Summary: Losing your job can be one of the most terrifying experiences in a person’s life. For corporations, the process of employee lay-offs is also painful and they risk a backlash against the company's products and services from consumers who have friends and family affected by the decision. Entrepreneur Tom Shea, founder and CEO of Right Management outplacement services, saw an opportunity to provide companies with a service that could be offered to their employees. Outplacement services turned the focus from what was lost to what was possible. “Someone has to keep them inspired,” he explains in his interview with “Inside The Entrepreneurial Mind” on ENTREPRENEURradio. Tom Shea first got involved in the outplacement business after leaving his job as a Human Resources professional for a Florida hospital. Tom started Right Management with some coaxing from his wife, who now co-owns the business with him. He says he’s not looked back since. “Here we are 36 years later and I haven’t had to get a real job yet,” he jokes in his interview. Leaving a steady job for an uncertain marketplace was stressful, and Tom brings his sensitivity about those challenges to his work with companies and eployees grappling with change and uncertainty. Tom found satisfaction in nurturing his entrepreneurial spirit, and he encourages people to explore that path as well as the employee- for- hire route. “I wanted to do something that would be of value,” he says, and at Right Management, he helps other turn endings into new beginnings. For more on Tom’s insights on turning a personal experience into a business concept, listen to his interview streaming now on ENTREPRENEURradio.org.
