She Closed a Deal in Labor — While Her Recruiting Business Kept Her Alive

Benjamin Mena [00:00:00]:
Are you still trying to grow your recruiting desk or business on your own? Join the Elite Recruiter Community and connect with recruiters who know your challenges. Members get unlimited access to replays from the AI Recruiting Summit, Finish the Year Strong, and all our past events, plus biweekly roundtables where we dive into sourcing, business development, and mindset. You'll also tap into our Billers Club for accountability and a split space to partner on roles. Join the number one growth environment for recruiters for just $49 per month. You'll be part of a tight-knit group that pushes you to grow, and you can cancel anytime. Visit the link in the show notes and click Join Now to get started and start mastering your craft today. Coming up on this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:00:40]:
What we do as recruiters is we're actually changing lives. We're building companies, we're building teams. So us not sharing what we do and us not wanting to ask if we can support them and not being from a place of service is actually doing a disservice to that team or that person. Not everyone's going to think like that. Some of us think of like watered-down Wall Street brokers. So my partner and I had broken up when our son was about 5 days old.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:03]:
Wow. And you had a recruiting business too that you were running?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:01:06]:
Somehow I did. I did. And I was making good money too. Great money at the same time.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:13]:
Welcome to the Elite Recruiter Podcast with your host Benjamin Mena, where we focus on what it takes to win in the recruiting game. We cover it all from sales, marketing, mindset, money, Leadership and placements. You know, the resume never tells the full story. Candidates share what really matters during conversations, on calls and interviews, over email. Their motivations, salary expectations, plans to relocate. Most of that detail ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas changes that. It's the AI-first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin.

Benjamin Mena [00:01:49]:
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Benjamin Mena [00:02:27]:
Atlas customers have reported over 40% EBITDA growth and over 80% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. It's built for agencies that want to grow without adding more manual work. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive listener offer at recruitwithatlas.com. I'm excited about this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast because here's the thing: what we see on LinkedIn, what we see on Instagram, what we see on social media, it's the highlight reel. It's the best of the best. But here's the thing, behind every highlight reel is a real story. Behind every highlight reel is people going through shit, but they're still getting the job done.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:11]:
They're still actively building their recruiting business. And here's the thing, recruiting business could set you free. And this is why I'm excited to have Stephanie on the podcast. Welcome, Stephanie.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:03:21]:
Hi. So we can't stop smiling. I love your vibe, your energy. It's great.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:27]:
Real quick, quick, uh, 30-second self-introduction.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:03:30]:
Okay. Um, my name is Stephanie Lowenstein. I am based in South Florida. I'm a mom of one, a boy mom named Benjamin. As you know, I love that name. I own a recruiting business. I'm focused on helping startups and tech companies scale on the go-to-market side.

Benjamin Mena [00:03:45]:
Awesome. So I, I gotta ask, I originally ran across you on LinkedIn and it looked like the absolute highlight reel, but behind the highlight reel you had your recruiting business, but there was part of you that was just like a version of you that was just barely surviving years ago. Can you wanna like real quick talk about that?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:04:06]:
Sure. Um, so which part do you want me to go into? Like The beginning or the part you read?

Benjamin Mena [00:04:12]:
Let's go with the part, part that I read.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:04:15]:
Okay. So I think you're referring to while I was going through a breakup with a baby, as you would like to say.

Benjamin Mena [00:04:21]:
A 5-day-old baby, right?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:04:23]:
Yeah. So my partner and I had broken up when our son was about 5 days old. Wow.

Benjamin Mena [00:04:30]:
And you had a recruiting business too that you were running somehow.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:04:33]:
I did. I did. And I was making good money too. Great money at the same time.

Benjamin Mena [00:04:38]:
So we're gonna, we're gonna unpack this because here's the thing, a lot of people are going through tough times, things happening, shit hitting the fan. Like, and I'm gonna ask you this later, like, how did you keep the thing going with everything that you were going through? But before we get there, let's take a few steps back. How did you even end up in this world of Misfit Toys?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:05:04]:
Misfit. I love that. I started working at a call center back in, I think it was 2014, recruiting random call center reps in sales at the time. So I like just jumped into recruiting, went on Craigslist, and it was a different type of recruiting where you're just like cold calling off Craigslist basically to get people that wanted to make minimum wage plus XYZ to start selling. And I remembered when I started recruiting these people. I just really found joy in it. I found joy in connecting with people and helping them, like, land roles and change their life. So that's where I did start.

Benjamin Mena [00:05:39]:
You're talking like call center, grind it out, they're going to be gone in like a week, and you like were— like, you found joy in that?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:05:46]:
I did, I did. I found— I was, um, the year prior, and you did see this in my story, I was studying writing and I was also a sales assistant at a time ink company, and I ended up leaving and quitting, which is also part of the journey of the ups and downs. And then I was looking for a job and I found— I fell into that role in South Florida.

Benjamin Mena [00:06:05]:
And then where did you go after that? Like, when did you really start actually recruiting?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:06:09]:
So I'll, I'll lead you up to like the business and how that started. So I worked for a staffing company that was focused on placing IT consultants, and I was on the sales side. So I was always on the sales side, so I actually wasn't recruiting. Um, there was a period before, well, I'll backtrack. There was a period before I worked at like a local staffing agency and I was recruiting and I was doing the sales and I was young and I knew nothing. At the time we were using ATS, I think it was called like an AS/400. It was like, it's like black and green and it looked like a video game. We were still using that.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:06:39]:
That was, um, 2005, like around that time. Do you remember that or no?

Benjamin Mena [00:06:44]:
No, I, I was at Aerotech and they had their own built-in software system that they did that was proprietary to them.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:06:50]:
I don't know, it was CareersUSA and we had to like type in manually information and I, then I ended up, so I went, did the call center recruiting that something like, it just didn't work out. I went to the local agency and I was recruited to go be on the sales team to recruit big data consultants. Big data was a big word back then, so it's like a very like blast from the past. And I was on the sales side and I was doing great and I was crushing it.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:13]:
And, um, what is that where you decided to start your own company was when you were working there?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:07:18]:
No. So I'll take, I'll take you up.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:20]:
Okay, let's go.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:07:21]:
Okay. Okay. Just to give you some backdrop. So anyways, I did go to a, I wanted to move back to New York City, right? So I'm just sharing this context because I had already left New York City in my early 20s and I thought I was a failure and I had this opportunity to move back to New York City working for another staffing agency in New York. I'll leave it there. There was a period where I was tired of working so hard for other people, knowing that I can work just as hard. To grind for myself. So I just decided to quit, basically, which doesn't sound responsible at the time, but I did.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:07:54]:
Let's go ahead.

