I think we have already proven in this series that there is 'no one way' as it relates to Women in Accounting, it is very much an 'each to her own' approach when it comes to career, family, home and self. Over the last several weeks, since this series first began, we have seen bookkeepers and business owners, sole practitioner accountants, and even business students. Today we turn our attention to the Vice President of a software vendor with whom many of us are familiar since they are part of the QuickBooks ecosystem.
Sarah Ellis
Sarah Ellis is the Vice President of Finance and Human Resources at SalesPad, LLC, a software development company specializing in Operational ERP. Sarah began by telling Insightful Accountant, "Having worked at SalesPad for over 10 years, I have had the opportunity to see it grow from its infantile stages to the company it is today. In my position, I am responsible for all financial operations and providing strategic and tactical guidance to the owners and executive team, while overseeing daily financial activities that are in compliance with our internal accounting policies. I love what I do and who I do it for!"
I don't know about you, but it seems to me that Sarah is pretty much a 'take charge' person. It's especially easy to see that in her response to our regular 'two words that best describe your daily life' question. Sarah told us, "The first word that comes to mind when asked to describe my beautiful mess of a life is chaotic. With three young daughters, a husband who travels extensively for work, an exuberant boxer, and a full-time position as an executive in a growing technology company, there is never a dull moment in my life. 'Find comfort in the chaos' is a saying that resonates with me for I know that there will be a day that I will miss all the crazy adventures that fill my life."
Sarah went on to say, "Fulfilling is another word with a lot of meaning to me. At the end of each day, among the crazy, exhaustive moments, the highs and the lows, I enjoy an overwhelming sense of fulfillment for the life I lead."
When it comes to work, home, family and self, Sarah explained her balancing act this way, "Balancing family life and personal ambitions isn’t always easy and is something that most working mothers struggle with to a certain extent. The key to making it easier is to find an organization that supports a healthy work/life balance and understands the many roles that most women play at any given time (co-worker, boss, mother, wife, etc.). Another way to eliminate some of the stress is to create hacks that make certain aspects of a working mom’s life effortless."
Sarah Ellis with Family
Sarah gave us the details about some of her 'hacks', "Planning ahead – The dreaded morning routine. No matter how smoothly things are going I am acutely aware that I am only one breakdown away from walking in late to my 8:30 meeting. By planning ahead – lunches, clothes, activity bags – and packing things up the night before, I know that when that breakdown inevitably occurs I will have a few minutes to sneak in some mommy snuggles to whichever child is in need without being tardy to my commitments."
Another of Sarah's favorite life-hacks is her routine dinner checklist, "Taco Tuesday? Check! Pizza Friday? Check! The occasional breakfast for dinner option? Check! Having routine meals planned that my children are aware of prevents tears over the dinner table." Those pretty well sound to me like a recipe for evening at home success.
As a business executive Sarah clearly has responsibilities in her company that require the delegation of authority, turning certain duties over to co-workers. So it seems that she has put these principles into place when it comes to home and family by getting the siblings involved. "The day my oldest, a 6-year-old, started reading the bedtime story to her two younger sisters was life changing. Instead of committing myself to 30 – 45 minutes of story time, I could read the first book before passing the baton to my oldest daughter to read a few more. But there is a bonus too, she gets additional practice reading to an active audience!" Clearly sounds like that's a 'win-win-win' arrangement.
As a human resource professional Sarah understands the importance of incentivizing personnel, and so it just happens that she uses games at home to incentivize the desired behaviors in her children. She told us, "Whether its races to see who can get dressed the fastest in the morning or who can match the most amount of socks in the laundry basket, my girls get to enjoy a healthy dose of competition all while helping mom out."
But as evidenced by all of our Women in Accounting participants there can still be challenges no matter how 'adapt' one becomes at balancing work and home. In this light Sarah told us, "It's difficult...there are days where I feel my plate is too full... But to me the benefits of continuing my career outside of the home far outweigh the negatives. Motherhood and professional success is not a zero sum game."
Many of our exemplary women have found ways to meet the stress and maintain their health, Sarah mentioned that, "SalesPad, is an amazing organization that places a high value on health and physical well-being. With reimbursement for gym memberships and internal strength training classes held on-site twice weekly, I have found that I am able to decompress during the middle of my work day as needed. To have the ability to clear my mind and focus on myself – not work or my family – for those few hours a week allows me to better handle stress when it does arise."
But Sarah has a very interesting perspective on meeting the demands of work and family, she said, "Another way that has helped me to cope with the demands of work and family while maintaining my health is to throw out the idea of ‘perfection.’ Having realistic expectations about what I can actually accomplish in any given day and knowing that I gave 100 percent of myself to whatever task was at hand helps me to not feel overwhelmed. Time is limited and the quest for perfection only cuts into that."
Ultimately it is the driving motivations that rest behind the success of the Women in Accounting we have featured. It's the ultimate guide to who they are, and the way they live their lives in meeting the demands of work and family. Sarah told Insightful Accountant, "As a mother of three daughters, it is extremely important that I give them an example of what a strong, independent, resilient woman looks like. My hope is that growing up with a working mother inspires them to believe that they CAN be anything they want to be and still be an awesome, involved mom."
Sarah Ellis with her girls
Sarah concluded by saying, "Another motivating factor is my own personal sense of accomplishment. Being a valuable employee to an organization while helping contribute to the overall financial goals of our family is something that I take pride in.
In order for me to be my best self, I need to be satisfied that I am reaching my personal goals, both at home and in the workplace."
We can all see that Sarah is not only meeting her personal goals at home and work, but is going well beyond for employer and family.
Insightful Accountant wants to extend our thanks to Sarah Ellis for taking the time to visit with us and share her story. If you want to share your own story, simply post 'Count me in' within the commend section of this, or any future Women in Accounting Wednesday article.
Your comment will record your email in confidence, then we will reach out to you because we are eager to share your heart, mind and soul with our readers.