From Crisis to Record Success: Ana Munoz’s COVID Recovery Strategy at Pride Staff Chicagoland

Anthony Codispoti (00:00)
Welcome to another edition of the inspired stories podcast where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they’ve overcome adversity. My name is Anthony Cotaspodi and today’s guest is Anna Munoz owner and strategic partner at Pride Staff, Chicagoland. Now Pride Staff is a national staffing agency founded in 1978, dedicated to helping businesses across various industries connect with quality employees.

Their mission revolves around offering personalized service that meets each client’s specific needs and focuses on creating positive workplace experiences. began her journey as a receptionist at Pride Staff before progressing into an administrative assistant role and eventually rising to a leadership position. She proudly co-owned the Chicagoland branch where she fosters a supportive environment for both employees and clients.

Among her many achievements, received the prestigious Mile High Award at the 2025 Pride Staff Annual Conference, recognizing her talent for breaking down complex tasks and empowering teams to succeed. Now, before we get into all that good stuff, today’s episode is brought to you by my company, Ad Back Benefits Agency, where we offer very specific and unique employee benefits that are both great for your team and fiscally optimized for your bottom line.

One recent client was able to add over $900 per employee per year in extra cash flow by implementing one of our innovative programs. Results vary for each company and some organizations may not be eligible. To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at addbackbenefits.com. All right, back to our guest today, co-owner at Pride Staff, Anna, thanks for making the time to share your story today.

Ana Munoz (01:53)
Thank you so much, Anthony. It’s an honor to be on. So I appreciate you wanting to spend a couple of minutes with me today.

Anthony Codispoti (02:02)
It’s gonna be a good time. I’ve been looking forward to this. So, how did the opportunity to join Pride staff first come about?

Ana Munoz (02:10)
Yeah, so, you my journey started with staffing. It was completely by accident, which is often how the best adventures begin, right? I was 19, a new mom, working part-time at a law firm and desperately searching for full-time work. I stumbled upon what I thought was an administrative assistant role on Career Builder. And when I went in for the interview, I quickly realized that it was for a staffing agency, something

I knew absolutely nothing about. And frankly, at 19, I hadn’t done my homework. So I thought I knew everything at the time. And they told me they’d call me if something came up. But then the very next day, Pride Stuff called me back with a part-time receptionist opening in the afternoons. And it aligned perfectly with me being able to keep my other job in the morning.

So I started as a part-time receptionist and very quickly I saw the incredible impact ⁓ we had on people’s lives. ⁓ I witnessed firsthand how connecting someone with the right job could transform their situation, ⁓ not just financially, but also their confidence and sense of purpose. ⁓ It was the constant stream of seeing lives ⁓ genuinely change, ⁓ helping people find not just a paycheck but

also a pathway ⁓ that made me realize that this wasn’t just a job, this was my calling and it shifted from being ⁓ an accident to a deliberate path very quickly.

Anthony Codispoti (03:49)
And so at what point did it transition from becoming part-time to full-time?

Ana Munoz (03:54)
It transitioned probably about two, three months in. If you were to ask Angelo, he would have wanted me to quit my other job and come work for him full time, probably within three weeks. But again, didn’t know anything about them. it was, I had a daughter.

My daughter, Makayla, she was just turning one. So I had to be responsible and I wasn’t just going to be able to jump from job to job to job. So ⁓ I needed to make sure that it was the right fit for me. And I knew it was, but I was just scared of change and taking that leap of faith. ⁓ And I think by like June of that year, I became full time.

Anthony Codispoti (04:46)
And so after you became full-time, you kind of progressed in your role there, kind of take us through the different steps and how eventually you became a co-owner today.

Ana Munoz (04:57)
Yeah, so I started as a ⁓ receptionist and then I think by the end, and this was 2010, by the end of 2010, I was offered a position to be a staffing consultant, ⁓ which is now you’re dealing with clients directly, you’re going out to meet different clients. And the responsibilities were different. ⁓

And then I think in like 2014, I was offered the position to be a, 2014, 2015, I was offered the position to be a branch manager. So now not only am I overseeing my entire staff, but you’re still having those, to build on those client relationships. So I was doing that. And then in 2016, Angelo, who is somebody that I co-own the office with right now, he and his wife Sue.

told me that they were going to be retiring and their options were we’re either going to sell or we were wanting to bring somebody into the business and would you be interested? ⁓

It took me a while. think it probably took me about six to eight months to think about it. And then in 2017, March of 2017, I signed co-ownership papers. And it has, I would like to say it’s been smooth sailing since, but it has not. Yeah, it has not.

Anthony Codispoti (06:24)
Any entrepreneur knows better than that. Yeah. And so what

were your reservations in that sort of six to eight months and kind of the decision making process?

Ana Munoz (06:33)
You know, don’t like to go outside of, I’m not a rule breaker, right? I lead a straight path in everything that I do. ⁓ And when you talk about ownership,

It’s not just myself. It’s not just my family. Now I’m taking a bigger financial responsibility for not only myself, but also Angela and Sue who trusted me to come into this partnership with them. But then also my team. ⁓ You know, I think at the time we had three other people with us ⁓ and being financially responsible to make sure that, you make payroll, you have to pay them, you have to pay your bills, you have to renew leases.

anything about running a business. ⁓ So just having to really learn as you go, that’s been the best experience that I’ve had but I think that was what really scared me is I was just afraid to fail.

