What do you do for work?
I have the great pleasure of leading AnswerConnect. Every day, I work with a fantastic team of people who help small and medium businesses thrive. We provide live virtual reception services and the software tools business owners need to run their companies from Anywhere. We know our clients are crazy-busy, and we can give them their time back, plus peace of mind in knowing we will take care of their clients for them.
How did you get to CEO?
Becoming a CEO was never part of my plan. I started with AnswerConnect way back in 2006, and at the time, I entered the company as a temp-to-hire employee, working in the call center. I found an organization that was very much a startup, which meant there was a significant opportunity for me to speak up and be part of incremental changes that would shape the future of the business. I never expected the temporary call center job to lead me to an executive position.
My path lead me through most of the company. I got to handle calls as a virtual receptionist, worked in the sales department, and better understood the problem we were solving for small business owners. Then I worked in client account management to learn more about how we took care of our clients and managed to handle their calls, set appointments, engage with their web chat traffic, and so on. Through all of this, I was learning the business from the inside out. When we began developing our software tools, I became a “normal person tester” who could break things and point out bugs for our amazing development team. I knew that if our tools were simple enough for me, anyone could use them!
Over the years, my passion for ensuring that our company was the best business for clients to partner with and that we were the best organization for employees to be part of intensified. I also felt so inspired by being part of an organization that was open to feedback and that embraced change that, as a leader, I ensured this was part of the culture I helped to create. I look at the role of CEO like an all-access-pass.
My job is to help AnswerConnect thrive. I do this in part by continuing to care about the details and helping our company to be better tomorrow than it is today.
What do you enjoy about serving as a Nonprofit Board member?
Giving back is one of my core values, and it’s also one of the core values at AnswerConnect. Because of this, I get paid time to volunteer in my local community, just like all our other employees, which is how I started getting involved as a volunteer and eventually a board member at PDXWIT. I love this Portland-based non-profit and the focus on creating more inclusion in the tech industry.
Being a non-profit board member gives me another avenue to apply the lessons and experience I’ve gained in my career and interact and learn from a totally different group of people than I do at my day job. I know the benefits of volunteering are reciprocal. I hope to impact my community positively, and I can bring the experience, learning, and energy back to work with me.
Advice to students about pursuing a career in Business Tech?
Advice? How much time do we have? I have so much advice, but I will try to be succinct. Remember, there are many paths to success, so stay flexible and embrace change. Commit to lifelong learning; this goes beyond the classrooms and paid training; I am talking about taking personal responsibility for curiosity and knowledge-seeking in one’s life. Especially for those pursuing a career in business technology, we must understand that this world is changing fast. If we want to have a chance to keep up, let alone thrive, learning is non-negotiable. Finally, stay humble and be a good person. The compounding effects of leaving people and places better than you find them are unmatched when listing keys to success.
~Contributed by Natalie Ruiz