Big companies are often associated with better pay and benefits, but does that mean smaller organizations don't stand a chance in today's competitive labor market? This CEO believes her company proves otherwise.
Shiloh Johnson founded ComplYant in 2019 with the mission of helping other small businesses navigate the tax landscape each year. With 45 employees and $5.7 million in total funding, ComplYant has seen substantial growth in just three years, but not at the price of overworking their talent. In fact, ComplYant has been recognized as one of the "Best Places to Work" in 2023 by Built In, an online community for national start-ups and tech companies.
Johnson admits that while the company's compensation cannot necessarily compete with big companies just yet, she invests in cultivating a positive
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"No one should have to sacrifice dinner with their family," says Johnson. "At the end of the day, the work is still going to be there. What if you could have both a good life and your work?"
As a working mom who quickly found that the traditional corporate work structure leads to burnout and less productivity, Johnson vowed to own a company without the toxicity. EBN spoke with Johnson about her approach to leadership, work culture and benefits as a small business owner.
How does your approach to leadership build your desired work culture?
I come from a strict corporate culture. For the first half of my career, I worked for large corporations that ran a structured machine: you go to work every day at the same time, you eat your lunch every day at the same time, you took the same 10-minute break every single day. I also have kids and I was very young, so I was trying to blend being a single parent with working full time. And it never made sense. I was constantly stressed out, which affected my ability to do good work.
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I told myself that when I have my own [business], I'm never going to let this happen. People should be able to live their lives, in partnership with the work they do. They don't work for me. I serve them in the work that I do. I don't code, I don't market, and I'm not answering phones. They are doing the work that keeps the business moving forward. It is my job to create the best environment to do that in. That's my north star.
What are a few core principles in your work culture?
As the leader of the ship, I want you to care for yourself and your family. I want you to care for your mental health — you are no good to us as a team member if your mental health is shot. So what if you haven't slept in three days, but we've met the deadline? At what cost? We're experiencing this employee resignation movement in droves because people are just so unhappy.
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I also believe we are a team — we're not a family. In familial relationships, there's an obligation. In team relationships, there is ownership. When I'm working with someone, and I consider them a teammate, they are responsible for playing their position, and I'm responsible for playing my position. Then together, we execute to win the game. In a family relationship, it's like 'Here's who I am, and you must tolerate me regardless if my behavior is acceptable or not.' There's no accountability in that kind of relationship.
How does your philosophy extend to your benefits?
In the early days, the health insurance wasn't the best we could do, and the salary was probably subpar until we embraced our final round [of funding]. This is why I doubled down on making sure that I'm creating a culture where even if we can't get massive benefits, at least we can give you an environment where you can find a way to balance your personal life and work life.
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Then once we got some additional funding and I also hired a head of People Operations, we were able to organize some small incremental changes. For instance, JOON is a flexible wellness benefits platform where you can receive monthly reimbursements for things like food or healthcare. We also try to pay for the highest healthcare the company can afford. I don't skimp. I do that because healthcare in America is not the best, and at least the one thing that people working at this company don't have to worry about is paying a high premium along with super high deductibles. Then every employee at the company has equity. And we do that because I want people to feel like they're invested in building this company, too.
We will hopefully always be remote. I live in L.A., where it's an hour ride every day to work. Instead, just go sit in your living room and watch your show, type out some content and move through your day.
Do you have any advice for other small business owners?
Try to be really intentional about the kind of business that you want to build. The more clarity you have, the more people will be willing to join you.
We are in a day and age where people care less and less about the big salary and more and more about their own personal mental health. So small companies are primed to fly in there with really good work cultures and attract exceptional talent. People nowadays are willing to sacrifice money over opportunity for something that is better for their souls.