Anthony Codispoti (07:36)
Mm-hmm. And so 2017 you signed the papers here. We are recording in middle of 2025 What as you look back over those eight years? What is maybe the thing you learned that surprised you the most?

Ana Munoz (07:52)
⁓ you know, some days I’m still waiting for like the grownup to show up ⁓ and tell us what to do. So it’s funny that people look at me and you know, as a leader because sometimes I’m like, I don’t know what I’m doing guys. Why are you guys trusting me? But I think just, you know, not being afraid. ⁓

and knowing that, you know, if something doesn’t go my way, it’s not the end of the world. There’s always workarounds. And I think just getting through it and saying that I did it. I don’t know what the next, you know, 10 or 20 years holds for me, but I’m so glad that I took the opportunity and could say that I did it.

Anthony Codispoti (08:40)
And I’m so glad that you said that out loud because there’s so many times in my own life and getting the chance to talk with so many other business owners, business leaders, they’ll open up and admit the same thing where it’s like, yeah, yeah, people look to me like I’ve got all the answers. ⁓ But sometimes I’m just making it up as I go along and I, I have no idea. And I’m kind of, I wish somebody else would come up with the idea for the next step. so

Ana Munoz (08:58)
Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (09:06)
I think it’s good to give voice to sort of the the uncertainty that exists in all of us from time to time.

Ana Munoz (09:12)
I I agree, yeah, but it’s true though because you’re expecting someone to show up and just give you all of the answers. ⁓ And I have the answers, right, but sometimes you have to question yourself, especially when other people are looking at you for guidance and leadership. Like, I making the right decisions? Are these the right decisions? Is this the right answer? We don’t know. ⁓

But I mean, like I said, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. ⁓ But again, it’s business. There’s highs, there’s lows. But I am grateful. I’m very grateful for the opportunity.

Anthony Codispoti (09:49)
Then you just have to make the best decision that you can in the moment. And that’s all that you can expect from yourself. So, okay, let’s talk specifically about Pride Staff and what it is that you guys do. What kind of staffing are you offering? What industries? Tell us more about the geography. Kind of paint the picture for us.

Ana Munoz (09:51)
Yes. Exactly.

Yeah,

so ⁓ we’re called the Pride Stiff Chicagoland Office, and that is exactly what we service. It’s the suburbs. We don’t service like the city of Chicago. It’s just basically the suburbs ⁓ that we service. And we specialize in ⁓ temporary, temp to hire, and direct hire positions. ⁓ And the industries that we… ⁓

work in our light industrial manufacturing office clerical and then everything in between.

Anthony Codispoti (10:38)
And what percentage of your business would you say is sort of temp to hire versus the direct hire?

Ana Munoz (10:45)
You know, the direct hire comes in waves. This year, I think about 15 % of our revenue or the business that we do will be direct hire. The other 85 % is going to be temp to hire.

Anthony Codispoti (11:03)
And obviously, you weren’t involved early on. It was Angelo who sort of started the franchise. ⁓ So you weren’t involved in sort of that decision-making process of choosing Pride stuff. But now that you have been there a number of years and you’ve worked very closely with the franchisor and their leadership, tell us more about kind of the support services, the value that they deliver to you.

Ana Munoz (11:31)
You know, I will brag to anyone who will listen to me. maybe my opinion shouldn’t count as much as maybe somebody else’s, because keep in mind, Pride Steps, all that I know, right? I don’t know. I don’t have any experience shopping around for any other ⁓ franchises. ⁓ From the time I was 19 to…

35 in a few weeks here. ⁓ Pride’s been my only home. ⁓ But the support…

And just the helpfulness that I get from what we would call my home office, my corporate office, I would say is second to none. ⁓ From just when things are going really great, right? They’re there to applaud you and make you feel good about all of the right things that you’re doing. ⁓ And then in the years when business wasn’t so great,

They weren’t even just from the C-suite. ⁓ They weren’t the type of company that says, you bought the franchise. You’re kind of on your own. No, we’re not in the business to just sell franchises and not support ⁓ our strategic partners. So I just can’t say enough good things ⁓ about my corporate office from every level.

Anthony Codispoti (13:06)
So if you have questions, what’s the process? You’re filling out a contact form, you’re sending an email, you probably can’t get anybody on the phone in organizations.

Ana Munoz (13:14)
No, I can

call somebody right now and get anybody on the phone. That is how available they are. In fact, I just finished a conversation with our franchise development ⁓ leader and ⁓ our CSO, our chief sales officer. ⁓ So I mean, they are just readily available, again, with respect to their schedule, right? If they aren’t able to speak with me, it’s not one of those like, sorry.

Anthony Codispoti (13:19)
Really.

But it’s

not like there’s this big wall that you’ve got to try to get around. They’re super accessible.

Ana Munoz (13:44)
No.

From

our co-CEO, Mike April and Tammy Heaton, down to just our IT department and everybody else in between. There’s a person and a department for everything. ⁓ And again, like I said, maybe I’m a little biased because I don’t have anything to compare it to. And ⁓ I read a little bit about you too, Anthony, and you’ve owned many businesses and I’m sure you’ve dealt with many businesses. So I don’t know if that’s the norm or if I’m just really lucky that I was paired up with.

Anthony Codispoti (14:00)
That’s great.

I think you got really

lucky. I think you got really lucky and I think you’re right to be grateful. That’s awesome. ⁓ Now I know that Pride staff emphasizes client experiences that are focused on what they value most. I’m curious how you have tailored your approach to truly understand and meet those client values specifically in the Chicago.