Benjamin Mena [00:07:57]:
What led you up to hitting that point where I was just like, I just can't do this anymore, I, I can go do this on my own? Like, was there, like, was it just bad management? Were you just doing so well? Like, like, what happened?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:08:09]:
So a couple things. I, I actually don't, I've never posted about this yet, but I will at some point. I worked in an office with a bunch of mean girl bullies. Um, there was an off— the company is amazing. They were known for like an amazing culture. I was so grateful to be there, but I was in a New York office. It was all women. There were 6 of us, and I've always been a little bit outside the norm, you know, like a little weird, like whatever, just kind of myself, where the girls were just had different interests.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:08:33]:
And it was very clear that I was like not wanted or included, and that impacted my work. I still worked, like I still gave leads to people on the team. I still hustled. I still did my thing in New York City. But I was tired of that environment. That was number one. Number two, I came from a family of entrepreneurs, so deep down I always knew that I'd want to run and own a business. So I was lucky at the time where, um, a family member of mine had given me some cash, very little, it was like 2 to 3 months of rent.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:08:59]:
And I had number three, I had a recruiter that I knew who worked at an internal company, at a software company, who basically was like, you should do this yourself. So I don't know, I just like had these like opportuni— like these like circumstances, what do you call it, serendipitous moments that was like hinting— go ahead.

Benjamin Mena [00:09:14]:
All three, all three of those kind of like hit you at the same time, but you're like, screw it, let's do it.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:09:19]:
Yeah, I feel like I was, I was meant for something more, but I basically, I had balls and, um, I literally just quit. And I, at the time, Squarespace came out and I was creating my own logo and I just created a website. I literally had no idea what I was doing. I never even knew what a series funding round was at that point, and I walked in blindly.

Benjamin Mena [00:09:37]:
All right. So if you guys want a good laugh, like, I love Squarespace. Our website's still on there, even though I'm vibe coding some other websites and stuff. So no, no challenge to Squarespace, but okay. So you start your own recruiting firm. How did you get your first client? Were you still in New York City? Was it just running through your network? Like, how did you get yourself off the ground?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:09:57]:
I had a friend who was a recruiter internally and he thought of me and it was like right time, right place. They just raised a Series B round and he was able to get me a contract with their company. And like I made, it was a director of product. I've never sourced on it. I never used LinkedIn Recruiter, but I figured it out. I made the placement. I still remember his name. You never forget your first placement.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:10:18]:
And it was enough for me to pay rent and like continue the momentum up to move on.

Benjamin Mena [00:10:22]:
Okay. So when did you go from a referral from somebody that you knew to this is like a brand new client, I know nothing like about them. I knew nothing about them, but I went and from zero to new client, how did you get that new client and how did you break away from the referrals?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:10:41]:
You were talking about this specific client or just getting new customers? When you just got started. Right, when you just got started. When I just got started. So I'll tell you a little bit about my process. Look, I was 29 years old. I had no kids, no boyfriend, and I was running around with, it's a kind of like, you don't know what you don't know. And I had like blind faith. Like I literally, I had no fear.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:10:56]:
It's like you get, I have more, the more experience I get, the less I wanna talk and the more fear it's like. Crazy, but I would start going to networking events, like anything and everything. And I made sure I'd go to like 4 or 5 a week in the city and just start talking to people and be like, yeah, hi, I'm Stephanie. I started a recruiting business and this is what I do. And I was just putting myself out there. That's really how I started was going to events.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:18]:
And those events ended up turning into clients.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:11:21]:
They did. They did. Some of them, right? I, I, I look back and I'm like, oh gosh, like I really had some kahunas or, um, I really had like no fear. But yeah, I was relentless. I did that.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:32]:
So it's one of those things that they feel like a lot of recruiters, like, try to go to events and do these things. Like, I, and I feel like events now are different, a little different than probably back then.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:11:40]:
Couldn't do it. I could not do it now. Yeah. I, I just really couldn't. You know, the thing is I was so excited and so passionate and I think that's what's been carrying me through the last 7 years of running my business that I like was like, I'm gonna make this happen no matter what and I can't fail. And so I'm just really gonna put myself out there.

Benjamin Mena [00:11:56]:
Well, you know what, that's one thing that a lot of newer, newer business recruiting owners actually don't do. They're not putting themselves out there enough. They're not saying that they're open for business. Out of curiosity, when you were hitting up all these networking events, what were you doing during the day that was moving your business forward when you first got started?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:12:12]:
I was reaching out to people on LinkedIn, like very similar to what we would do now. At the time, like there was no automation, like I did everything manual and, you know, I would just I would add people on LinkedIn, say, hey, you know, very like, it would do outreach on LinkedIn or I'd ask people for introductions or again, like I have to say that like, and I know someone listening to this, I know now is so different than what it was in 2019 and living in New York City with no responsibility. That's why I wanna say that very carefully. Yeah. I mean, I could look back now and be like, I could never do what I did now. However, right now we have AI and we have online, so I don't need to be going running around to these events to generate business. It's just different. But back then that's what I did just to learn and soak everything up.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:12:52]:
I took random coffee meetings with random people. You never know like who in your network or one person can like change the trajectory. I have other funny ways that I had gotten jobs that I'm not sure. Yeah, I, I don't wanna say, I don't know, like I met someone off a dating app and it wasn't a fit, but he worked at a tech company and he referred me in. So, okay, that's an honest story.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:12]:
That's awesome. And you made a placement on that?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:13:15]:
Yeah, I did. I did. And we were just, that's awesome. We just went on one coffee date and it just turned into business. It like just was not a fit and we were just like both in tech. And he wanted to help. He saw that I was new and he was like— people like genuinely wanted to help me at the time, so I did the best I could.

Benjamin Mena [00:13:28]:
That is amazing. I love that, a coffee date that turned into a placement. Epic. Is there any other crazy stories of a placement that you made in those early days that you're just like, holy crap, I actually did that?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:13:39]:
No, I think like that— oh, that's a good question because it's like so long ago. I don't know when you like— when you start your business and it was like pre-COVID, so I'm like, OMG, I would have to say that's probably one of the craziest things. I'm sure there are other like crazy, like coincidences or happenstances on how I made placements. I really have to go back to that first year and think through. But I think that like if you think about it, or just like people you would meet at a bar, you know, or like at the gym, like I would just get random. And even today, right? Like you can be sitting next to someone on, on a train or whatever, right? And you just never know who they know, who knows somebody, and they happen to need somebody and then you become top of mind and they give you a placement. So that's how it is. And even till this day, that's how it's always worked for me.

Benjamin Mena [00:14:25]:
And is those early days and those early clients really— did that help direct where you were gonna go with your business and the niche that you were focusing on? Or were you just grabbing business everywhere and then you just now landed in the go-to-market space?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:14:39]:
That's funny you ask, because at the time I would've placed a janitor if you, if you asked me, you know, like I would've done anything. It kind of just fell into the space. I know I make jokes and I'm very dry when I make these jokes, so like I'm being serious, but I mean, even now sometimes I'm like, like, okay, I'll place anything. I'll, you know, do the mechanic, do whatever, whatever you need. It's now, it's important to niche down, but I'm just saying like, I just wanted to work, so I didn't care. I think there's a period I did accounting. I think the first placement is what got me credibility to sell into the other startups that, and share with them that I could also place for them. And then really leaning in and learning these different nuances and roles and what this means and what that means is what helped me focus in.

