Amanda Hankins

I had a lot of really strong people in my life that believed in me early on in my 20s and 30s, whenever I couldn't see those things. To me, it was pretty natural to be organized and communicate well and things like that, and I had a lot of people around me that just believed in me when I did not see that. I had a lot of strong women - I've got two aunts, I've got a mom, a stepmom, I've got strong people around me. But then also in a professional environment, I had people that saw things in me that I definitely didn't see. I see it now a lot more, but that's definitely not in my 20s and 30s. Two very important people to me in my professional journey are Mickey Love, who has been in my life for 30-plus years from the firm I was at, and Tim Mackie, who is the owner of another company that really helped me learn how to be a consultant and believed in me whenever he didn't necessarily need to. I worked there for many years.

The best career advice I’ve received came from mentors like Mickey Love and Tim Mackie, who played a significant role in shaping my professional growth. Their support and belief in my abilities helped me see my own potential more clearly. Because of their guidance, I’ve been able to keep pushing forward and progressing in my career.

Don't let anyone hold you back. Don't let any situation, don't let any one person - manager, supervisor, family, anyone like that - don't blame your environment or others around you. You can make a difference in other people's lives, you can make those decisions, you just have to believe in yourself and don't let anyone else put those barriers up in your life. It's never too late, it's never too early. I just opened my business at my current age, so those things don't matter. I want to be able to influence leaders in the industry, specifically women in the industry. I'm in a very male-dominated industry, and most of the law firms that I work with are owned by men and ran by females. I don't feel like they have those people in their lives that I wish I would have had more of in my 20s and 30s, and I want to be that for women. I want young women, regardless of their age, whether they're teenagers or in their 20s or 30s, to believe in themselves.

One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is helping smaller law firms access high-level operational leadership when they don’t have the resources to support full-time executive roles. At the same time, this challenge creates a meaningful opportunity to introduce more flexible solutions, like fractional COO services, that allow firms to scale and operate more effectively.

Family is definitely most important to me. I have 2 grandchildren, they are 3 and 1, and all of our children still live in the same county or neighboring county, so we're very close-knit. They are our life, for sure. I'm also focused on health and wellness - I'm learning how to be a runner and jogger. I just completed a half marathon at Disney World on March 1st, and I completed a 10-mile race at Disney yesterday. My children will tell you it's a midlife crisis that I've picked up in the past year, but it could be much worse. I'm trying to learn how to be selfish with my own time and do things for myself. Beyond family and health, I'm passionate about being able to tell my story and influence other women. For me, it's about telling my story to make sure that women, young women, regardless of their age, know that it's never too late, it's never too early. I want to give a voice to young leaders and help them believe in themselves.