Ana Munoz (14:18)
With a great company.

Yeah.

You know, for us, ⁓ exceptional client service and quality candidates, it isn’t just a mission statement. ⁓ It’s the heartbeat of our day-to-day operations. As a leader, it means constantly reinforcing ⁓ the why behind what we do. ⁓ Whether it’s in our daily huddles, we don’t just talk about the numbers, we share our success stories. ⁓

a client who was thrilled with a candidate or a candidate who found their dream job through us. I think that’s really important for us. And again, it’s not just what we do. Like I said, I reinforce the why in everything that we do.

Anthony Codispoti (15:23)
I want to talk about the Mile High Award that you won in the earlier this year in 2025. It’s a pretty big achievement. Now, you know, reaching those kind of milestones don’t come without challenges. I’d be curious to hear how you overcame some of those along the way.

Ana Munoz (15:43)
Yeah, so winning the mile high, I we were not expecting it. We were super excited. ⁓

but we had had some rough years and we were bouncing back. So we were hopeful we were going to win something, but just kind of with everything that was going on, we were like, you know, probably another office probably did better than us. So ⁓ we were super excited. ⁓ mean, winning the Mile High Award, ⁓ it was an incredible honor and it truly represents a collective effort from my amazing team. ⁓ I believe that it was earned through our unwavering commitment to

living price of core values every single day, ⁓ particularly our focus on service and integrity. And you combine that with consistent strong growth, even through challenging times. ⁓ Specifically, I think our dedication to client and candidate satisfaction metrics, like our Net Promoter Score, NPS is what we like to call it, really stood out. ⁓ We don’t just aim for good scores. I mean, we strive for excellence in every interaction. ⁓

The award to me perfectly just says what Pride staff’s culture of valuing genuine relationships and operational ⁓ excellence above all else, what that means to me. ⁓ It’s about being truly invested in the success of our clients, our candidates, and our internal team. And it shows the hard work, the resilience over the years, ⁓ and living by our values truly gets. ⁓

gets us recognized within our organization. So we were super excited. We weren’t expecting it, but we’re glad we got that.

Anthony Codispoti (17:30)
Yeah, you know, I talked with a lot of staffing firms and, you know, COVID was kind of a big roller coaster, you know, lot of industries that kind of saw a big uptake in their business and then coming out of that, you know, things kind of tapered off and with the economy kind of being up and down, you know, not everybody is sort of on even footing. So it’s, it’s great to hear that, you know, you guys were kind of coming through some of those struggles and winning this award, it’s kind of affirmation of all the attention that you’ve really been putting into ⁓

attention to detail and the quality on every single interaction that you have with your customers and your frontline workers.

Ana Munoz (18:06)
Yes, yes. And I think, and I won’t say that that’s always how we’ve operated. There was a time when we didn’t operate that. I think once, ⁓ and we’ll probably get a little bit more into this, but when COVID happened, ⁓ I had to completely reevaluate how we did business. ⁓ And I think just,

The way that we ⁓ interacted with our clients changed. Not saying that I didn’t value them before, right? But I think we were just very comfortable. We were very comfortable with every ⁓ conversation was transactional. Does that make sense? And I think I had a big wake up call when COVID happened. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (19:00)
Mm-hmm.

Ana Munoz (19:05)
And again, not saying that I didn’t value my clients before because I’ve always valued them, but they were always there. And I think maybe I shouldn’t be saying this, I didn’t. I took them for granted. And then COVID happened and it really was a diff. I had a different. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (19:11)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Let’s dive a little bit more into this, Hannah. think you made reference to, we might get into this more later because you know, one of my favorite questions to ask is sort of the serious challenge that you’ve overcome. And so I think this is gonna fall into that bucket for you. So what was it about COVID that you guys saw a big drop off in business, I think is what you’re getting at.

Ana Munoz (19:28)
Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah. ⁓ So going back, I I took over in 2017. ⁓ Angela was retired, COVID happened what? The end of 2019, 2020, but we really didn’t feel the effects of COVID-19 until June of 2020. Because if you remember, April, May, everybody was like, ⁓ we don’t know, it’s just gonna be, know, things are gonna be closed down for a week or two. It’ll be a small hit.

will bounce back. I don’t think anybody was really prepared for the aftermath of COVID. ⁓ So one of my most significant challenges, maybe two years into being an owner, not even two full years of being an owner, it was COVID. And it was both a significant challenge, both professionally and personally. Like many businesses, I mean, we saw a dramatic loss of

business and by 2022 we were truly on the brink of closing our office. It was terrifying ⁓ as a part owner. ⁓ You the weight of my team’s livelihoods and the future of the business was immense. ⁓ I was filled with fear. ⁓ Fear of failure, fear of letting people down, fear of losing everything. I had worked so hard to to build. ⁓

You know, not just within those two years of being an owner, but since I had started, I mean, now we’re, you know, 10 years into this. ⁓ But I think my core belief of resilience and refusing to give up was severely tested. ⁓ You know, practically we had to get incredibly lean and creative. ⁓ We diversified our client base, ⁓ actively sought out essential businesses that we’re still hiring.

