Ashley Tobiasz

I attribute my success to several key factors. First, my cousin gave me advice about 8 years ago that has always stuck with me - you have to grind, you have to put in that 8 to 5, you need to put in the work and the return will come. That's always been my mentality: work hard, play hard, but at the same time, being successful and not just having fast success, but long success. I'm not one to jump ship with jobs, so understanding the culture and understanding what you're getting yourself into has been important. My daughter is my biggest driver. As a single mom, I have to fully support her on my own, and she's 5 years old. Balancing being a mom while working really hard and trying to be a present mom at the same time has been challenging, but I've found that balance. When I looked at your site, I was taken aback because yes, I got my own house, I had to get everything on my own with her, I had to work really hard, and things have just been a breath of fresh air. It really shows that persistence and hard work pay off. Looking back at my first day at ADP, I wouldn't even know who I am today. My family's small business background also inspired my passion for helping business owners, which has fueled my success in both training and leadership roles.

The best career advice I ever received came from my cousin, who worked at ADP in the human capital management sales industry about 8 years ago when I was starting out. He told me that you have to grind, you have to put in that 8 to 5, you need to put in the work and the return will come. That's always been my mentality - work hard, play hard, but at the same time, being successful and not just having fast success, but long success. He also emphasized the importance of understanding the culture, understanding what you're getting yourself into, understanding the market and the customer in order to truly succeed. He was successful himself, and that's how he advanced, so seeing his example and hearing his advice about what successful looks like has been foundational for my professional growth and mindset.

I would tell young women entering this industry that you don't have to be good at sales - it's all about who you are and how you represent yourself and your reputation. If you show up with a smile on your face and are consistent, that is going to show and brand you more than anything. Always try to grow your knowledge and education. If you're not good at something, learn about it, educate yourself on it, and feel confident. Most importantly, have a support system. Don't have a person at work that's going to be negative and complain all the time. Have someone you can call to just vent, where they can kind of kick your butt and get you moving again, because sales is a roller coaster and it's an up and down all the time of year. You need to find your people to support you, and people that are not going to be negative around you. Your reputation is your strongest personal brand, so it's important to act with integrity and consistency.

I do see challenges for women in this field. At my previous company, I saw some politics play out when I was accelerating into more of that 1% leadership role. Funny enough, two of my leaders that are now working with me were from the previous company as well and had the same issue happen to them. I really had to fight my way through those challenges. I think in sales industries, women are either looked at as, like, oh, you can easily close a deal, but at the same time, you're not valuable enough to move up or get a higher pay. I have had to go through challenges of that, and I have many other women around me that have dealt with that. However, when we moved over to Paycor, it's been very women-empowering. There's nothing of that feeling here. It's been a whole new different culture and environment. I'm thankful I have a circle of women that are like-minded, and we're trying to find other avenues where we can be successful and be able to show ourselves. So while there are challenges with limited representation of women in leadership roles in the sales industry, there's a growing opportunity in organizations that actively empower women and foster inclusive leadership.

The values most important to me in both my work and personal life begin with family, especially my daughter. I want to show her what that looks like and be a role model. She's my driver, for sure. With my daughter, I want to show her that if I close a deal, I want to show her my awards, just like she gets awards. I help with the art docent at her school, so I love to do volunteer work and tell kids there's no right or wrong with art, everything's unique. That's what I try to make her be - her own self - but also keeping that attitude. I want to show her what it looks like to be a role model and see some things that she mirrors. There is a difference, because you have to keep your identity with work and then being a mother, and that's what I always want to show her - you can do both. I'm bigger on structure and routine to make everything possible. We're a big boating family and love to be outdoors - we go to the lake, up to the snow in Tahoe, we're either in the backyard doing yard work, at the gym working out, walking the dog, or trying to find some adventure. I also value giving back through volunteering with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, where I contribute about 48 hours annually. Integrity, authenticity, honesty, and courage guide my decisions and how I show up every day.