From Entry-Level to Executive: A CEO’s Journey

“You should be CEO”, “I am not interested in being CEO”...This back and forth was the start of many conversations over the past year since TAM Solutions has been in operation. Unlike many people who may have immediately jumped at this opportunity, especially of a company they Co-Founded, I did not. In fact, it was never even on my radar to take on this kind of role. I knew from working directly with several executive teams that being the CEO of a company is not quite the glamorous job everyone might think it is. 

So, what made me change my mind? How did I come to be the CEO of TAM Solutions? Simply put, it was time to put my own “skin in the game”. And what better opportunity than when you have a dedicated business partner and a team that has supported you since the beginning? That doesn’t mean that this path has always been easy, in fact, many parts of my journey have been quite hard but nevertheless, they have been worth it. From each experience, I have learned, grown, and been challenged and to be honest, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

What path led here? 

The question I get asked the most is “How did you become a CEO? How do you get here?” With that in mind, I thought it might be nice to introduce myself and share some of my story on how I became the CEO of TAM Solutions.  

My career path is highlighted by working incredibly hard for people who were willing to take a chance on an unknown kid. All that companies knew about me was that I started out as a bank teller, worked my way up to help people with their IRAs and Loans. From there, I moved into Accounting, Billing, and Operations. Many of my roles have focused on Customer Service which has always been an area I have enjoyed a lot. This focus has also made me aware of many challenges people face in their lives and has provided me the opportunity to help them beyond what is written in the “rule book”. 

This focus eventually brought me in to work directly with Executive teams which allowed me to really grow and develop as a Business Operations Professional. It was a simple title for many complicated projects, all of which gave me the absolute best, hands on learning experience which ultimately shaped how I would want to run a future business should I ever choose to run one.  

While hard work has shaped my career path, it did get some help from being in the “right place at the right time”. Through my years of networking and taking on any and all “grunt” projects for a variety of industry leaders, I have found ways to come up with creative solutions, thoughts outside the box and ultimately gained an insight and understanding of the business world that many never get the chance to experience. Even when I had no idea what I was doing - which to be honest was about 75% of the time - I found ways to do it. I now offer a sincere “Thank You!” to Google, YouTube and the many friends I have phoned over the years to help me figure things out.

Over the course of my working life, I have gone from bagger at a grocery store to summer camp leader for kids and teenagers to bank teller to marketing manager to side hustle business owner. Every role has taught me a little bit more about who I am, has given me a little bit more focus in what I want for my life, and has built a network of colleagues that I truly treasure. 

For example, as a bagger I learned about healthy competition in the workplace (another blog for another time) and how it can be valuable. Every year it was the annual bagger event to see who could pack the groceries in the correct way in the least amount of time while continuing to display excellent levels of customer service and personal care for everyone’s items. On the outside, this seemed like an easy task. As you are briskly sorting and packing groceries, you are asking your customer about their day, how is the family, what are the kids up to this summer vacation, etc. This created an environment where everyone wanted to do well and win but more important was the collaboration it brought to our teams. You were no longer grabbing the forgotten items on your own, you had a team who wanted to help because everyone respected each other's work. 

Working with kids in summer camps and later on teenagers to help tutor them in their math classes taught me a lot about patience, learning when to take the lead and when to let them speak and be creative, the many ways people learn that don’t fall under the “normal” category yet doesn’t make them any less intelligent. Lessons learned here shaped how I look for solutions despite everything telling me there is none. It taught me that only in very very rare circumstances is there truly no solution to a problem. 

Challenges such as being laid off, fired, written up throughout my career have taught me that even despite best efforts, sometimes you just fall short of what is being asked. It taught me resilience and the value of good leadership in helping one’s team to develop and grow in their career paths. The value of 1:1’s cannot be overstated and I have found that only truly great leaders really grasp what this means for those of us hustling on our own to make things happen. One leader in particular taught me the value of this and I can honestly say that I grew the most under their guidance - I am forever grateful for their belief in me and while not always easy, they were always there and always willing to help their teammates grow outside of their comfort levels. They never held me back, in fact, when I was ready to do other things, they were my biggest cheerleader. They understood that sometimes people grow beyond what their current role is and that is okay, in fact, that is always the goal - people should always be continuing to grow. We should always champion this and I learned that valuable lesson under their leadership. That lesson I hope to always remember and bring to all of my teams. 

Most people don’t plan to enter the recruiting world and my story is no different, I never planned on being in the recruiting space. Entering this industry through back office operations as a Business Operations Manager for a one-person startup gave me a priceless perspective in this industry. I grew to love it and found my true passion: finding solutions to problems, saying “Yes” when everyone else says “No”, and being the reliable “Swiss Army Knife” that teams could count on to support them. 

So, what’s next?

Right now, it is to focus on building up TAM Solutions to be a leading consultant in the talent space. It is to continue building a network of industry professionals who all value collaboration, partnership, and respect. It is to continue building talent teams that enjoy their roles and who are always looking for how to learn and develop more. It is to truly cultivate the diverse culture our teams work best under. 

Like all stories, there is so much more detail and maybe one day I will share it all in a book, but for now, the path of the scrappy kid from Las Vegas, Nevada has led me here, to CEO of TAM Solutions and I could not be more proud of the team I am privileged to work with.

Follow us on LinkedIn, check out our posts, reach out to see how we can help get your talent teams kick-started, or even just network and say “Hi”. TAM Solutions is built on the concept that we can all help each other and truly be good partners to businesses in all industries. Let’s GO!!!