⁓ And it became even more, and we became even more consultative ⁓ with our existing clients, which is what I was trying to reference a little bit more. It’s, this is why you need Pride staff. ⁓ And I think they used, they saw us as a resource during that time on how they were adapting and there was new laws ⁓ that were coming into effect for COVID. So having to stay up on that, think,

our clients valued us and used us as a great resource. And I also doubled down on connecting with my team. We had daily check-ins, not just about work, but ⁓ about how everyone was doing mentally and emotionally. ⁓ And for me personally, mean, daily exercise and mindfulness became non-negotiable. And it was staying grounded in managing that immense stress. ⁓ And it was a difficult time. ⁓ But…

What I did learn from that experience is the immense power of grit and adaptability. It taught me that genuine success isn’t about avoiding setbacks, but about how you respond when you’re knocked down. It reinforced my belief that fear kills more dreams than failure ever will. You know, it’s my favorite quote. Because if I had given into that fear in 2022, we wouldn’t be here today.

Anthony Codispoti (23:09)
that fear can be crippling, it can be paralyzing. How did you get through it? How did you push through?

Ana Munoz (23:11)
Yes.

I don’t know.

I don’t know. I have no idea. mean, I wish. ⁓ my God. It’s something that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. ⁓ I have no idea. ⁓ And I guess I do know how I got through it, right? But just like when you’re thinking about it, I’m like, God, I don’t know how I did it. ⁓ Would I do it again? I don’t know. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (23:17)
just sheer necessity, like.

Ana Munoz (23:39)
But, like I said, if I had given into that fear just a couple years ago, we wouldn’t be on track to have our best year ever this year. So ⁓ it made me much stronger. It made me more empathetic and a more strategic leader. So as much as I look back on COVID and hated what it did to people, to businesses, ⁓

You know, it’s a silver lining. I’m grateful that it happened.

Anthony Codispoti (24:09)
You found a different gear inside yourself that you didn’t know was there. And you also talked about how you became more like a consultant for your clients. How did that strategy evolve? did that seed sort of get planted that, we need to not take the clients for granted as much. We need to be more helpful, more like consultants. Where did that come from?

Ana Munoz (24:14)
Yes.

you know, I think, so kind of going back to it, so we lost a lot of our business. Over 50 % of our business was just gone. And

It wasn’t even like, you know, now we have to be, how can I say this? It wasn’t, ⁓ you know, even like, hey, we need to be more consultative to the clients that we have now because we didn’t have any clients. ⁓ They were gone. So it was more so of, you know, any new client that we have, we have to be ⁓ a resource. I’m not just selling you, you know, a body or a person. ⁓ It’s…

What are the benefits of you working with Pride staff? What ⁓ are some of the things that Pride staff can offer that no other ⁓ staffing service can offer? And I think that is where…

our clients saw more value in us is we did become a strategic partner to them. We were more of a resource. If they had questions, even if they didn’t have an order, ⁓ I understood that. And I understood that maybe the orders would come down the road. But I had resources, I had tools that maybe their company, ⁓ for whatever reason, didn’t want to invest in or they didn’t have a need. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (26:06)
And

these were resources or tools specifically around COVID.

Ana Munoz (26:09)
And not necessarily around COVID, but around hiring. ⁓ So for example, if you remember COVID, we had a of openings, but nobody to fill these jobs. So we had to be more consultative in the approach of, hey, this is what’s out there. This is who is hiring for these jobs. We have tools that can tell us there’s a warehouse worker ⁓ opening.

And there’s 500 candidates available that are interested in that position. But only, I don’t know, let’s say a hundred of them are within that pay range of what you’re wanting to make, of what you’re wanting to pay. So how can we open that door to, hey, we need to pay a little bit more if we’re wanting access to all 500 candidates. Does that make sense? What I’m trying to explain is just be more,

Anthony Codispoti (27:05)
Yes.

Ana Munoz (27:08)
⁓ again, more consultative in their approach.

Anthony Codispoti (27:11)
Even if they’re not calling to place an order, if you’re not calling to say, Hey, you know, I want to give you a check, you know, I hear let’s do some business. Like just being there as a professional resource. I’ve got, I’ve got a question about hiring, about whatever it was that that’s within, you know, your wheelhouse of expertise, be a trusted resource. That way they feel good about you. They remember you when they do have that order to place.

Ana Munoz (27:21)
Exactly.

EXO

Exactly

and it also came down to we are not just I Didn’t want them to look at pride stuff as pride stuff only cares about even now right? ⁓ price definitely cares about the orders if I Don’t have an order with them or if I don’t have people on assignment with pride staff They’re not willing to help me. They’re not willing to answer any questions. They’re not willing to 10 or 15 minutes ⁓ Educating me on a

certain law or certain bill regarding staffing and hiring, or they’re not willing to share any of their tools because I’m not spending any money with them. I did not want my clients to have that feeling and I still don’t. Anybody that I meet with, whether it’s a sales call or our current clients, anybody that could use our services, whether they pay price staff or not, I want them to know that I am a resource outside of just, you

them sending us orders. If they have a question, whether they have somebody placed out to work with me or not, I want them to feel comfortable calling me.

Anthony Codispoti (28:44)
I think that’s so smart. Give first, give first, give first. I think that’s a great lesson that everybody can kind of take from this story. And I know that for Pride staff, obviously a big part of your success hinges on being able to connect businesses with the right candidates. What creative practices have you implemented to ensure that you’re delivering that really good match for both the employer and the employee?

Ana Munoz (28:46)
Yes. Yeah.