Benjamin Mena [00:15:19]:
Okay. And you know, things are rocking and rolling. It sounds like life was great. You're bouncing all across New York City at that time period, and New York City is a great place. When did things start to change?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:15:32]:
Like with the pandemic or like the timeline of everything that led me up to— okay, so here's a fun timeline, fun fact. So I kind of want to say an infamous character from— you're going to like this story where I'm going with it. I'll say this, um, I had met a character from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. He was the main guy, and he had found out that I was— I ran my own business, and, um, he wanted to create a staffing company. And at the time, I just knew I didn't want to quit what I had been doing for almost a year at that time. I wanted to give myself a chance to earn at least a six-figure income before I tried anything else. And at the time, he wanted to create a company where he took and trained reps, think like call center reps, to go through his training program. And he wanted to place them at companies.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:16:18]:
And at the time I was pretty young and naive and he flew me out to California and I had a week trip with him and it was amazing. It was really fun. And I was going to cut certain relationships to take that leap of faith and go down that journey. And at the time, like, that seemed like the right thing to do. And even though intuitively I knew it wasn't. Oh God. So I have a lot of funny stories that I can share there, but what I'll tell you is that, so the day, so to be honest with you, I was gonna put the business on hold to go work for this guy, the, the guy from The Wolf of Wall Street. The day that I was supposed to move to California was like around the same time they declared in 2020 that it was a world pandemic.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:16:56]:
So instead of moving to California, I moved back home to Florida. So that was part of the journey of like the twists and the turns. That brings me to 2020 Miami. Where I think you're heading.

Benjamin Mena [00:17:06]:
Okay. So you went, did you still end up working for him or did that whole thing kind of get put on hold due to the world shutting down?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:17:15]:
In the kindest way possible, did I still work with him? So when I moved back to Florida, it was supposed to be temporary. I think it was like March and no one was sure in 2020 of March, like where and what and who everyone was living. So temporarily I was doing some work with his team. It was just through some time I decided that working for myself and continuing my own personal business would, what is, would be best for everyone. So it was like a few weeks we were together.

Benjamin Mena [00:17:42]:
So few weeks, figured out like this path wasn't for, wasn't for you.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:17:47]:
Mm-hmm.

Benjamin Mena [00:17:47]:
But now you're down in Miami as the world's shutting down, except for Florida. Florida just kept on rocking and rolling.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:17:52]:
I know, it was fun. Yeah, I did. So I'll fast track to you to where we're going. So in 2020, I was back and forth between Miami and then in October of 2020, I decided to move to Miami again. Okay, so let me backtrack because you're gonna delete and record. In 2020, ultimately, let's just say I ended up back in Florida permanently, and I was going to give myself a year down and back in Florida. And then the intention was for me to move back to New York because I love New York. I still do.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:18:21]:
Like, I— it's just my favorite place. I feel like myself when I'm there. And that's why I entered in a relationship, and within those 2-ish, 3 years, I got married, had a baby, and got divorced while running my recruiting business. So my recruiting business though started to take off in '21, compounding from the years before, from 2019. And then I was dealing with things behind the scenes that I don't wish on my worst enemy.

Benjamin Mena [00:18:48]:
So let's talk about the recruiting first. So you said things were compounding, things were getting better, like you're, things were doing great. What, what did that look like? What were you doing that was actually compounding, that was turning into more business?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:19:03]:
I think like intros and like people just enjoying working with me. So like, take, like they would go somewhere else and they'd take me as a recruiter, or like someone needed a good recruiter, or just like some of the best clients I've made even up until now are candidates that I never placed that either made an intro or they just turned into a client. I would say that I just think like the mo— I think just building those relationships and credibility throughout the, few years since I started.

Benjamin Mena [00:19:27]:
Okay, let's dig deeper in this, like relationships. Like, what are you doing with these candidates that you never place, that they're the ones that are like, hey, I'm calling you, not the recruiter that placed me?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:19:39]:
Well, I think with candidates, I think that it's really, look, it's very hard to stay in touch with everyone. I think back through my 7 years in business, like, and you asked, like, what kept me going are the relationships that I've made. Like, even our shared friend Brian, like, he called me yesterday and he's like, How can I support you? How can, you know, what can I do to like pick you up? So I can think throughout all these years, I've always had great people that I've come and crossed paths with. So that includes candidates that I focus more on giving rather than receiving. So even if they weren't hiring or looking for a job, I always like tried to stay in touch and bring light into their world and into their life.

Benjamin Mena [00:20:15]:
And what did that look like? I mean, it's like, it's hard to keep in touch with everybody. Like, so like when you're sitting there giving light or giving into the, What did you do? Like, like calls, birthday, like cards? Like what worked?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:20:28]:
Just like texting, hey, how are you? Hey, I'm doing this. Hey, what's up? How can I help you? Like just very like natural, like engaged conversation. How's the family? Um, how's your new gig? How's the boyfriend? How's the girlfriend? How's the baby? Like using commonality just to like literally just stay in touch. How are you doing?

Benjamin Mena [00:20:45]:
And this is gonna sound dumb, like how did you remember all this stuff for some of these people? Is it all in a CRM? ATS?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:20:51]:
No, I think LinkedIn is like a really good CRM when you think about it. Like not to streamline the relationships. Like I think it's, I think I could get, you know, it's good to get organized and better, but I think my brain is like, like stores things in different ways. Like I'll remember things from like random times. I see where there are some people that need a CRM to store who they meet. If I'm on, I think LinkedIn is that one of those funnels where if people are posting or you're engaging, people are like kind of top of mind. So I think that the people that would come through there sometimes, like, that's how I think, oh, I should reach out to that person. I should reach out to this person.

Benjamin Mena [00:21:24]:
And I feel bad because my LinkedIn is like a black hole and I'm like, oh yeah, there was a person that messaged me about something and I know 2 hours later I'm still looking for the message and I'm like, ah, crap.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:21:33]:
I'm still, I'm still struggling with that. You know, it's hard to keep up, especially as you get busier and you become more like focused on what you need to get done. But I think just in general, like, look, just like in life and with people, you're going to connect. With certain people more, I'm sure, with your clients. And you're going to be for some people and you're going to not be for everyone. There are people, there are beautiful people that I've met, and then there are people that were just like not for each other. Kind of like when I worked in that office in New York City and I was like 1 out of 6 and I was like in the corner crying sometimes, you know, or going, going outside to take a nap or potentially interviewing somewhere else because I just like couldn't, I couldn't be there. I think that it's a lot of energy and like who you mesh with.

Benjamin Mena [00:22:07]:
So things are going good, business is rocking and rolling. You're pregnant, you have a baby, but then everything behind the scenes is not the highlight reel that people saw on LinkedIn.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:22:22]:
No, funny enough, and I probably am gonna share about this online, I posted my maternity photos, like I think a few weeks before we broke up and like, I just wasn't in a good place. I was not happy in that experience. Like, again, like I don't wish what I experienced on my worst enemy. It just wasn't a fit. It didn't feel like a good environment for me or my baby. So like financially, like things were like crushing, but emotionally, like I don't even know how I survived that period sometimes.

