Growing up in a duplex in the inner city of Milwaukee, WI with a father that worked blue-collar jobs and a mother that spent most of my adolescence unemployed, ambition and work ethic was drilled into Britt Gottschalk at a young age. Britt Gottschalk was a natural social butterfly that was bred to be a trophy kid and embrace that hunger to become something different than what her parents were – Successful.
Britt Gottschalk has always had a passion for connecting with people and decided that studying how they behave in groups and organizational settings was something she wanted to dedicate her life to. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with her bachelor’s in Psychology, Britt Gottschalk went on to obtain dual masters’ degrees in Business Administration and Industrial Organizational Psychology. Throughout her academic journey, she had held down a job since the age of 15, one of them being a manual laborer position at a sewage treatment facility.
The inspiration to start her own company came well before the pandemic hit. Britt Gottschalk’s partner is a software developer, and he was able to work from anywhere at most of the jobs he’s had. That’s when Britt started becoming interested in virtual work. Based on the research at the time (in 2018) Britt noticed that most professional services within the U.S. have had the ability to have their employees work from anywhere (and some organizations have been doing this since the 1970’s) but many organizations never adopted this practice.
”I was confused- who wouldn’t want to be able to work from their comfy chair in the living room, 10 feet from their fridge, if they had the opportunity to? When the pandemic hit, it was almost like a calling. I had to decide if I wanted to leave my cushiony, management consulting job with a steady paycheck and benefits to pursue my passion and start my own company.”
Britt Gottschalk’s contract ended with the firm and founded ReVise Consulting. Britt Gottschalk‘s mission is to implement sustainable virtual workforces by focusing on analyzing the future of employee engagement, and group behaviors. While everyone is focused on big tech, ReVise Consulting is focused on something that will never be a fad – People.
1. Tell us what do you do in your own words?
I research what the future of employee engagement looks like in an increasingly virtual world, and help organizations increase their ROI by maximizing the potential of virtual workforces.
2. What opportunities has the pandemic’s confinement created?
There have been employees all over the world working remotely or hybrid well before the pandemic, but this has expedited its popularity and revealed its benefits. Our business model is centered around the promotion of effective and inclusive practices organizations can take advantage of when offering this type of work flexibility. The pandemic has also given my organization the opportunity to have a larger population to collect data on remote work practices, so that we can constantly improve in the ways that provide the most value for all industries and our clients.
3. What challenges have you faced in your creative work?
The biggest challenge has been continuing to pursue this passion of mine while trying to maintain my own social boundaries. Since I was able to start the company in the middle of a pandemic, it’s been incredibly easy for me to spend long hours working with my team without taking those breaks to check in with my friends and family. I’ve started setting better boundaries for myself, and learning moderation is something I think we all struggle with to a point!
4. Tell us more about your business, what services are offered?
We offer virtual business consulting and partnering, learning and development workshops, talent management assessments, and strategic sourcing and recruitment. Our most popular offering is the Remote Workforce Assessment. It’s used to discover the strengths of workforces and development opportunities to use resources most efficiently when operating in a virtual environment or in a distributed workplace.
5. How is your company different than any others?
We’re different because our focus is on organizations going through and working to sustain digital transformations for the wellbeing of their employees. Traditional consulting for solely in-office or on-site employees will need to adapt to include employees that can work from anywhere, and that’s where our specialty lies.
6. How do you keep yourself updated? What are some of the websites or magazines or apps that you subscribe to or read regularly?
I am an avid reader, so I’m constantly reading new reviews or journals that come out monthly related to organizational behavior and all things business. One of my favorite magazines is Harvard Business Review and one of my favorite journals is the Journal of Organizational Behavior. I’m a big fan of podcasts, and a few of my favorites are Planet Money, Radiolab, Ted Talks Daily and Work Life with Adam Grant.
7. What is the one piece of advice that has impacted you the most?
Never forget where you came from. Being in different levels within an organization was an experience that I carried over with me in the founding of my own organization. I’ve been part of teams and organizations with poor leadership, where I felt undervalued and the leadership team didn’t care. I knew that I wouldn’t have that kind of culture in the place that I had the most say in. This has driven me to create a business where people love coming to work because they have a leader that cares about their professional needs, as well as tying the work they do into their purpose as a thriving human being, while being able to receive a paycheck they can comfortably live on, not just survive on.
8. What do you like the most about your job?
It has to be my team! We’re all trying to better ourselves and one another through building each other up. We meet virtually often for a good balance of professional and social events, and we’re transparent in our communication while giving and receiving constructive feedback to build on our individual and team strengths. We’re also all really big nerds when it comes to studying organizational behavior, so that helps too!
9. Can you share some marketing tips on how to launch a business?
First, make sure you’ve flushed out the details of your idea before even hitting the market, especially if you plan to hire employees upon launching. This one is critical, because if you have a nuanced product, or one that isn’t already out there in the market, you’re going to have to find a simple way to explain to your audience what it is you’re selling so they’ll feel compelled to buy it. Second, get your messaging in front of the right people. When you know who your target market is, then start getting your messaging in front of as many relevant professionals as possible! It only takes one post, one message, or one event to get in front of the customer you want, and it’s all about making those connections! Using other platforms of professionals that are more influential, like writing a guest blog or being on a podcast, can also help you gain serious customer traction.
10. What have you learned most from entrepreneurship?
It’s definitely not for everyone. If you’re someone who’s thinking about starting a business, whether you want to keep it small or grow it large, just know that it is not a key to an instantly well-paying and glamorous life. There are many 10+ hour days, going back to the drawing board to refine your sales or product development strategies, and keeping a constant eye on your cashflow to make sure you’re saving or spending your money wisely requires diligence. If you’re someone who isn’t afraid of hard work, and you want to start a business, go for it. There’s not one day that goes by that I regret the decision to take charge of my life, and use my expertise to create better lives for others that are out there.