Her Story
About Bonnie
Bonnie Ellis serves as an Accounts Payable Specialist, where she pays her company's bills on time, manages monthly invoices and subcontractor payments, handles business licensing, and oversees asset management tasks. With five years in official accounting, she draws on her prior experience in the United States Coast Guard involving logistics and inventory. She earned associate's degrees in accounting, business administration, and motor vehicle technology collision repair, and plans to pursue bachelor's degrees in business administration and accounting. Ellis values integrity highly in both her professional and personal life, and she advises others to persist through less desirable roles to reach desired positions. She attributes her success to remaining humble and reflecting on her journey, including a period of homelessness after leaving the Coast Guard, which helps her stay grounded.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Bonnie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to staying humble and remembering my roots and the journey it took me to get here. After getting out of the Coast Guard, I was homeless for two and a half years and had to put myself back together to find the career I have now. Remembering the journey and not forgetting the mistakes I may have made helps me stay grounded in the success I have now.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is don't let your personal life get away from you. Your job isn't the most important thing in your life, and keeping yourself strong in your personal life helps make you a better person in your job. This is especially important in the corporate environment.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You gotta get through the role that you might not like sometimes to get to the role that you're looking for. When you're first coming into an industry, you're not going to get the exact role that you want, but you can work towards it and keep that goal in mind so that you can make it through the small stuff to get to the bigger role that you're trying to achieve.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
My biggest challenge is staying on top of paperwork and not letting the smaller things get away from me, as they can become bigger issues if put aside. I also had to prove myself when starting out and learn to communicate with different personalities.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is the most important value to me both personally and work-wise. You have to have integrity and be honest in how you speak and what you do, and be kind to others.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.