Benjamin Mena [00:22:50]:
And within day 6, now you're a single mom.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:22:55]:
Well, that's probably like, you know, they call married single moms. I probably was like a pregnant single mom at home too. You know what I mean? It's like irrelevant.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:01]:
So, you know, you have this brand new baby. But you also have like your clients and the business and you have to keep everything running to help pay for a child. And kids are expensive here in America.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:23:15]:
Like, how do you— I spent thousands in therapy, like thousands. I think that was my biggest cost.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:21]:
Well, in these moments are just dark. Like, how did you keep going when the times that you probably didn't want to keep going?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:23:29]:
Yeah, that's a great question. I would say it's interesting. That's when I started writing on LinkedIn. Like in a very cryptic way. I think my content was a little bit darker, but it was so relatable. So people were like connecting with me and like picking up on it and just like, hey, like it seems like you're going through something, like how can I help? But to stay, to go through it, I had my family. Like my, I, I couldn't do it, have done it without my, I still have my family helping me with full-time basically.

Benjamin Mena [00:23:54]:
How so? With everything going on, like did, like your clients kind of know what was happening and they give you some more like wiggle room? Or did like you just— nobody like really knew what was happening and you just kept your head down and working?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:24:08]:
No, no, I kept working and I was very honest and vocal. I make a joke I would close the deal in labor. I did. I was so, um, I, I know I make these jokes.

Benjamin Mena [00:24:18]:
Talk about this, talk about this.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:24:19]:
You did? Yeah. I mean, so the day of my labor was also pretty traumatic, and without getting into the nuances of that, I guess, but I think sometimes when we want to avoid certain things, we put ourselves into work, which is also probably not healthiest, but I was so like focused on like my revenue. Cause at the time I actually had saved, I didn't take a maternity leave, but I did save a ton of money because I wanted to take a maternity leave. And unfortunately that just wasn't in the cards. I was go, go, go, go since I had the baby. But I remember like a candidate was calling me and I was like, I'm in labor. Can I call you later? And he ended up making, he ended up getting hired a few days later. But yeah, I was, I've always been like the type, like it's funny cause to, to, to work, like even if I was married, like I probably would still be working.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:24:58]:
I was never the type that can just like sit at home.

Benjamin Mena [00:25:01]:
You said you also spent thousands on therapy. Like, and I know there's something that you told me in the pregame that like, you know, you really had to start protecting your nervous system. You know, what came first or what changed first? Was it like protecting your nervous system or was it the revenue after everything that happened?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:25:20]:
Trying to think how to answer. I had like a big reserves from a successful '21-'22 that funded the healing work. So I don't know if it, it, what comes first. I think how you show up as a human being is what's going to dictate your experience in anything. Meaning like, I can show up better now for clients and candidates because I'm in a really good place. I'm so grateful for the clients that gave me jobs, for the candidates that wanted to talk to me, cuz if anything, I was way too honest. I was in such a dark and sad place. People were there for me, but I don't necessarily, I would equate I don't think you're defined by the material number.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:25:56]:
Okay. I think the way you practice and regulate yourself, the number's gonna go up and down. You're gonna have good years, you're gonna have bad years, and I've seen it firsthand. But I think doing the work to get to a place where I love myself and I'm comfortable in my own body, it doesn't matter if I close this candidate tomorrow or I don't. I just trust that it's gonna happen because I'm taking care of myself.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:16]:
How did you get back to that point?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:26:19]:
I kid you not, I spent over $100,000 in therapy, and I have to say I'm very passionate about So I think if you wanna get real, and I know the podcast is a little bit different, there were 4 pillars and I guess I can share how my recruiting business funded this.

Benjamin Mena [00:26:32]:
Yeah.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:26:33]:
You had postpartum costs, you had legal costs, you had moving costs. I moved within a week of the baby being born after investing a ton of money into that apartment. And then you had the healing. There are 4 pillars. I'm so grateful. It was like by the grace of God or something bigger than me that gave me so much financial abundance and opportunity. That funded the healing process. I don't know where and who I would be if I did not have those resources.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:26:59]:
I am so lucky that I had those resources, and I don't take that for granted while I'm on the other side. I would say that the therapy— I had a lot of trauma from that chapter of my life. I still deal with flashbacks and obsessive thoughts, and that's what happens to a lot of us. And I think also too, I'm going to circle back with recruiters. A lot of us have like those hardworking personalities where like it's never enough, right? Like you can make $8 million and you'll still go back home and you'll go to bed and you'll be so depressed because you didn't make 9 or 10. I think that some of us recruiters are built that way. So I really, really had to work hard on shifting my own vibration and my thoughts. And it doesn't— it's not cheap.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:27:38]:
It costs a lot of money. I'm sure there are ways online you can go look at podcasts, whatever, but I really needed a lot of support. A ton.

Benjamin Mena [00:27:44]:
I'm gonna be honest with you. I really believe that 2026 is your year. I truly believe in you. I truly believe with everything in my heart that this is the year that you can own it. This is the year that you can hit your dreams. And to help you do that, we are kicking off a summit called This Is Your Year. You are elite. You were born to be elite.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:09]:
You were born to be the best. You were born to be the greatest. And I'm pulling together some of the industry's best speakers to help you get there. Going to be kicking off April 27th. You do not want to miss this. Make sure to run to the show notes, get registered. All the live sessions are free. I'm bringing in Mike Williams, Brianna Rooney, Mark Whitby.

Benjamin Mena [00:28:29]:
We have an entire week of stacked speakers that are going to help you achieve your dreams. This is going to be the industry event that you do not want to miss. I believe in you. I believe in you so much that I'm pulling the best to help you achieve your dreams. 2026 is your year. I want to talk about two things. And do you think you could have gone through it as well as you did if you were up against the wall financially, like without a reserve?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:29:03]:
Here's the thing. I think that like I'm also— I don't know if you— okay, so I'm also in a program where they— it's— I'm in a 12-step program. I also was going through sobriety. I don't know if that's important. You might as well just share it. I just celebrated 10 years sober.

Benjamin Mena [00:29:15]:
Congratulations. That's huge.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:29:17]:
Thank you. Thank you. I forgot to mention— I'm sharing all these nuggets. I don't know if I mentioned in our pregame. I feel like you're just learning like a big whoa, like what? Like, I thought you were just like this quiet little mouse, you know? No, but yeah, I felt like that was important to share because I'm sure there's other recruiters suffering with Look, again, I think there's gonna be a lot of addictive personalities if you're crazy enough to be in our space and own an agency. I would have to say that there's some sides to all of us that probably, you know, would resonate with this. So I'm just, I'm speaking from truth when I share this. Financially, I think it comes down to having a faith in a higher power.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:29:51]:
I don't know. I think in some way I would've survived. I've always been a survivor. I've always had faith, but I think the acceleration of having resources really helped.

