Megan A. Ehrhardt

I attribute my success to perseverance and authenticity. I’ve always believed that who you are and how you treat people matter just as much as what you accomplish. I make a conscious effort to show up as myself, build genuine relationships, and lead with honesty and understanding. People connect with authenticity, and I’ve found that those connections are often what create the strongest teams, partnerships, and opportunities.

Perseverance has been equally important. Careers, businesses, and life rarely follow a perfect plan. There will always be challenges, unexpected changes, and moments when things don’t work out the way you envisioned. I’ve learned to adapt, keep moving forward, and find another way when the original plan doesn’t work.

For me, success isn’t about never encountering setbacks—it’s about remaining true to who you are while having the determination to keep going.

The best career advice I’ve ever received came from my dad: life—and your career—is not a race.

Some people find their path early and move quickly, while others take a little longer to figure out where they belong. Neither journey is more successful or more valuable than the other. We all have different experiences, priorities, opportunities, and timelines, so there is little value in measuring your progress against someone else’s.

My dad taught me that there is no single finish line and no trophy waiting for the person who gets there first. Your career is your own, and it’s okay for that path to change, evolve, or take unexpected turns along the way.

That advice has stayed with me throughout my career and reminds me to focus less on where I think I should be and more on continuing to grow, pursue opportunities that are meaningful to me, and build a career—and a life—that I’m proud of.

It’s not about getting there first. It’s about creating a journey that is yours.

Make sure your voice is heard.

Speak up, contribute your ideas, ask questions, and advocate for yourself—even when you’re in a room where someone may not want to hear what you have to say. You never know who else is listening, and your voice is one of the most powerful tools you have.

Hospitality, restaurants, sports, and events can still be male-dominated spaces, and it can be tempting to make yourself smaller or wait until you feel like you’ve earned the right to speak. Don’t. You earned your place in the room by being there.

Bring your perspective to the table. Trust what you know, be willing to learn what you don’t, and don’t confuse being confident with having to know everything.

Most importantly, support other women along the way. Having a voice is powerful. Using it to make room for someone else is even more powerful.

One of the greatest opportunities in hospitality and events is how many different paths the industry can offer. The skills you develop—relationship building, communication, operations, problem-solving, leadership, and adaptability—can translate across restaurants, hotels, corporate events, sports, entertainment, experiential events, and countless other areas. There is tremendous opportunity to build a network, continue growing, and even completely pivot your career without starting over.

At the same time, certain areas of the industry, particularly sports hospitality, can still be heavily male-dominated. As a woman working in those environments, I’ve learned the importance of being confident in my expertise and communicating with conviction. Sometimes that means being willing to have a strong, commanding voice in a room where you may be one of very few women.

I also see that challenge as an opportunity. The more women who enter these spaces, speak up, take on leadership roles, and support one another, the more we help shape what the next generation of the industry looks like.

Loyalty, determination, and authenticity are three of the values that guide me most, both professionally and personally.

Loyalty, to me, is about commitment. I invest in the people I work with, the relationships I build, and the work I take on. Many of my professional relationships have lasted well beyond the roles where they began, and I believe that says more about loyalty than simply how long you stay somewhere.

Determination has carried me through every stage of my career. I believe that if you truly want something, you have to be willing to work for it, adapt when things don’t go according to plan, and keep moving forward when the easier choice would be to stop.

And authenticity is something I consider part of my personal brand. I want people to know the same person professionally that they would know personally. I would rather build a relationship with someone based on who they genuinely are than who they think they are supposed to be.

Ultimately, I want to be someone people can trust, rely on, and know is going to show up as herself—whether things are going perfectly or not.