Advancements in technology allow small-business owner Janet McNece to no longer be tied down as she was when she and her husband started Productive Staffing LLC in Poplar Bluff nearly 25 years ago.
"In the beginning, you didn't have cellphones to remotely connect with the offices, so you were pretty much tied down, you couldn't go anywhere as a small business owner," McNece said.
Having opened for business 23 years ago in Poplar Bluff, the McNeces since have expanded, opening branches in Jonesboro, Ark., and Pocahontas, Ark., 11 years and two years ago, respectively.
McNece said technology has made it possible for her to work wherever she is.
"I can remotely log in, like I'm sitting at my desk, and work on projects, and I do a lot of video conferences," McNece said. " ... You're always connected; it never stops."
It also is important, she said, to be surrounded by a great team.
"We have great staff at all three offices ... strong leaders," McNece said.
Each staff member, she said, is "very talented and strong minded" with good communication skills.
McNece said business owners should want people who have better skills in certain areas than them.
"Sometimes, people can be intimidated by someone better in certain areas," she said. "I absolutely want people stronger than me in areas I'm weak."
Someone having graphic design, web design or computer skills "can be an asset in certain areas where I may be weaker," McNece said. "That's who you want to hire. That's not intimidating; that's an excellent plan."
Along with technology, McNece said, social media is a "huge factor" in their business.
"We still do in-person interviews (whereas) a lot of staffing companies in the nation have gone to online applications," McNece explained. " ... We want to sit down with that person, get a feel for their personality, what their skill level is."
McNece said she tries to match each applicant to the right company.
"All our offices do in-person interviews, but we do have an online following," said McNece, who indicated Productive Staffing has big Facebook and Instagram followings.
In years' past, she said, applicants were called and offered a position.
Now, with the new generation, "if you text, you might get a response, but if you use Facebook messaging, you'll get an answer faster," McNece said.
To stay current with the times means being "up on social media," McNece said. "We have a real big following at all three of our offices on social media.
"We do a lot of our job postings online because we get such a response."
Being successful in business, McNece said, means reinvention is constant.
In almost 25 years of business, McNece said, there have been some years when manufacturing was up, and a manufacturer might be her biggest client as it had a big sales year and needed extra help.
But, there is no guarantee that the next year that company will need anybody because manufacturing fluctuates up and down, McNece explained.
"The biggest thing in business is being conservative in those big years, so when you have a lean year you can get through it," McNece explained. "We have never had a layoff in the 23 years we've been in business."
Being able to survive, she said, has led to diversification and is why she and her family have "done so many different things," including entering real estate on the side.
"In my spare time, as a hobby, we have done rental property, real estate, for 20 years," said McNece, who indicate she and her husband of 28 years, William, have long-term rentals in the area.
About 10 years ago, she said, they added vacation rentals and now have 10 rentals spread out from Gulf Shores, Ala., to Nashville, Tenn., and Colorado, as well as Branson, Mo., and Clearwater and Wappapello lakes.
"We love to buy something that is ugly (but) has a good structure that totally needs to be cosmetically updated," McNece said. "My husband does all the construction side ... to turn it into a real neat property."
The real estate, she said, was something that was supposed to be done in their spare time, but "basically, it's turned out to be a full-time job."
McNece said they are about to enter their busy season with summer rentals and recently spent a week in Gulf Shores performing maintenance on their properties before that happens.
The week of Memorial Day, McNece said, her Poplar Bluff staff was sent to Gulf Shores, so she, her husband and their children could completely renovate their Fifth Street office for the first time since they moved in 15 years ago.
For anyone thinking of opening a business, McNece encourages the person to work for someone else in that field "for a little while to make sure."
McNece said she had a family member who wanted to enter the staffing business, but, after working at one for a year, she decided "it wasn't her cup of tea."
McNece described her job as hard work.
"It's not 8 to 5 Monday to Friday ... I have a wonderful team, but I am accessible 24/7," said McNece. "No matter where I am at if there is a problem," it has to be handled.
Productive Staffing is the workers' employer until they get hired on full time, so if someone gets hurt ... "you have to be available," she said.
On any given day, she said, Productive Staffing has about 600 people working for different companies.
"We are responsible for all of the payroll and taxes and worker's comp," McNece said.
Having payroll going in "a lot of different directions ...(is) a huge responsibility," she said. "It doesn't matter what I have going on on Monday or Tuesday, there are 600 people that count on me to get up and go to work and do their payroll.
"In 23 years, I've never missed a payroll," not even when she gave birth to her twin daughters (Kelley Ponder and Kasey Edwards), who now are married nursing students at Three Rivers College.
McNece said she was finishing payroll on a Monday night when her doctor called wanting to know where she was as he needed to induce her labor.
"I'm like 'I'm almost done; I'll be right there,'" McNece recalled. "We went in, they induced, and I had my girls, and I was back at work to do the next Monday's payroll with them."
Regardless of what is happening, "if you are the owner, it's your responsibility," she said. "People count on you, and you have to be there."
Although there have been a number of changes in McNece's business, she said, the thing that hasn't changed is the people.
"It's still a people business," she said. "We are finding the very best people (for the positions). That is our job."
McNece still believes "we live in a country where hard work pays."
Having grown up in Poplar Bluff, McNece said, she graduated from high school early and went to college for a semester while working full time.
"I worked in the fast food industry," said McNece, who indicated she learned how to think on her feet, about details and dealing with people of all ages and personalities doing that.
"That's a good start," she said. "I think you can start in whatever you're doing and work your way up, whether its fast food" or in something else.
McNece said there are a lot of opportunities to start out at the entry level available.
If an employee is good, "they're not going to stay entry level very long," McNece said. " ... You can work your way up."
Businesses, she said, value workers who show up every day, put in their time and are respectful.
McNece described Productive Staffing as a family-oriented business.
"We are all like family," said McNece, whose oldest son, Ethan, manages the Jonesboro office. He is married with one child, while the McNeces' 15-year-old son, Dillon, just finished his freshman year at Couch High School.