Episode #17
Stop Doing Everything: HR Help for Kansas City & St. Louis Business Owners
Most business owners wait until something breaks — a compliance issue, a bad hire, a benefits renewal that's 30% higher than last year — before they make a change. By then it's already harder and more expensive to fix. What's covered: How Jen and Tracy both ended up in the PEO space — and why they chose Helpside over other options What makes Helpside's approach to service delivery different from other PEOs What the Kansas City and St. Louis business markets look like right now The #1 misconception Missouri business owners have about PEOs ("it's just expensive payroll") Why "we're not big enough yet" is almost always the wrong reason to wait What the right HR infrastructure actually looks like for a growing business Why feeling the strain is a signal — not a failure What Tracy and Jen want Missouri business owners to know before they make a decision Call us today for your free benefits audit: 1-800-748-5102 or schedule now Like & Subscribe for more helpful Helpside insights. chapters: 0:00 – Welcome: It's Personnel, Missouri edition 1:07 – Meet Jen Leubbert (St. Louis) and how she got into the PEO space 2:18 – Meet Tracy Aspinwall (Kansas City), corporate world to PEO 3:08 – How Jen and Tracy already knew each other 3:36 – Why Helpside is expanding into Missouri 4:24 – What makes Helpside different from other PEOs 5:23 – How they introduce Helpside to a Missouri business owner 6:33 – The one thing about a PEO that surprises owners 7:03 – "Helpside isn't headquartered here" and the Lever1 advantage 7:43 – Inside the St. Louis small business market 9:22 – Inside the Kansas City metro and the two-state line 10:03 – The biggest HR pain points right now: talent, compliance, bandwidth 11:11 – Missouri employment-law issues that catch owners off guard 11:47 – How the Kansas–Missouri state line creates real compliance complexity 12:25 – Why trust is built differently in these markets 13:33 – Advice for expanding between St. Louis and Kansas City 14:43 – Do the two cities compete for the same talent? 15:14 – Family-owned businesses and how the HR conversation changes 16:29 – What both markets share that outsiders miss 17:18 – What success looks like one year from now 18:22 – The biggest misconception: "it's just expensive payroll" 18:50 – "We're not big enough yet" and why waiting costs more 19:18 – The honest case for changing before something breaks 20:18 – What Jen and Tracy are most excited about 21:36 – One piece of advice for Missouri business owners 22:47 – Closing and how to connect
