Stephie Althouse

The best career advice I ever received came from my mentor Tony, who used a powerful analogy to help me make a critical decision. He picked up a bottle of Heineken and said I had to decide whether I wanted to be like Heineken, where people know the label and think they know what that is, or like a microbrew where they don't know the name and have to take a sip to find out whether they like it. That advice helped me understand that I could either associate myself with well-known people of authority in hopes that it would rub off on me, or I could follow my heart, do my own thing, and develop credibility on my own merits. I decided to be the microbrew, and it's been a wonderful career path. Not very linear, but I wouldn't do it any other way.

Find a place where you can grow. Never work for money alone. I mean, work for money, sure, get paid, but don't just work for money, work for growing. Find people who are interested in your growth, professionally and personally. Having found faith has been absolutely life-changing for me, and to know that you're loved before you did anything, and even after you did some things wrong, that changes really everything because it's a whole that people tried to fill with all kinds of things. If a young person can learn that early, then how good that is for them and everyone around them. Learn about and find mentors who are wise and willing to help you understand how to steward everything that you've been given, whether that's your talents, your time, your money, everything. Find people who teach you how to steward that. That can be in the context of a church or it could be a business mentor, but find someone like that.

When I'm asked about my values, I have to start with my faith. On July 10, 2022, Jesus cut me to the heart, and that changed my life completely. I believe in God, I believe in loving other people, and I believe in following the Holy Spirit and taking trust in God and taking steps in accordance with Him. We are called to glorify God and love one another. As part of that call, we get to dream with Him, wisely steward all that He has given us, and create a future for others. The future that we live today was created by other people for us. If I put it in business language, I value trust, valuing people, integrity, and authenticity. If I don't have to put it in business language, I would say loving one another, stewardship, and servant leadership. These values guide everything I do in my work and personal life.