Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Hollweg.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ashley. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Mine was a circuitous route to Psychology, much less to my owning my own growing business now as a Corporate Psychologist. As the only, fiercely independent child of a Psychologist, I wanted to pave my own way in the world. I was always adept at languages, and my major in college was French. At the same time, I had always been drawn to Psychology…namely, adults with mental illness, as my uncle was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, which always intrigued me, given that my father was a Psychologist. I quenched my thirst in Psychology by volunteering with those diagnosed with mental illness, but pursued languages. It was not until I graduated from Davidson College with a degree in French that it dawned on me…what in the world was I going to do with this degree? So, like throwing darts on a dartboard, I found a job at an advertising agency in Los Angeles post-graduation. I hated it; it simply wasn’t for me.
So, again, I found fulfillment by volunteering at a day shelter for homeless, mentally ill women in Santa Monica. I loved it! I ended up leaving the ad agency in favor of working for a paltry $17,000/ year (not that the ad agency paid much better) full time. This was a defining moment in my life, working as a counselor/ advocate for these ladies: spending the mornings cooking for them, doing their laundry, getting them into showers while afternoons were spent advocating for them and trying to secure transition housing. I did this for 4 years, while taking night classes at UCLA to gain my prerequisites in Psychology. I ended up with an academic scholarship for my PhD program at SMU in Dallas (a Master’s in Clinical Psychology, a PhD in Experimental Psychology), while working as a counselor for sex offenders at the Dallas County Jail. To this day, I tease my Dad (who happens to be a Corporate Psychologist as well) that he never explained his profession well to me. After graduation, I ended up working for his company (Batrus Hollweg International) and ended up running the Executive Assessment division of his company. In 2011, as a family, we ended up selling Batrus Hollweg to Kenexa, which was acquired in quick succession by IBM. It was a great decision for our family, and it was always my intention to go out on my own, operating exclusively in the executive assessment space (which is high touch and does not have the margins that IBM would want). Little did I know that within 4 years of forming my own business, I would create what is essentially a Version #2 of what my father created in his company! Ironically, I now own two separate companies – one that is software-driven which houses the testing for hourly and management-level testing that is custom to our clients and the other, which is my personal passion: assessing senior executives. It’s a thriving, growing business that I love! To boot, my father remains involved…what a joy for both of us it is to work together! That said, while he technically works FOR me now, his vacation time has far exceeded his productivity, so a performance evaluation is on the horizon. Ha!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I am lucky that, in the conventional sense, the road to owning and growing a successful business has been relatively easy. Aside from a seemingly endless earn-out with IBM, the transition to my own company was seamless. My clients come largely by referral (we do not have a business development function in my companies), and, thus far, my greatest challenge has been scaling one of the divisions of my company (the one that requires the majority of my time), in a way that effectively manages my time. I consider myself blessed in this way, although I will say that the path to getting where I am today has not been without its own twists and turns. Ultimately, I had to get here in my own way and on my own terms….and get my butt kicked along the way. I wouldn’t change a thing!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Hollweg Assessment Partners – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am in a niche industry, as a Corporate Psychologist. Yes, many of us exist and it has become more common than it was when my father became the same 45+ years ago. It was never my intention to follow in my father’s footsteps. Most who are in my profession are Industrial/ Organizational Psychologists whereas I have a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and a PhD in Experimental Psychology. I believe in the art and science of psychology…I do not live and die by testing alone. On the contrary, I believe that people are much more than how they answer multiple choice questions. My company operates by this philosophy; we are especially personal and believe in being a true partner to our clients. We customize our approach and our testing (from hourly employees all the way to executives) to the unique culture and strategy of our clients in order to determine the best “fit”. The way I see it, my duty is as much to the candidate/ employee as it is to the client paying us because if the fit does not work one way, it won’t work the other. To boot, hiring or promoting the wrong person is not only expensive to our clients, but it is also disruptive to the team and the organizational culture. I am so proud of our team and the way that we all align to serve our clients.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future are to grow the side of my business that tests hourly and management employees in a manner that is custom to our clients’ vision and culture. At the same time, I love how I spent my time in the executive space. I don’t ever see myself retiring…I love what I do too much and would love to continue until my faculties no longer allow for it. One never knows what the future holds and I remain open to it…as long as I serve as a valuable resource and continue to gain utmost fulfillment (as I do now) from my work, I will keep at it!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1341 W. Mockingbird Lane,
Suite 700 West
Dallas, Texas 75247 - Website: www.hollwegpartners.com
- Phone: 214-296-4566
- Email: ashley@hollwegpartners.com
Image Credit:
Kelly Williams Photography
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