HR Expert and Entreprenista, Erika Migliaccio, on Taking Employees and Leaders by the Hand and Guiding Them Along the Complex Path of Professional Success

Hello Erika! Please share a brief introduction about yourself.

I’m a 20-year Corporate HR Executive who flew the coop to lead with heart. Through Upstream HR, I love to take employees and leaders by the hand and guide them along the complex path of professional success, inspiring them with courage, confidence and care so they can conquer their boldest career dreams with passion and purpose. I do this through executive coaching, leadership training, professional skills training, career path coaching, team effectiveness workshops and other related projects.

So Erika, what excites you about being an Entreprenista League member?

The opportunity to learn from so many other fabulous and successful women!

What made you take the leap to start Upstream HR?

I started to feel that my passion for leading with heart wasn’t aligning with the corporate culture and wanted to live in a world where I could bring my full self to work.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

20 years of executive HR leadership at General Electric

So Erika, did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

No! I thought I would retire from GE.

Take us back to when you first launched Upstream HR, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out?

Word of mouth. It was getting in touch with those who I knew appreciated my contributions and style, to let them know I was available for work.

Erika, can you think back to your biggest challenge and what did you learn from it?

Balancing working on the business vs. in the business. Finding great professional services to help me grow. Figuring out how to scale without needing more “me’s.”

What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of to date?

The launch of our new app – Greetings of Gratitude! For years, I’ve been on a mission to eliminate every “thanks for all you do” from the workplace. Greetings of Gratitude makes is easy for managers (and colleagues) to thank each other in a more meaningful way.

Being an entreprenista means having a busy schedule. Do you believe in work/life balance?

I believe more in work/life integration and working when and where it’s best for you. Meetings till 10:00, nails at 11:00, workshop at 1:00 … it’s all one bucket of to-do’s for me now – not work vs. life.

What’s a piece of advice you can share that you wish you’d known when you first started your Entreprenista journey?

Don’t take every job. Find the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at and what others need … and focus there. Say “no” to the things that don’t fit in those circles.

Erika, you have lots to celebrate! What have you achieved recently that you’d like to celebrate with our community?

The launch of our new app – Greetings of Gratitude! For years, I’ve been on a mission to eliminate every “thanks for all you do” from the workplace. Greetings of Gratitude makes is easy for managers (and colleagues) to thank each other in a more meaningful way.

What’s next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

Scaling! Self-paced workshops, more app features and always more workshop offerings!

Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!