Yeah, so I think with…

With this, many agencies offer recruiting services, ⁓ but what truly differentiates Pride staff… ⁓

and how we do this and how we live our mission is just our unwavering commitment to the right fit beyond just the resume and job description. ⁓ It’s not just about filling an opening. It’s about making a genuinely ⁓ synergistic match that benefits both the client and the candidate in the long term. So my team and I, not just filling a position to fill a position, right? I want…

I want every time I make a placement for it to be a success story. ⁓ And on a data basis, this looks like an in-depth discovery session with both clients and candidates. ⁓ For clients, we spend a significant time understanding their company, their culture, their dynamics, and long-term strategic goals, ⁓ not just the immediate hiring need, but again, long-term. ⁓ We understand that

Positions you can teach people how to do things right? But if you find somebody that is not good not a good culture fit or not a good long-term hire It could be disastrous to your current to your current team ⁓ And I think that’s something that our clients value, ⁓ know for candidates We go beyond their work history to understand their their career aspirations and their values And what kind of environment they thrive in? ⁓

We’ll even advise the client if we feel their expectations for a role aren’t realistic for the market ⁓ or guide a candidate towards a different path if we genuinely believe ⁓ it’s going to be a better long-term fit ⁓ for them. ⁓ So this level of personalized consultative matching, even if it takes more time upfront, it’s… ⁓

we like to call our North Star. I know it’s cheesy, it builds incredible trust and leads to placements that genuinely stick and create lasting value.

Anthony Codispoti (31:26)
It sounds like you’re not just consulting for the client, you’re also consulting for the candidates and steering them towards more realistic goals, know, the right kinds of jobs, the places where, you know, they may be a better fit for the culture.

Ana Munoz (31:31)
Yes.

Yeah, I mean, I don’t ever want, ⁓ I want my clients to know that not only do I want to have their best interests, but I also want to have my candidates’ best interests. So, you you’re working for both. ⁓ And I think, you know, our clients respect that, and our candidates do too.

Anthony Codispoti (32:01)
You know, Anna, from our previous conversations, ⁓ I understand that, you one of the things you’ve kind of known for there at Pride staff is being able to break down big complex tasks into smaller manageable pieces. Yes. You just lit up there. Can you give an example, like a specific example of a time that you did this and how it helped and worked out?

Ana Munoz (32:15)
Yes.

you know, I think just kind of going back to 2022 when we were having to build back what we had, I think that was

That was the time when I really had to look at what we wanted to achieve long term. And I think what we were doing was we were getting so hung up on, by the end of the year, you want to generate X amount of dollars. But what we were doing and where we were at to where we wanted to get to,

It was impossible. It seemed impossible, right? So just kind of a perfect example of that. was breaking down our daunting goals. And it just, again, it just ties back to our recovery of 2022, 2023. So our goal for 2023 was not just to survive, but to start rebuilding towards profitability and growth.

again, eventually aiming for a record 2025 year. ⁓ And this felt incredibly daunting ⁓ after such significant losses. So we didn’t think that we were ever going to be able to do it. So instead of fixating on the massive revenue number, ⁓ we broke it down into micro-commitments. ⁓ Each week, we focused on increasing our client visits by just one. You I want to do one more visit than I did last week.

⁓ securing one more job order, making five more candidate touch points in the week before. ⁓ They were small, consistent, almost boring steps, but we were able to track these goals, these micro goals, religiously. ⁓ And my team got excited. ⁓ It was just, again, we went from having at my worst, and now I’m being super vulnerable here, at our worst, we had

25 people out on assignment and this is going from like 80 to 90 people. Keep in mind. I’m not a huge office. ⁓ I want to make sure that I’m running an office where I can still be available. I don’t want to have you know thousands of people out on an assignment. That’s just not the type of office that I want to be. I want to be able to cater to clients and having going from 80 down to 25.

It was huge. was loss. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, when you break down those goals of like, if we can just get two people out on two more people on an assignment next week, this is how much revenue will generate. And again, right now, it just seems silly, you know, when you’re looking back on it. But it worked. ⁓ Those small, consistent actions compounded one extra visit led to a new relationship.

Anthony Codispoti (35:14)
Scary.

Ana Munoz (35:40)
One new job order led to two placements, ⁓ and those extra candidate touch points resulted in better talent pools. ⁓ By focusing on the daily and weekly execution of these small, tangible steps, we built momentum. ⁓ And this consistent effort, week after week, ⁓ ultimately led to the significant rebound we’re seeing now. ⁓

And again, not tooting my own horn here, but you know, setting us up for a record year. But really our record year was 2024. And we’re hoping to break that 2024 record this year.

Anthony Codispoti (36:21)
And you know what is I’m hearing you talk at it reminded me of sort of the question that I hear people ask sometimes is like, how do you eat an elephant? And the answer is one bite at a time. Right. and, and, and that’s exactly what you know, you guys had fallen a lot. You were on the verge of closing your doors and you’re like, we want to get to where we were and beyond.

Ana Munoz (36:31)
Yeah, small tiny bites, one tiny bite at a time.

Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (36:48)
And that just seems like such a giant hill to climb. Like, how do we do it? And you’re like, you know what? One foot in front of the other. I’m going to make one more client visit this week than I did last week. That’s all. That’s all I’m going to do. And so then it doesn’t seem so insurmountable. Like, I don’t know how many client visits you would typically make in a week, but let’s say it was four. You know, you’re not going to go from four to 20 next week. Like you, like that’s just going to be a shock to your system. It’s going to feel overwhelming. You’re just going to be taxed, exhausted.

Ana Munoz (36:57)
That’s it. That’s all you can do.