Benjamin Mena [00:30:02]:
And I want to take a few steps back. Those good years, it is so easy when you're having good years to keep up with the Joneses and go on the additional trips. And hey, we just crush it, let's go spend like a few weeks in Italy. Did you like, why did you save so much? And if you could go back and tell yourself again, like, or tell another recruiter like that's having a great year or having some good months, like, no, you need to set some money aside. Why is that important?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:30:32]:
It's funny because I never thought like that. And my father used to always say, save like for a rainy day. So when I first started making money earlier in my recruiting career, I would spend, spend, spend, spend. I mean, I love shopping. I still do, right? Like it's something where I'm like always working through. I love shopping. Maybe it was intuition, maybe it was a higher power, maybe it was getting pregnant, but I was becoming so financially abundant and I just spent less. And it's interesting in hindsight, like my father used to say, you have to plan for a rainy day.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:30:57]:
And I just never believed in the rainy day, but I was served a big example in a rainy day because life happens. We can't control, like, people die, people leave, people get divorced. You know, it is what it is. And so I think saving for the rainy day, I learned, is super important.

Benjamin Mena [00:31:14]:
That year, that one-year period of when all this happened and shit hit the fan, what were the 3 habits that you kept doing in your business that helped your business run successfully? While everything was happening and while you had a brand new baby at home?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:31:33]:
With business, I would say, look, let's be real, it wasn't perfect. I was crying and obsessing and being sad. I was literally going through divorce. Mediation was set for months later. I had a lot of fear going on, a lot of rumination. Like, there's just something that happens to the brain, especially when you're giving birth and you're living in a space of betrayal and all that trauma. Like, I don't— like, I think back and I'm like so grateful Okay, for all of the people that were listening to me and were part of my path, and again, my family. But as far as business, cuz I still worked, I reached out to customers every day and I just, candidates, as far as like 3 habits, I mean, if you wanna talk about habits that serve the business, I went on morning walks and I listened to positive affirm— not affirmations, like I listened to like Joe Dispenza every single morning.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:32:15]:
So I'd go in these walks, I'd be hysterically crying, talking to every single stranger, telling them everything that was happening in my life. I was not quiet about this at all. Like literally, it was not quiet and everybody knew everything and anything if they lived in my neighborhood. And it's kind of embarrassing now, but ironically, a mother in my Mommy and Me class filed for divorce because she was inspired by my story. So you just never know when sharing your story is going to help others. That's like a whole nother story. You just never know. But I would go on morning walks and, you know, I still did sourcing and I have a recruiter on my team who helps me with the calls and I just did it.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:32:48]:
I just. Would start sourcing, meaning I use LinkedIn Recruiter and I'd reach out to candidates and then I'd reach out to clients and I was kind of just doing the things that I do, but I was like a zombie, just like didn't wanna live, but I didn't wanna die 'cause I had a kid.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:01]:
You know, you're putting in the work, like you, you still showed up at the times you probably didn't wanna show up.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:33:07]:
Mm-hmm.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:08]:
When did things start changing and what did your business look like when you kind of got through this season?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:33:13]:
I would say emotionally it's Taken me up until very recently to get to the point where I can have a conversation with you and like not get into the nuances and the details, and I can talk about it from a space of love rather than a space of being a victim. So for me, it's about accountability right now. So I'm going to, I'm going to pull it a step back and I'm going to start there. So emotionally, I think the healing is always a process. It's always a journey. As far as work goes, as I've gotten to take better care of myself, I've been able to show up more powerfully and confidently when it goes towards applying for new companies or to work with, right? Or working with candidates. I think things started to shift when my emotional and internal state shifted.

Benjamin Mena [00:33:51]:
For those listening, and they're somebody going through that, what's the one piece of advice that you would say to them to help them shift to that gear where they can be like self-confident too?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:34:02]:
I mean, give yourself grace because healing is not linear. I'm not somebody that just healed overnight, got a boyfriend a week later. Like, I'm someone that really took the time to do the deep work. And also what I would say too is like, you're gonna have painful days and you're gonna have easy days. You're gonna have happy days. And again, it doesn't matter how much money you close on a contingent deal or a retainer or whatnot. If you're not good internally, then it like, lit— it does not matter.

Benjamin Mena [00:34:25]:
And I'm, I, I wanna take a few steps back, go back towards like the business and the work. Your superpower, you told me in the pregame chat, is really the relationships. Like for somebody listening, that's just like, they hear that we're a relationship business from like every podcast episode. But then it's just like you're listening to it, it doesn't make sense. So what does relationships that turn into clients, what does that actually mean? Like, how do you do that?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:34:50]:
This is a tough one because I'll say I don't think I'm like everybody and I don't think I'm for everybody. I'm going to take it back to— I'll tell you why. I don't overshare like I did when I was 19, 20, 29, sorry, 2019, running around the city. When I— some people overshare when they're going through something, I overshare. But I think the fact that I was so real really connected with people. Like, I genuinely just connected with people's humanity. And I think people remember that. And I think they can sense, like, I— and I know all recruiters say this, but like, I have this abundance mindset where like, okay, if it's not the job for you and the candidate, like, it doesn't work for you, then like, it does— I don't need to push that on anyone and I don't need to push a candidate on a client, right? So I think people can sense energy and I've just always been authentic and real to who I am.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:35:38]:
And I do my best to do that when I show up with customers.

Benjamin Mena [00:35:42]:
And here's the thing, I feel like a lot of recruiters are really good with people. Like, we know how to turn it on. We know how to like have the conversations. We know how to interview. But how do you actually, like, what I see a lot of people struggle in is flipping it into the sales side. Like, how do you go from like being friendly, the relationship, but still like going for closing the deal without sounding salesy?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:36:03]:
I mean, it's hard, right? Because like, I think everyone's selling everything. So I think I'm always learning and trying to figure out like new ways of learning. I think it's funny cuz in the places when I was vulnerable, it was easier, right? Like when I didn't know what I didn't know, right? And I had no fear and I would just ask people for business. I don't do it like that, right? Or when I was going through that postpartum period, I asked people like, hey, do you know anyone hiring? Like, I need some support. Now it's like, yeah, it's a couple things. So like I've learned a few things, right? A, relationships, meaning like if you're consistently, um, you know, showing up in someone's feed or reaching out or staying connected, whatever it is. They'll think of you potentially when they're looking to hire. But also, I recently learned or saw that like you're actually providing a service and you're actually a value of that person.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:36:47]:
So you're not doing a service if you don't ask if they're hiring or not.

Benjamin Mena [00:36:50]:
You know, say, say that again. Say that again.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:36:53]:
So I recently was like listening to someone and I kind of see it like what we do as recruiters is we're actually changing lives. We're building companies, we're building teams. So us not sharing what we do and us not wanting to ask if we can support them and not being from a place of service is actually doing a disservice to that team or that person. Not everyone's going to think like that. Some of us think of like watered-down Wall Street brokers, but I really just come from, you know, a place of like, how can I serve and support you? Now, as far as turning that into business, it's always changing. But do you prefer Benjamin or Ben?

