Woman Grows Her Business into a Top Hospitality Management Recruiting Company
By Home Business Magazine
Patrice Rice began her hospitality management recruiting company more than twenty years ago out of her basement. The company has grown fast since those humble beginnings. It is now one of the largest privately-held search firms in the country, helping thousands of candidates find new job opportunities and countless restaurant and hospitality clients fill management positions with individuals vetted for excellence.
Due to the company’s shared online database, national clients with restaurant openings across the United States, and the company’s online job board site partnerships, Patrice & Associates is well suited to be a home-based business. The vast majority of work is handled by phone and e-mail, providing recruiters tremendous work-life balance. There is no typical day, and working hours are very flexible.
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| Patrice Rice is the CEO and founder of the hospitality management recruiting company, Patrice & Associates. |
Rice began franchising her hospitality industry recruiting business three years ago in the midst of the Great Recession. It has continued to grow rapidly ever since, into a business with more than 40 home-based regional franchise offices spread across the entire nation.
Rice’s journey into recruiting followed several years as owner and operator of a fleet of high-end entertainment boats along the eastern shores of Maryland. Her experience included launching a catering business to serve her guests on the boats. Following the sale of this business, she landed a position with a sales recruiting business. In her new role, which included calling on new client prospects, Rice investigated filling positions for a chain of restaurants. She discovered how lucrative and underserved the restaurant sector was and resigned from her position. Rice waited out her non-compete by starting a resume writing business, which included writing a book on interviewing tips and techniques.
Once the non-compete expired, she focused her work strictly on the restaurant industry. “I thought…this is a great industry to specialize in, because it truly is recession-resistant and it has a high turnover rate at the management level,” said Rice, who became the first woman boat captain on the Chesapeake Bay. “I knew this business had huge potential, but it’s taken a lot of work to get to this point,” said Rice. “By far, growing this business is my biggest career achievement.”
Within the next three to five years, Rice anticipates more than 100 home-based Patrice & Associates offices nationwide. Visit http://www.patriceandassociates.com. HBM
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