Anthony Codispoti (37:17)
So I’m just gonna go from four to five. And now I’m gonna go from five to six. And each of those visits, each of those touch points, it’s another opportunity to open a door to another client, to another placement for you.

Ana Munoz (37:20)
Yes.

Yes, yeah, and that was really, ⁓ I know a lot of people have asked and they’re probably expecting me to give them this crazy formula on this is what I had to do and how strategic it was, but sometimes the answers are just right in front of you. And it was just doing the work. ⁓ Again, I’m not saying that it was easy. ⁓

it was still hard and there were days where ⁓

we could have had, let’s say we grew five and then the following week we ended seven. So now we’re right back to where we started. ⁓ But again, it was still just small, tiny, tiny goals.

Anthony Codispoti (38:17)
It’s really one foot in front of the other. Like you said, I think a lot of times people are expecting that there’s like some magic wand that’s available. Yeah. Like, you know, ⁓ if somebody is just going to teach me how to run this one ad or, you know, I’m going to land this one huge client, you know, that just comes walking in my door. And now it’s like, you got to get up and one foot in front of the other, take the small steps. And I’m kind of curious to hear, you know, Anna, as you were kind of going through this and getting back on track and motivating yourself.

Ana Munoz (38:23)
That’s a pill.

Anthony Codispoti (38:46)
and motivating your team, how did you keep the team kind of pushing forward to these goals? Were there, I don’t know, any incentives or things that you were able to put in front of them that helped?

Ana Munoz (38:58)
Yes, so and I feel kind of silly and they’ll probably be so embarrassed if I mention this. But it was what we were looking forward to, right? So.

there’s a steakhouse, a really nice steakhouse in the Joliet area that we absolutely love. And when we were at 35, we said, if we get to 50, I will treat, and 35 employees out to work. I said, if we get to 50 employees, we will, I will take everybody out to this nice steak dinner. Again, it’s silly. It’s, it’s, yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (39:35)
Everybody needs a carrot.

Everybody needs a carrot.

Ana Munoz (39:38)
But you think

it’s insignificant. And right now when I mentioned it, I was like, my God, this is so embarrassing. I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud. But yes, mind you, we all could have gone out to the steakhouse on our own. But it was just it was the goal of the team. We’re like, no, we’re getting that nice steak dinner. ⁓ They have like the best Caesar salad there. So I was like, no, I’m you know, and again, I could have gone any time to go get the Caesar salad. But it was

Anthony Codispoti (39:45)
Did it work? Okay, then.

Ana Munoz (40:07)
going to be more meaningful and it was going to taste a lot better. Yes.

Anthony Codispoti (40:11)
Because you’re doing it together. You’re going

through the journey. You’re going through the struggles and the hardships and the challenges to hit that goal together. And this is the part that sometimes we forget about is you’ve got to celebrate together. Like I mean especially as entrepreneurs as business owners we’re always moving the goalposts. Right. OK. We hit we hit that goal. What’s next. That right. You have to agree 100 percent. But the part that gets missed so much and why I really love what you guys are doing here is

Ana Munoz (40:16)
Yeah.

Yes, yes.

You have to. You have to.

Anthony Codispoti (40:40)
you stop to celebrate just for a moment.

Ana Munoz (40:42)
Yes, yeah, and I think that was so important because again, it’s not, yes, well, I am the owner while I’m taking all the risk, right? I was the one crying myself to sleep most of the time. I worked so closely with them that they also felt the stress. They were worried too, we were all worried. ⁓

But I think once we put everything aside and say, you know what, let’s stop focusing on trying to be nominated for a My Ohio Award, let’s not focus on making President Circle this year. Let’s just focus on being better than what we were the day before.

And again, if it was a steak dinner, if it was a massage, if it was manicures and pedicures, I was all for it because we were growing. And if I had to do it all over again, I would. And I would do it with the exact same team. And it’s still the same team I have in place now.

Anthony Codispoti (41:46)
So looking back over your journey from receptionist to business owner and leader, is there a piece of advice you could share with listeners who may be just starting out in a field, any field, ⁓ and they have their sights set eventually on being in a leadership role?

Ana Munoz (42:07)
yeah, ⁓ you know if I were to offer one key insight from my journey, ⁓ especially for someone considering a major career pivot or stepping into their first managerial role, it would be this. ⁓ Growth and self-confidence aren’t built in comfort. ⁓ They are forged in the moments you choose to lean into the unknown and embrace vulnerability. ⁓

My journey from a receptionist to a strategic partner was a series of firsts ⁓ and moments where I had to say yes before I felt 100 % ready. ⁓ You won’t have all the answers when you pivot or step into leadership. True self-confidence isn’t about being fearless. ⁓ It’s about trusting your ability to learn, adapt, and seek help when you need it.

⁓ Don’t let the fear of knowing everything stop you from taking that leap. ⁓ Every mistake is a lesson. Every challenge is an opportunity to expand your capabilities. ⁓ And every moment of discomfort is a sign that you’re growing.

embrace the learning curve, ask questions relentlessly, and remember that your potential is far greater than your current perceived limitations. I think that would be my my advice.

Anthony Codispoti (43:37)
I love all of that.

Yeah, it’s all really good. ⁓ You know, I love this idea about sort of this idea of get comfortable with being uncomfortable, because ⁓ that means that you’re pushing yourself. And that’s where the learning and the growth really happens.

Ana Munoz (43:55)
Yeah, yeah.