Benjamin Mena [00:37:24]:
I go by either.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:37:25]:
So I go by Ben with my son, or Benjamin.

Benjamin Mena [00:37:28]:
Is it Benjamin when he's in trouble?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:37:31]:
He's always in trouble. I'm just kidding, he's 3. I just like the name Benjamin. I love it. Benjamin. But my point is, is that for business now, I'm just learning. I'm learning and I'm changing it all the time. So sometimes it's word of mouth, it's referral, sometimes it's confidence, sometimes I'm too passive and I need to tweak it.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:37:45]:
Like, I'm always pivoting my, my thing. I think this week it's going to be like, hey, I have these candidates, XYZ, are you hiring? Because I know I can help. So it just, it just shifts.

Benjamin Mena [00:37:54]:
And, you know, with being great at relationships and also with everything that you're going on and going through, there were probably some clients that went dormant, right?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:38:05]:
Yeah. I mean, no one wants to work with a crying victim baby, you know, like, and it was hard. It was hard to like keep up with like the clients, right? Like I was a two-man show. It's me and then I have someone that works with me. Like this is at a point even now where I'm realizing like, wow, I really do need to scale if I want to optimize my business and be present for my child. At the time I was kind of just, what do you call it when you're just eating what— I don't even want to curse, but like, you know, you're just taking the bottom. Of the barrel or whatever, but it got me through. I'm still making placements and still making money.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:38:34]:
Like, it's pretty impressive, I think, what I was doing while I was navigating such a dark season in my life.

Benjamin Mena [00:38:40]:
What's your advice? Because I feel like everybody, every single person listening has clients that have gone dormant over the years, especially if you've been in this business. How did you, like, how did you reactivate them? And how, like, what advice would you give to people that, like, hey, I need to go back and reactivate or try to reactivate some previous clients?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:38:59]:
Okay. A couple of things. I wouldn't want to reactivate all of my clients. My standards have grown since I've started my business. Yes, my standards have grown. So there are some clients that, thank God, I don't work with anymore. That's number one. Number two is I think, you know, little things like I would send a candidate and be like, hey, are you— okay, let me think one example because that was a good client for me last year.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:39:21]:
I sent like candidate that I was working on for another candidate, you know, they call it reverse marketing. It's pretty common. And just said, hey, I was thinking of you. Here's a candidate I'm working with. Left the name on the resume because I trusted this person. And then they're like, actually, I am looking for people. Or, um, just randomly reaching out like, hey, how's the family? How's the daughter? Engage on their LinkedIn post.

Benjamin Mena [00:39:40]:
And okay, engaging on LinkedIn posts, like you've gotten really big into LinkedIn. Like, you know, it sounded like at first it was an outlet, but When did it, it kind of turn to you like, hey, LinkedIn can actually be a revenue driver for my business? How did it actually become a revenue driver?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:39:56]:
So I think that like around the time I was going through everything, several months later, I was just like found myself in these courses with these, you know, LinkedIn gurus, and I loved them. I just loved their energy and like I loved what I was learning. So I was just learning, and then I started to understand more. And even till this day, I'm always learning, right? Like at the time I was writing Nonsense for everybody. Now it's like, okay, I understand, like, you know, you should write about personal, but you should also write on how you're solving your problems for your customer, right? So there's ebbs and flows of learning, but I think that also for me, what I realized is that A, I think candidates respond more to my in-mails because they see that I'm a real person and I'm not a robot. So like my response rate on in-mails is so high. I don't have to email people. I don't have to cold call people.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:40:38]:
Like I, not yet at least, but I haven't even, I have the JuiceBox now. I haven't really used it because like like my in-mail rate is so high from, you know, just being a person on LinkedIn. And I also do think that it's like if I show up on someone's feed and they're like, I need a recruiter, and they're like, oh, I remember that Stephanie girl, let me, let me introduce them to so-and-so, like random things like that.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:00]:
Okay. So, so like you pretty much like use LinkedIn as another avenue to stay in front of people for your network?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:41:06]:
Yes. And I could be doing better, right? We can all be more consistent. There's a lot to, there's a lot to manage. I need to hire.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:12]:
What is one of the biggest mindset shifts that you've seen that's really helped you go even farther with your business?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:41:18]:
I think my standards. I think I went through so much. I think I went through such a bottom, like an emotional bottom that I still am like crazy. Like how did I like stay sober through that? Like how, like how, and like I've transformed, I've lost like 80 pounds. I take care of myself. Like I'm really into like different things that I wasn't. So it actually helped me become this next level version of myself that I probably wouldn't have been if I didn't have that experience. Experience.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:41:41]:
So I think like looking back in hindsight on the wins and how far I've come has helped me elevate and get more grounded and confident in like who I am and how I want to move forward in my business and in this life.

Benjamin Mena [00:41:53]:
You also mentioned earlier that, uh, you're not for everybody. Were you a people pleaser?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:42:00]:
Always. You know, that's how I ended up with the baby as a single mom. Okay.

Benjamin Mena [00:42:04]:
Um, but okay, but, but here's the thing. Here's the question I want to ask this. Because so many in our space, I think it's just part of like, for many recruiters, many of us start as people pleasers. How did you go from a people pleaser to confident about like, no, if you don't like me, cool?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:42:26]:
Okay, it's a process, right? Like, again, like, I've done enough work on myself to be context— like, I still even today be like, where's this coming from? What's my intention? What's my Like, you know, I think when you go through something that literally takes you to the bottom, there's only way up is you can only go up. You can either take it two ways. You can go to the bottom and go to the bottom, right? But I was just so committed. I had a child. Like, I knew I wasn't going to let my pain go in vain. So I did anything and everything to resource myself to elevate. And I still think there's more room for growth. Like, I'm never going to be at the top of that mountain because anytime I think I get there, I crumble.

Benjamin Mena [00:43:03]:
But what about for somebody that hasn't gone through a hell of an extreme?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:43:09]:
Yeah, yeah. Okay, let's see. Let's wheel it back. So do you mean as far as like the business, if it's talking to a recruiter who is starting?

Benjamin Mena [00:43:18]:
I mean, just no matter if you're just starting or not starting, like there are so many people in our industry that just being a people pleaser is part of like, you know, our industry, of who we are, like many, who many of us are like. Trying to please our clients, trying to please the candidates. It's so easy to get walked on. Like, for somebody that hasn't gone through— and I don't— you probably don't want them to go through what you went through— what advice can you give to them to be like, hey, like, be confident in who you are so you're not getting walked on, you're not trying to please everybody?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:43:48]:
It's funny you say this because I remember I had a business before a lot of this went down. This was in year 3 or whatever of business. I was always a people pleaser, and in hindsight I would tell myself, right, don't lower your fees, don't just take anything that sticks. But you kind of have to learn that. Like, you have to be in so much pain from being a people pleaser and being such a pushover in the business that you're like, okay, enough is enough, and I'm going to change. You just have to make a change and surround yourself with people— like, again, I'm gonna mention Brian— like, who have been in the business for a very long time, and you've seen them go through their own ups and downs, and like, ask them questions or listen to podcasts like yours. You have to be in enough pain, even in the business, from being taken advantage of to want to make changes. Like, enough is enough.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:27]:
I love that. I absolutely love that because, you know, that I think is— if you haven't gone through hell and back, you need to hit a point where you are tired of the low fees or tired of the D-level clients or the F-level clients that are walking all over you. Go get a team.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:44:45]:
Do my model now. Even now there's some D clients that I'm like, okay, I'm done, I'm done.

