Sara Sharpe, CPA

I attribute my success to education, perseverance, and the support of mentors who believed in me. I'm originally from Mexico, and my mother migrated here when I was young. She was a single mom with three young girls, and she raised us completely on her own. When I went through high school and had to make the decision whether I was going to go to college or not, my mom didn't have money to do it, and I wasn't a stellar student to have scholarships or anything like that, so I had to really decide to go to work to pay for college. My oldest sister had graduated from high school four years before me and was already going to college, paying for it herself as she was working, and I got to see how she was getting better jobs and was getting better opportunities. So I decided that I was going to go to college and try to make a career and progress. I tell you the thing that really made me believe that I could do it - when I was in high school, I had a group of friends and we used to go out to this place downtown Dallas, and there was a building next door. Because we were poor, we had to get there really early if we wanted to park close to that building. I used to get there early and just sit there and wait, and the security guards were always in there. I always wondered, will I ever work in a place like this? If I ever work in a place like this, I know I've made it. That was probably my junior, senior year in high school. I graduated, started working, started going to community college. I decided to make it even more difficult, and I got married and had two children, so I was working, I was going to school, I was a mom, all of the things. I switched a couple of jobs, and probably five years later, I was interviewing for an accounting position with Macro Residential, and I got the address and tried to figure out where it is. The enterprise was that exact same building. I walked in, and I mean, I get chills every time I tell this story. I just stood there for a good five minutes. I think I was late because I was just so dumbfounded by the fact that I found myself back here. Sure enough, I went through the interview and I got the job. So I just think every young girl out there needs to know that if you work hard and you do the right thing and prioritize education, because you never know what's going to happen, that gives you a leg up. I think it will continue to give you a leg up. You can achieve anything that you set your mind to.

One of the most impactful pieces of career advice I ever received came from my very first accounting job. I had a controller, her name is Ronna Ritter. There was some office gossip and drama happening across different departments and different people. Somehow, I wasn't necessarily part of the drama, but I was paying too much attention to it and it was becoming a distraction. I remember Ronna coming into my desk and saying, 'You have potential, you're smart, get yourself out of this, or they will take you down.' It was such a surprise to me because I just didn't even think that somebody was watching. It shocked me, and I was like, yes ma'am, absolutely. At a young age, that self-awareness is not there, and so having somebody step in and really step out, because I think it takes a lot for somebody to just be very blunt and direct - some people might take offense to it, but for me, it was a wake-up moment. If you really want to be seen as someone that can create value and is invested and wants the best for the company and for whoever you're servicing, then you really have to step up and get out of silly situations like that which don't help anyone. I always think about her, and she was this tiny little lady that was tough and direct. She could take anyone on, and I loved that about her. She was always somebody that I looked up to and that I try to model myself after. That was very early on, back in the 90s, where seeing a woman in charge was still very rare. She was one of 15 people in a room full of executives which was very male-dominated, and she was very respected at the time. I'm super grateful to her for taking the moment and giving me the speech.

I think I've always advocated for education. I think that's absolutely important. I'm originally from Mexico, and my mother migrated here when I was young. She was a single mom with three young girls, and she raised them completely on her own. When I went through high school and had to make the decision whether I was going to go to college or not, my mom didn't have money to do it, and I wasn't a stellar student to have scholarships or anything like that, so I had to really decide to go to work to pay for college or go to work to have money in my pocket. My oldest sister had graduated from high school four years before me and was already going to college, paying for it herself as she was working, and I got to see how she was getting better jobs and was getting better opportunities. So I decided that I was going to go to college and try to make a career and progress. Every young girl out there needs to know that if you work hard and you do the right thing and prioritize education, because you never know what's going to happen, that gives you a leg up, and I think it will continue to give you a leg up. You can achieve anything that you set your mind to. Focus on the things that matter, and don't get distracted by office politics or drama. Be true to yourself and what you can do, and if it impacts somebody else, keep the communication going.

I actually think that we've improved quite a bit over the years in terms of women's representation in tech. I feel like we need more tech founders in that space. I think it's really dominated by men, and women have just as much creativity and ability and power to start up something new and take it very far. There are very good women founders in the space, but I think that's predominantly dominated by men. So we'd love to see more of that. It's easier said than done, but I think once the organization gets into a little bit more mature stage, where you have to have an executive team or some kind of leadership team, I think we're seeing a lot more balance between men and women being represented. My organization today has always been - I've been with Entrada, my company, for 13 years, and at the very beginning, we were very much a startup company, and I could say it was probably a little bit leaning more towards male-dominated, but over the years, that has been very well balanced, and today we have as many women as men represented at really every level. For sure, over my vast many years now, I've seen more women representation in the tech community.

Quality over quantity is very important to me, just in general, whether it's family or work. I think we have crazy schedules all the time, and there's so many things that need our attention, so being true to everything that you do, whether it's family or work, is important. It also keeps you sane. Context switching and switching from one thing to another is not a good practice. I try to be truthful to myself as to what I can do and what I can't, and if it impacts somebody else, obviously keep the communication going. Integrity, trust, honesty - I think all those are all very good principles to live by. Kindness is also very important. Sometimes there's stressful situations and maybe people that you rely on forget things and there's frustrations, but you never know what somebody else is going through. Don't make assumptions, and just be kind. The sky is never in a state where it's actually falling, so tomorrow there's always another chance to try again. There's no need to aggravate other people even more if they're already going through something. Family is just so important to me. I make sure we really enjoy our time together. We have poker night every Thursday night with my sisters and a couple of friends, and we have family dinners once a month. My sisters live here, so their kids, husbands, we all kind of get together. My mom lives here too, and we do that, and that just restores me. Little pieces of family time are so important.