I don’t think, and going back to COVID, had COVID not happened, had I not been uncomfortable, had I not been scared, ⁓ I wouldn’t be here now. ⁓ And I had to be scared and I had to be uncomfortable ⁓ in order to grow.

Because once you’re in that situation, you have no other choice. can only, you know, it’s really once you hit rock bottom, your only way is up. So. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (44:19)
You know.

You know, I think one of the great things about you being part of the Pride Staff franchise system ⁓ is that you’ve got a built-in support network. Whether it’s the franchisor in the corporate office or being able to connect with other franchisees to talk about what it is that you’re going through. Because I think that’s such an important thing that a lot of business owners miss out on is that, you know, they…

They sort of feel alone in their position, right? You’re at the top of the heap. It’s like everybody looks to you for the answers, but where can you go for answers? Where can you go for help and support? And it occurs to me that inside of the Pride staff family there, that support system, that mastermind, if you will, is kind of baked in.

Ana Munoz (45:12)
Yeah, so, ⁓ and I don’t know if I had mentioned this to you before, and I guess we didn’t really touch on this at all during our time together so far, but one of the things that also led to my growth and that mind change ⁓ was Pride Staff in 2022.

the end of 2022. Mind your life. I was knees deep in terrible things and I was scared for my life. Like I had never been. And I truly believed in my heart that at the end of 2023, I was going to be closed. There was just, there was nothing that I could do. That’s the mindset that I had December of 2022. January of 2023, corporate.

of my corporate office said, hey, we’re going to start a mentorship program. And we think you should be one of the first as a mentee to participate. Would you like to participate? And I said, yeah, I would love to. mean, at this point, again, like I said, what do I have to lose, right? Doesn’t work. Yeah, I’ll take it anywhere. And home office partnered me up with Amy Lin.

Anthony Codispoti (46:25)
I’ll take help anywhere I can get it right now.

Ana Munoz (46:34)
who is an incredible friend, but she is just an incredible ⁓ business leader. She is a great mentor to me even now. And I dedicated a year of my time of having weekly phone calls with her. And again, some of the things that we talked about, it was just…

they were like duh moments, right? Like, why didn’t I think of that? Like, I feel stupid because that just seems so silly and why didn’t I think of it? But you were just so caught up in like, just defeat that you forget going back to basics. And so I committed to a year of just having Amy Lin, who is the owner of the Dallas Pride Staff Office, and just talking to her.

And I mean, we had little things, right? At the end of the year, like, hey, next year, because my office isn’t going to close now that I’m talking to you and I’m slowly growing, we’re going to have drinks at our Pride Day annual conference. Just thinking ahead, because my mind’s. Yeah. Yes.

Anthony Codispoti (47:47)
You got to make plans for the future that you need to reprogram your brain to stop

planning for that failure and plan for what success and moving forward looks like.

Ana Munoz (47:55)
And exactly, and

I think because going back to me being so afraid of failing, I was also afraid of disappointing. So having her hold me accountable to again, just little things like, hey, this week I want you to go out and talk to five more people.

And when you’re, for lack of a better word, depressed because nothing’s going right in your life, that just seemed like a very daunting goal. Like it was going to be impossible. Like how can I get out and drive myself to go just meet five more people? Like it just, again, it sounds silly.

Anthony Codispoti (48:32)
I

can’t even get out of bed in the morning. Like how am I supposed to go visit five new clients? Like that just, that seems impossible.

Ana Munoz (48:37)
Wow, yeah.

But because of the fact that I had someone that I was, for lack of words, reporting to, and Amy, who I know had gone through, you know, similar struggles, but is now running a top five, one of Pride stuff’s top five offices, she could do it, I could do it. And then I was more afraid of if I’m having this conversation with her next week.

And I said, hey, I know I’m wasting your time, but I didn’t do it. Like, I was afraid of that. I was afraid of her. Yeah. Yeah. And I was terrified to let her down because this is the Amy Lin. And I hold her very near and dear to my heart. And I just didn’t want to disappoint her.

Anthony Codispoti (49:12)
The power of that accountability ⁓ is huge.

Ana Munoz (49:30)
Yeah, I mean at the end of the year, like we were celebrating again a record year. Just from where we were at the beginning to where I was, it was like, I don’t know, I think we grew like 56 % that year.

Anthony Codispoti (49:44)
Fantastic.

Ana Munoz (49:46)
And yeah, I mean, so when you think about December of 2022, I was like, yeah, I’m closing the office. This is going to be so embarrassing. I can’t believe it. What am going to tell people? There’s people that doubted me, and I’m going to just prove them right. And I think just having that accountability partner, that mentor, that someone that truly wanted me to see me succeed and, again, was doing this just out of the kindness of her heart. mean, she could.

She could be doing other things, building her business even more.

Anthony Codispoti (50:16)
What a gem, right, to give up her time to

help you. And how cool was it that Pride staff kind of identified you as being in a place of need? Yeah.

Ana Munoz (50:24)
Yes. Yes. And that’s

what I’m saying. I mean, I can’t any more highly than I already do of them. ⁓ Just because, again, they could have picked anybody. There’s over 80 offices. And there could have been other offices that are going through the same thing. But the fact that they said, hey, we see the potential here. We know what the Price of Chicagoland office is capable of doing.

let’s pair them up with Amy. So that was huge. And I think she’s a big part of the reason why I’m still open today. Just having, again, having that mind change.

Anthony Codispoti (51:03)
That’s so great.

Anna, how would you characterize your superpower?