Benjamin Mena [00:44:50]:
So what's working for you business development-wise? Like for getting new clients at this? It's 2026. What's working right now?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:44:58]:
I have to be honest, right now, learning, like getting into the content game, being more consistent on LinkedIn and showing up has been really helpful with like recent leads. And then, you know, I'm learning other platforms right now. I didn't have Instagram for like 3 years because of what I went through. I just, I couldn't even look at a grid without a panic attack. And so it's a miracle I'm on there. I know, seriously. And so I think just like, again, like I think posting, showing up authentically and being myself and like being consistent and reaching out to people to see how they're doing. What are you up to? Whatever.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:45:26]:
I do think online is what's been helping me, or at least right now.

Benjamin Mena [00:45:30]:
The content game is really helping.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:45:32]:
Yeah.

Benjamin Mena [00:45:34]:
For somebody that's afraid of doing content, what's your advice to them?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:45:36]:
Start. I know it's hard, but just like start, start going online and start commenting on people like that. You know, like sometimes when you comment on people, like you can get more views than if you just do a post. So I even say for job seekers, like start. I'm serious. It's true.

Benjamin Mena [00:45:52]:
No, I know you're— it's true because like I made a comment on somebody's post today. It's like 10,000 impressions, but my post is like at 500.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:46:01]:
Exactly the same thing. And then you'll get like people, oh, I really resonated with the comments. So like for a candidate or even a recruiter who just doesn't want to do LinkedIn, just like, or join one of the groups that I joined, join a, you know, cohort. You can find free ones of people that are like learning LinkedIn and want to post and get excited. Like surround yourself with people who are also learning and getting excited about it. That's how I started. And I'm, again, I still need to be more consistent. If I would take it up a notch, I feel like business would be like way up high, like faster, you know, but I also have basically my son full-time.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:46:31]:
I'm just, you know, I got to give myself grace. And that's what I would say to you too, is give yourself grace. Try, but don't put pressure on yourself to post every single day.

Benjamin Mena [00:46:40]:
And this is a question that I wish I'd probably asked myself, but I'm going to ask you and you're just going to suck it up and deal with it. Since you have a 3-year-old at the house with an awesome name, what piece of advice would you give to yourself with your recruiting business? And we're also, we're not talking about all the stuff that you went through pre-kid versus now that you have a kid.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:47:04]:
I think save, save, save. And it's not really just about money, but like for me, like I think I had a lot of guilt that I was in such a, and I said not about recent, I was in such a fight or flight for so long. I had a hard time being present the first year. Like I, I was not in a good place. I was not happy. So I would say like if you're preparing to become a mother, number one, again, it's not good for everybody. Even if you're married or you're not, you're gonna go through like whatever your circumstances are, it's gonna be tough. So give yourself grace.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:47:30]:
Make sure you're lined up with support, family, friends, people that you trust in your network. Yeah. And like have your systems. Like if I can go back and tell myself, I would go back and be like, Stephanie, hire somebody. Now it's like I'm starting to rebuild. I wanna say I'm rebuilding, like I built, like I'm good, but I'm at, to get from me to get to the next level, I should have hired someone 3, 4 years ago. And I see that through learning.

Benjamin Mena [00:47:53]:
I love that. It's one of the things that I've realized. Time is so different.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:47:58]:
I gotta hire. I got you. I really do.

Benjamin Mena [00:48:02]:
So we're about ready to jump over to the quickfire questions. Is there anything that I should have gone deeper with or a question I should have asked you?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:48:09]:
No, I mean, I think this is like, I think even here, like I've shared stuff in a way that I haven't even before, even though most people like know my story and like how I went through things. But I think the biggest thing here is like whether you're going through something sad or you're just worried or you have a downturn, like pain is pain and dark times are dark times and it doesn't matter what the circumstances are, whether or not like you're a single mom with a baby experiencing betrayal and PTSD, it doesn't take away from the fact that this person's dad just died and they're mourning the loss with their father, right? So like, life is gonna happen. Life shows up. So I'm just saying, if you're going through something, have faith. Know that there are going to be good days and there are going to be bad days, but it's going to pass. The good times are gonna pass, the bad times are gonna pass, and you have to learn how to stay neutral and be aware of like what life looks like.

Benjamin Mena [00:48:55]:
Good. Awesome. Quickfire questions. They don't need to be quick answers.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:48:59]:
Okay.

Benjamin Mena [00:49:00]:
What's the biggest piece of advice that you would give to a recruiter that hits you up, asks you a question? And they want to go from good to elite.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:49:08]:
I think kind of what we discussed before, the first thing that comes to me is elevate your standards. And it's something I wish I learned earlier. Stop cutting corners. Don't take a job when you know they're working with 10 other recruiters and they're ghosting you and they're not getting back to you. Elevate your standards and create space for your clients that are going to give you the respect that you deserve.

Benjamin Mena [00:49:24]:
Love that. Favorite book that's had an impact on your career?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:49:29]:
The Last Lecture. It's by Randy Pausch. I actually read it when I was in college. He was a professor and he got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he had like big dreams and big goals and he's very accomplished. I would definitely look him up. And honestly, cut— when I think about it, it's so funny that I read it during college, right? During another chapter in my life. It's all about like breaking through the brick walls, creating a life and being present and really appreciating life. And, um, I would say like achieving your childhood dreams and really going for it and the legacy that you wanna leave.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:49:59]:
I mean, this man was dying and he was continuing to like achieve his childhood dreams, like work with Disney and teach at great schools and write some great books. So I say The Last Lecture is one of my favorites, and it's not brought up enough often. It's one of my— another quote was gonna say, it's like one of the things— sorry, I was just like, one of the things he would say is like, we can't change the cards we're dealt, but we can change how we play the hand. It's a really good book. I'm probably going to share it later now because it's not talked about enough.

Benjamin Mena [00:50:27]:
What's your favorite recruiting tech tool at the moment?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:50:32]:
I hate to say it, but LinkedIn. I really want to try Atlas. I really do. I think your promotion works.

Benjamin Mena [00:50:37]:
Thank you for sponsoring.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:50:39]:
Hey, hey, I'm serious. Your ad works. And I think I met the founder back in the day, but right now I have to say LinkedIn is where I get most of my revenue.

Benjamin Mena [00:50:48]:
Love that.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:50:48]:
And it's technically a tech tool, the recruiting and the sourcing.

