Life Isn’t Always A Straight Line, Janet Elkin, President and CEO at IMN Enterprises

TheEdge Podcast

On the latest episode of TheEdge, our host, Leslie Vickrey, ClearEdge Marketing CEO and Founder, is joined by Janet Elkin, President, IMN Enterprises. Janet shares many insights about her career with Leslie, underscoring the fact that ‘life isn’t always a straight line’. After a few twists and turns through her career, Janet purchased Icon Medical Network which has now grown to become IMN Enterprises with additional acquisitions. In this episode, the pair discusses imposter syndrome, the positive changes they want to impress on our industry through their entrepreneurship journey, and the importance of caring for your employees, yourself, and your clients.

The pair kick off their conversation with a joyful reflection on Janet’s very first job as a child, a magician! She tells the story of how her father encouraged her to share her newfound skills with other children by performing at birthday parties within their communities, honing her stage presence and learning valuable lessons along the way. While she got her first taste of entrepreneurship at a young age, she began her career by building an organization that held jewelry fundraisers for local hospitals. This was her first step into healthcare, where she was introduced to the joy that came from being able to give back to hospitals and provide support to patients through her work.

Things aren’t always a straight line and like so many others, Janet and Leslie’s careers and life paths reflect that. The pair talk about overcoming adversities in personal and professional lives, and how they often intersect. Janet shares with Leslie about her first marriage, which was plagued with substance use and abuse by her then husband, and how that gave her a new and unexpected direction. She persevered through those times and found herself having to rebuild, which included her first move into healthcare staffing. As Janet shares about her work in this industry, they discuss the importance of having a care driven nature in your work. They remark on the importance of finding the right person for the right job and how the team at IMN is doing that in their various verticals. Of course, a conversation on care driven nature isn’t complete without a discussion on self care for yourself, your employees, and the impact that can make.

When looking at the larger staffing industry, one they both are passionate about, they discuss different approaches they are taking to push the industry towards equality. Janet shares stories of why she chose to start her own business, barriers that she experienced in previous roles, and how she is working at IMN Enterprises to build more equitable practices and opportunities. They discuss programs like ClearEdge Rising, a new Leadership Development program, and Building Iconic Women, a program that Janet is looking to begin which will help women move from VP positions to the C-suite. Programs such as these, not only help women to grow in their careers, but open the eyes of others in leadership positions and give them the opportunity to become allies for women in their workplaces.

The conversation is full of stories and insights from both Leslie and Janet on entrepreneurship and their own experiences with imposter syndrome, rising others up, and the day to day work of being a woman and leader in this industry.