Building a successful career takes time, effort, and a well-thought-out plan. Sometimes, having some extra help can make all the difference. That’s where CareerTuners comes in, providing specialized support services designed to meet the unique needs of job seekers. Let’s dive into what the business does and the unique perspectives of its founder, Fatemah Mirza.
**What the Business Does**
CareerTuners offers resume and career coaching services. According to the CEO, Fatemah Mirza, “We genuinely care about supporting our clients throughout their job searches.”
**Business Niche**
The cornerstone of CareerTuners’ success lies in high customer satisfaction. Mirza highlights their quick response to questions, comprehensive advice, unlimited edits, and a robust follow-up process. This ensures clients truly get their money’s worth compared to competitors.
**How the Business Got Started**
CareerTuners started as a side project while Mirza was in college. Initially, facing significant social anxiety made the client interaction aspect challenging for her. But as the workload increased, she took a big step in 2014 by hiring her first employee, and the team has kept expanding since then.
**Biggest Win**
One of Mirza’s proudest achievements is retaining amazing employees. Her first hire from 2014 still leads a department today. Many employees have stayed long-term, helping to build various departments like sales, finance, and marketing from scratch. While the business’s revenue growth is significant, Mirza values her team’s satisfaction and retention the most, considering her team as family.
**Biggest Risk**
The pandemic posed a major challenge, and Mirza took the risky step of taking out loans to keep the business afloat. Fortunately, it paid off. Not only did CareerTuners survive the pandemic, but the company also saw its revenue double each subsequent year.
**Lesson Learned**
Trusting her team has been a crucial lesson for Mirza. She shares an experience where negative feedback from an employee led her to micromanage, which impacted her health adversely. Her colleagues eventually urged her to give them more space to solve problems and implement changes, which led to better results and innovative ideas.
**How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000**
If given an additional $100,000, Mirza would develop a new solution to support job seekers in emerging markets. She aims to create an AI-based app that provides personalized assistance tailored to individual needs. This would include app research, development, marketing, and maintenance.
**Favorite Quote**
Reflecting on a quote by Maya Angelou, Mirza relates to the feeling of being an imposter. Despite not finishing her bachelor’s degree and feeling her business was only moderately successful, she faced significant imposter syndrome. It took her a while to overcome this mindset and gain confidence in her business and management skills.