Benjamin Mena [00:50:51]:
So it really is. And if you want a good laugh, like when I do the Elite Recruiter Awards next year, or in December this year, I'm gonna say any tech tool except for LinkedIn because everybody was like LinkedIn.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:51:02]:
As you should, as you should. Or ChatGPT, you know, like, or say, say, or you can't say ChatGPT or LinkedIn.

Benjamin Mena [00:51:09]:
Yeah. So I was just like, I looked at the list, I was like, okay, we have like a few hundred votes for LinkedIn. I was like, great.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:51:17]:
It's so true though. It's so true.

Benjamin Mena [00:51:21]:
What is one of the biggest recruiting challenges that you've had to go through?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:51:29]:
I think getting clear and aligned with the types of people I want to work with and what I want to focus on and not getting distracted by shiny objects. Meaning like, hey, Steph, we love you. We're going to give you 100 introductions. Just work on this fee for like 15%. Like, I'll just say here, I'm sure there are other recruiters that have done the same thing. And back in my early days of recruiting, It was, we have 100 other recruiters, why should we work with you at a lower rate? No. Now I think my, it's not a challenge anymore, but that was a challenge. Now it's like, no, I have something to offer and I'm gonna charge my worth.

Benjamin Mena [00:51:57]:
If you could go back in time 7 years ago with everything you know now, and maybe like not highlight the better clients, is there anything else that you would tell yourself when you started your own recruiting business?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:52:10]:
Well, I was gonna say a joke. Don't go on that date in 3 years from now. Stay in New York. No, I'm just teasing. I love my Benjamins, so it's hard to say that. But my point is, is that 7 years, I would just say like, don't lower your rates. Like, I know it's hard and people are gonna be like, you need to get your foot in the door. But like, honestly, like, that's the biggest regret.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:52:28]:
I probably missed out on $100,000 of business even though the first year I made well over $100,000. I think my revenue was $170,000 my first year, which is actually pretty impressive for someone who doesn't know what they're doing. But I realize like how many deals I cut just to want to be chosen.

Benjamin Mena [00:52:43]:
So because you're online and you're posting all the time, and I know that you're friends with a lot of recruiters and you're interacting with a lot of recruiters, I've seen you like recruiters hit you up for questions, and I'm sure the questions are like, what's the secret to like business development in 2026? How is content turning into like clients? Like all of these questions are good questions, but do you ever wish that there's a question that they actually would ask you but they never actually do? And what would be that question and what would be that answer?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:53:12]:
How do you deal with rejection comes to mind because I haven't been asked, how do you deal with rejection? Or, um, how do I get over that fear of being seen? I've actually had no one like ask that. Like, literally people just don't want to post because they don't want to like put themselves out there. But like the fear of being judged, like how do you get through that? How do you walk through that? And the answer I would give is just to practice showing up. Just practice. Literally just practice. I don't know if that's the answer you wanted to hear, but that's what came to mind.

Benjamin Mena [00:53:39]:
Whatever comes to mind is exactly what I wanna hear.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:53:42]:
Yeah, I would say like, how do you deal with rejection? Like, how do you deal with being judged? Like, I wish more people would ask me that. And then I would just say like, like Gary Vee would be like, who doesn't, don't give an F, like what people think of you. Just post, like, be yourself, be authentic, you know? Like I have, you know, or someone asked me like, how are you brave enough? Or maybe how are you brave enough to share your story? You know? And I would say because, My experience is meant to serve the purpose of enhancing the life of others. And when you think that way and you change your mindset, then you can show up powerfully and share from the soul.

Benjamin Mena [00:54:15]:
That is great. I got two last questions before I let you go. If somebody wants to connect with you or follow you, how do they go about doing that?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:54:23]:
So on LinkedIn, I'm Stephanie Lowenstern, L-O-W-E-N-S-T-E-R-N. And then my TikTok and my Instagram handles. And if you want some laughs, you can check out the TikTok. It's a little cringey, but it's Steph Lowenstein. So you can, and I'm also on Substack. I just started a Substack and yeah, I'm just trying to lean into all of these different social platforms and I'm happy to connect with anybody.

Benjamin Mena [00:54:47]:
Before I let you go, is there anything else that you wanna leave with the listeners?

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:54:50]:
Well, first of all, I wanna thank you for giving me the space to share. Um, I know it's probably a little bit more like, I don't wanna say a little bit more, but it's a very, uh, deep subject, but I think the world is ready and open for stories like this. I would say that share your experience. There's only one you. Again, your life experience is unique to you, so you don't need to be going through a breakup with a baby to have something worthy to share. If you could be dealing with a tough boss, or you can have a win at work, or, you know, again, like, we are all going through life. So take that experience and use that to share your lessons to support others. And I will also say, give yourself grace.

Stephanie Loewenstern [00:55:25]:
If you are a recruiter and you work at an agency, oftentimes I would, at least I'll speak for myself, I am hard on myself. And remember that like your worth and your peace is not defined by the monetary value. The goods are nice. I told you I like shopping. The goods are nice, but that's not going to bring the peace. A baby, being married, making mid-six figures in 2022 brought me to my knees. It did not bring me peace. So I'll leave you with that.

Benjamin Mena [00:55:52]:
Love it. Well, Stephanie, I just want to say thank you so much for coming on. And the reason why I wanted you to come on is just because so many people are going through something. They're like, the shit hits the fan. Like you said, maybe a family member passed away. Something is happening in so many people's lives. but recruiting is one of those businesses that can help you get through it. The recruiting friends that you have can help you get through it.

Benjamin Mena [00:56:24]:
Sometimes the freedom that you have with recruiting, even though we grind harder than probably most industries out there, can help you go through it. And there's such a great community here. A rising tide lifts all ships. And Stephanie came on to help lift the ships. So it's 2026. I want this to be your year. Make your dreams come true. Put some extra money in the bank and hit every goal that you set out for.

Benjamin Mena [00:56:53]:
I believe in you. You know, the resume never tells the full story. Candidates share what really matters during conversations, on calls and interviews, over email, their motivations, salary expectations, plans to relocate. Most of that detail ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas changes that. It's the AI-first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin. It captures every conversation automatically and turns it into something you can use. With Magic Search, you can ask Atlas questions like, who talked about wanting a 4-day week? Or, who mentioned they're open to relocating next year? It searches across your entire database and pulls the answers instantly.

Benjamin Mena [00:57:28]:
No keyword guessing and no digging through old notes. You get insight from real conversations, not limited resume fields. Atlas also makes BD easier. With Opportunities, you can track and grow client relationships powered by generative AI and built into your existing workflow. If you want visibility, well, smart dashboards give you a clear view of the pipeline across your business. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported over 40% EBITDA growth and over 80% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. It's built for agencies that want to grow without adding more manual work.

Benjamin Mena [00:58:02]:
Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive listener offer at recruitwithatlas.com. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Elite Recruiter Podcast with Benjamin Mena. If you enjoyed, hit subscribe and leave a rating.