Amanda Timm

I attribute my success to resilience, integrity, and a focus on people. I began managing Kona Grill in Idaho at 22, turning the store from $2 million to $8 million in revenue in one year and becoming the top store nationally. My husband suggested I try recruiting, and after experience in corporate staffing and overcoming early setbacks, I founded Abstract Recruiting with a philosophy of finding the right fit, not the first fit. I only partner with companies that prioritize culture and retention, which has resulted in a 98 percent success rate and placements designed to last five to ten years. I launched the business while pregnant, balanced motherhood and client work, expanded across nine states, and introduced networking events and a podcast for accounting and finance leaders. Clients now trust me to place talent outside of my expertise solely because I understand their culture and priorities as well. Outside of work, I give back as a middle school sprints coach, and I am a national champion in women’s flag football, demonstrating the same drive and teamwork I bring to my professional life.

Do what you love. I absolutely love what I do, and it doesn't feel like I'm working because it is my passion. I was talking to a client about this yesterday because they were like, oh, so track's your passion. I was like, yeah, track is a passion of mine, but my work is just as fulfilling for me.

Don't be the talker, be the doer. Everybody is so honed in on talking about their good ideas, and I feel like the reason that I've been successful, especially in the last two years so quickly, is because I put what I say into action. I'm not gonna sit around and dream, I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna get back up and try in a different way.

You're never too young. You're never too young to switch careers or start a business. Running a business is hard, so don't open a business if you're not loving what you're doing.

A big one for me is I'm choosing to abide by my morals and ethics, always. I say no to a lot of clients, more than I say yes to working with them, and it brings me peace. I know my candidates are going to the right places if I did say yes to working with them. Knowing that you don't have to take everything in business just because it's revenue, you don't need what's closest to the money. The right things will come.

Starting a business is never easy, but starting one while pregnant with my second child brought a level of uncertainty I couldn't have fully prepared for. Three weeks into opening Abstract Recruiting, I found out I was pregnant, which was awful timing for building a business from the ground up. For the first 7 months my son came with me to every client meeting, every candidate conversation, all my coffees because he wouldn't take a bottle. It wasn't traditional, but it was real. Then when he started taking a bottle, we flourished and tripled in revenue. Building credibility, especially with how young I am and in the industry I am in, has been a challenge because recruiters get a bad rep. But when people give me the chance to work with them and show them that I'm not here just to take their money, that I'm here to fill their entire company with the right person, that's where we're now getting at where most of my work comes in from clients referring me to other clients.

Learning to balance and be present as both a mom and a business owner is not an easy thing to do, and I didn't understand it until I was in it. The amount of respect I have for any type of working mom and what I've been able to achieve, and how I see my daughter play because she sees me working but also still being in the moment with her, is so important. She'll be like, hey Mom, hold on, I gotta take a work call really quick. Originally I was like, oh no, maybe I'm working too much. And then she hit me with, Mom, I'm gonna be like you. I'm gonna be strong and successful like you one day. That is the best, knowing that even though the days are very long, being able to find a balance and showing up for your children is very important. Being a mother and a business owner isn't about perfectly dividing time, it's about being fully present in both roles. My daughter, in particular, has helped me understand that. She sees what I'm building, and that perspective keeps me grounded in what matters most. Creating my networking event and giving accounting and finance professionals who are typically 60% introverted a space to pull them out of their comfort zones and meet other professionals like them in different industries, giving them people who are going through the same problems and can help them too, creating a safe space for that is something I'm very proud of. I'm choosing to abide by my morals and ethics, always. I say no to a lot of clients, more than I say yes to working with them, and it brings me peace because I know my candidates are going to the right places. I'm the head sprints coach of a middle school in my second year, and that's fun to be able to give back and continue to pour into kids' lives and plant seeds in the sport that made me who I am.