll typically support.
What are three podcasts you listen to that have helped you with your business?
BigDeal, yours, Jefferson Fisher
What is ONE BOOK that you would recommend every female business owner read?
How To Win Friends & Influence People
Who is a female entrepreneur you look up to and why?
Bobbie Brown is one who always stands out to me. She's the whole package and after selling, she restarted in same space and has crushed it once again.
What are the first five things that you did when you were starting your business?
When I started NLP: I incorporated, got insurance, set up my logo, website, and marketing pieces as well as got laptop, and started emailing everyone I knew. This was 2008 so social media wasn't a thing yet, other than LinkedIn.
Who is someone who has helped change or shape your business for the better and what did they do to help you?
I hired a woman, Jennifer DeVine, after a few years of growing NLP to where I couldn't handle workload and she really helped me grow the business by assisting with tons of searches. She was incredible both in her work as well as in her customer service orientation. Sadly, Jennifer passed away a few years ago...I dedicated my Recruiter's Guide book to her because she was a huge part of making NLP the success it has become. That said, I'm currently straddling the fence between NLP and wanting to be an author. UGH!
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
NLP- Right away in 2008. I went all in and worked 80-100 hour weeks. I didn't know the time was right but I knew no one would work harder than me and that I would be successful. I had no doubts. I knew I just needed to grind and I did. Year 1 was way better than I anticipated and from there, it grew exponentially.
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
I was raised by one of the best sales training companies, ADP. Every sales fundamental was taught and refined constantly. I'm a true believer that every job has a sales component and executive search has a huge sales aspect. I laugh when other recruiters have scoffed and said flippantly how they could never be in sales....when their job is largely sales. In addition, customer service is a big part. Also, modeling my sales process from ADP was largely what set my firm apart from so many others out of the gate.
Let’s talk social media—who handles it for your company (you, an internal team member, an outsourced solution?) and what is the secret to making it successful? What is the biggest challenge?
NLP really doesn't do social media other than LinkedIn as we don't look for new clients. We all somewhat oversee LinkedIn together.
As an author this is where I need TONS of help. This is a big reason I joined this group.
How did you land your first client?
NLP- When I blitzed my email out announcing my business, so many friends and former clients knew how successful I'd been at NLP and those that worked with me knew I made a natural recruiter. That said, Billy Abt is one of my besties from high school and he called immediately to ask if I could help them hire for head of HR, which I did.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
NLP = The level of detail: from getting to know the client, their ins and outs, to then spending a ton of time interviewing them about the role to truly understand what type of person is needed skill wise, culture wise, personality wise, management style wise to then spending no less than 3 hours with candidates as we vet them before presenting them. Our clients are always blown away at the level of detail we provide and how few candidates they receive because of how aligned they are.
What would you do differently if you were starting your business today?
Today's world is so different. So I'd probably do more social media.
What are three strategies you use to market your business, grow brand awareness and generate bottom line growth?
We're 100% referral based at NLP.
What was an obstacle you overcame to get your business where it is today? Please share the story behind it.
My biggest obstacle was getting experience to reference as an actual recruiter versus my ADP experience. But within a year, I had enough examples to support my skills.
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