Ana Munoz (51:09)
You

Anthony Codispoti (51:11)
Go ahead, set the humility aside.

Ana Munoz (51:17)
I think ⁓ I would say one of my super, no, my superpower ⁓ would probably be taking accountability. ⁓ I don’t like to take blame. I don’t like to push blame on others for my own mishaps. ⁓ I think that’s.

Something that I embrace is I am responsible for my own actions my own feelings ⁓ and I would say that that’s that’s one of my superpowers is ⁓ Holding myself accountable ⁓ and knowing when I’m wrong. I’m wrong and and I Need to learn from my mistakes and I need to own up to my mistakes

And I am in charge of my own happiness. And there’s nobody else that can do that for me. mean, is that silly? That that’s my superpower?

Anthony Codispoti (52:09)
I love that.

Not at all. I think it’s beautiful.

Brilliant and in simplicity. Are there any daily habits, rituals that either help to get you started or keep you on track?

Ana Munoz (52:28)
You know, I think one of the things that I do is just really, I take time for myself. I, with me being a mom of…

know, a 16 year old and a five year old. ⁓ you know, and they’re in sports and, trying to run a business at the same time and being responsible for your team and your clients. ⁓ I think sometimes I spread myself too thin because I can’t say no. ⁓ and I’m okay with that. I, that’s one of my love languages, right? Is, is helping people and, making sure that I’m available to people.

⁓ but genuinely putting aside time for myself, ⁓ every day, ⁓ you know, at least one hour a day, just, just me, no kids, no work, no phone. I binge watch Netflix. you know, I really like, ⁓ Four Seasons with Steve Carell. That was really good. So I was, I just finished watching that.

Anthony Codispoti (53:21)
What does that look like? What do you do for fun?

What’s a great show I need to check out?

All right, I’ve seen that one come up in my feed and I just haven’t given it a shot yet.

Ana Munoz (53:40)
yeah that one’s really good that one’s really good

but again i don’t you know it’s one of those things like i don’t have time for that but it’s like no i want to make time for that i want to make time

Anthony Codispoti (53:49)
That’s

your thing. That’s you just kind of unplugging, checking out, just a little self-care time.

Ana Munoz (53:56)
Yeah,

don’t bother me. Whether it’s before my kids wake up or after they go to bed, it’s like, I’m unplugging. I don’t want to see my phone. I don’t want to think about Pride staff. Again, even though I live, breathe, and eat Pride staff. Yeah.

Yeah, if not, it would consume me. And I think when I was going through my roughest point, it was consuming me. ⁓ And everything that I did, every decision that I made, whether it was personally or professionally, it was surrounded around Pride staff. And again, we were in a really tough spot. And I just ⁓ knew that for my own mental health, I needed to take

take time for myself as well. That was not Pride staff related, not kids related. It was Anna related and what made Anna happy.

Anthony Codispoti (54:52)
So, I’ve just got one more question for you. Excuse me, before I ask it, I want to do two things. First, I’m going to invite all the listeners to go ahead and hit the follow button on your favorite podcast app. I’ve had a really nice conversation today with Ann Amiunios from Pride Staff of Chicagoland. And I want you to get more great content, great interviews, great advice from business leaders like we’ve had today. And I also want to let people know the best way to get in touch with you or your office. What would that be?

Ana Munoz (55:03)
Damn.

Yeah, so if you wanted to reach out to me, you can do so on my LinkedIn. Anna Munoz is how you would find me. ⁓ They can reach out to, ⁓ they can look on our website, which is pridestaff.com forward slash chicagolandwsw. ⁓ But they can call us at 815-730-3760.

Anthony Codispoti (55:45)
Very good. So last question for you, Anna. You and I are going to reconnect in a year and you’re going to be super happy. You’re going to be excited. You’re celebrating a thing. What’s that thing? What are you excited about a year from now?

Ana Munoz (55:59)
I might be oversharing here, ⁓ but my thing is to make President’s Circle this year, right? So President’s Circle. ⁓ have made it’s making over a million dollars in revenue ⁓ or gross margin for the year. ⁓ That is what that looks like for my office. We have ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (56:11)
What does that involve?

Ana Munoz (56:27)
through our goal. We met our halfway point goal. ⁓ We are on track to exceed that. ⁓ And I’m going to Hawaii if we make presidents our goal. So when we connect a year from now, I will have gone to Hawaii and I will be ⁓ breaking another record next year. That is what that conversation will be.

Anthony Codispoti (56:50)
I love it. And so when you

go to Hawaii, is this with the company or is this you just as the carrot for yourself that you’re going to go?

Ana Munoz (56:55)
Yeah. No,

so it’s actually that’s the it’s a company thing. So that is our that is our you know, you make presidents struggle. That’s where we’re going is Hawaii and ⁓ I get to bring my husband. So yeah, so that is our goal right now. ⁓ And like I said, we were halfway into the year and we have met and exceeded our halfway goal.

Anthony Codispoti (57:01)
Okay.

I love it. I can’t wait to see the pictures.

Ana Munoz (57:25)
and we are on track to exceed our goal for 2025. Yay.

Anthony Codispoti (57:31)
Well, good things in front of you, I love it. Anna

Munoz from Pride Staff, Chicagoland. I want to be the first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us today. I really appreciate it.

Ana Munoz (57:41)
Thank

you so much, Anthony. I really appreciate it.

Anthony Codispoti (57:45)
Folks, that’s a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us today.