She took a candidate call while she was in labor. He got hired days later. And that was just one week in the hardest year of her life.

Stephanie Lowenstern built her recruiting firm from scratch at 29, hit $170K in year one, and kept billing through a breakup with a five-day-old baby at home, $100K+ in healing costs, and a personal life that was falling apart in real time. Her recruiting business didn't just survive it — it funded her way through it.

This is the full story. The highlight reel, the rock bottom, and everything she learned on the other side about rates, relationships, clients, and why the number never brings the peace.
⏱ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Intro
00:40 — The moment that started it all
03:11 — Behind the highlight reel
05:04 — How Stephanie fell into recruiting
07:54 — Quitting to go out on her own
09:57 — Landing the first client
22:55 — Breakup with a five-day-old baby
23:29 — How she kept the business running
26:19 — Spending $100K+ to heal
29:03 — 10 years sober
31:14 — The three habits that kept her business alive
34:25 — How relationships actually turn into clients
36:03 — Flipping from friendly to closing without sounding salesy
49:08 — Advice for recruiters going through something
52:10 — What she'd tell herself 7 years ago
53:12 — The question nobody ever asks her
55:52 — Final words for the listener

🚀 SPONSORS
Atlas — The AI-first recruitment platform that eliminates admin and turns every conversation into intelligence. Magic Search lets you ask your entire database questions like "Who mentioned they're open to relocating?" and get instant answers.
Try it free → https://recruitwithatlas.com

🎯 EVENTS & COMMUNITY
This Is Your Year — Recruiter Summit (April 27th, live sessions FREE)
https://this-is-your-year-recruiter-summit.heysummit.com/
Join the Elite Recruiter Community — summit replays, biweekly roundtables, Billers Club, split space — $49/month
https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community
🔗 LINKS
Follow Stephanie on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieloewenstern/
Free Trial: PeopleGPT → https://juicebox.ai/?via=b6912d
Free Trial: Talin AI → https://app.talin.ai/signup?via=recruiter
Free Trial: Pin → https://www.pin.com/
Subscribe to the newsletter → https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Benjamin Mena → http://www.selectsourcesolutions.com/
Benjamin on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminmena/
Benjamin on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/benlmena/