Rena Rivera

I've been in the payroll world for over 22 years, and I say it's one of those things where you either love it or you hate it, and I do love getting in there and helping people and optimizing their companies and making sure they're using everything to the best of their ability. Most times, people will purchase a new vendor to do their payroll and then not use everything that they have, and then think everything is wrong with the vendor. But when you go in there and you really optimize and you sit down and work things out with them, you notice that it's really not the vendor - it's the culture. If you're not going to change your culture and your business, I don't care where you go, it's going to be the same way. Sometimes people want to hear it, and sometimes they don't want to hear it, but that's one of the things I do love about the payroll world - getting in there and helping and making sure people are optimizing everything that they have. I worked at ADP for over 22 years and received multiple awards for implementations and new business starts. Now I work remotely with a health and wellness company, and it's very satisfying. Alongside my corporate career, I started Forever ERJ Designs in 2018, doing apparel design, engraving, and embroidery. I'm an entrepreneur by heart, and this is something I hope to build into a lasting legacy for my family. I've also been a licensed nail technician for over 32 years, which I got when my first son was born. I earned my Bachelor of Science degree and came out of college with absolutely no student loans, which I'm very proud of. Right now, I'm studying to get my life insurance license to continue expanding my ability to serve others.

I would just say stick with it. When you first get into it, you're like, oh my god, I'm not going to understand - it's a lot to understand and to know. But if you just stick with it, you can totally pick everything up. You can just take it slow, day by day, and learn, and look at what is out there. Take anything, read on the new statutes that are happening, because it's changing - it changes every day. It's always something new, especially in places like New York and California with all their rules. It might be stressful at times, depending upon where you're at or what portion you're working in, because when somebody's paycheck is wrong, they need their check every day. But as well as it being stressful, it's rewarding. When everything goes right and you get those thank yous and hear that you were so helpful, it's definitely worth it. So I would just say, stick with it - it's definitely worth it.

A major challenge in the payroll field is keeping up with constantly changing state and federal regulations, along with organizational cultures that often prevent companies from fully utilizing their vendor systems. At the same time, there is a strong opportunity to help organizations optimize their existing payroll tools so they can maximize efficiency, compliance, and employee benefits.

Legacy building is incredibly important to me - I want to create something sustainable for future generations. With Forever ERJ Designs, I'm working to build a business that I can eventually move into full-time and leave as a legacy for my children, even if they just run it as a company and get people to help them. When I go, I want them to have something they can fall back on. Giving back to my community matters deeply to me as well. My late husband was the kind of person who loved children and the elderly, and my kids and I have been talking about starting a nonprofit in his name to honor that. I'm also involved with the Henry Street Empowerment nonprofit, which just awarded two scholarships to kids in Passaic High School - I think that's amazing because a lot of times in the inner cities, they don't really get that ability to have scholarships awarded to them. Every year for Christmas, my family picks one charity to donate to, and I send $50 a month to the ASPCA because those commercials just kill me - I can't understand why people would get animals if they're not going to take care of them. My son and his girlfriend even rescued a pit bull that was wandering the streets, and now she's completely spoiled. Helping people optimize their businesses and use their resources to the best of their ability is also core to who I am - I love getting in there and making sure companies are set up properly and running efficiently.