I lost my executive job while pregnant. I built a multimillion-dollar business instead.

Aug 07, 2026 02:14 AM - 1 hour ago 3

Kelly Ehlers headshot

Kelly Ehlers is the CEO of The Evoke Agency. Courtesy of Kirsten Miccoli

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Kelly Ehlers, the laminitis and CEO of The Evoke Agency. It has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

I'm the laminitis of a social media agency that brings successful millions of dollars a year. I person a squad of 45, and we activity pinch unthinkable brands, from G.E. appliances to Henkel to KraftHeinz. We've had a batch of these brands arsenic clients for 15 aliases 16 years.

Early successful my career, I was moving an executive corporate job successful a male-dominated industry. I had to hide that I was pregnant for 5 months, and erstwhile I told them, they fired me.

That was successful 2010 during the recession, and it was difficult to get employment. I packed up my boxes, and the different executives, each male, were hiding successful a convention room. I walked successful and said, "I dream this doesn't hap to your granddaughter aliases daughter." And retired I went.

This was astir the clip Facebook launched to the public, and Twitter was new. I was willing successful societal media and well-networked. I thought I could fig it retired arsenic a consultant, truthful I learned the platforms and started a consulting firm. At the time, location was intelligibly nary fund for it, but I had an successful astatine Procter & Gamble. I did a programme for them, and it gave maine credibility.

I've done things otherwise complete the past 16 years

It's been a fast-paced maturation trajectory for us. We've been connected the Inc. 500 5 times for maturation and named a finalist for "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" by Entrepreneur.

There's the large agency exemplary pinch galore layers that tin beryllium disconnected from the client, but that's not us. Our squad is made up of strategists, marketers, and content creators, from our interns to our Director of Creative. I wanted america to go existent partners pinch our brands. Our business is almost 100% global, which intends erstwhile personification leaves because they sewage promoted, they return america pinch them.

We are besides bully astatine embracing change. Things alteration by the hour, and we person unthinkable agility. We tin respond to a inclination a fewer hours aft it happens and put our clients successful the speech successful the moment.

Kindness and compassion are astatine the bosom of what we do

A partner summed it up, saying we are the smart and bully agency — and we get results. I deliberation "nice" goes backmost to my Midwestern roots. I've ever had a saying that "The bully woman wins." I've moreover written a book called "Nice Girls Win: How Kind Women Can Create the Life They Deserve," which comes retired astatine the extremity of August.

However, I deliberation "nice" is simply a spot of a lie. Nice doesn't mean a pat connected the caput and a push to the broadside without a spot astatine the table. For me, it's kindness that disarms a room. Mix that pinch superb strategy and data, and it tin beryllium a lethal limb successful business.

But it doesn't mean letting personification locomotion each complete you

I deliberation niceness and kindness mean boundaries, too. Just because I americium benignant doesn't mean I don't expect thing successful return. We still person to worth our time and boundaries, and arsenic women, we often struggle to opportunity nary without a disclaimer. "No, I can't because…" Just opportunity "no" and fto location beryllium immoderate silence.

When you region and springiness the soft nary — and I don't mean soft successful a passive-aggressive way, but rather, no, it doesn't activity for maine — it works. There doesn't request to beryllium an apology.

I besides deliberation imposter syndrome needs to disappear

I walk conscionable arsenic overmuch clip pinch my interns arsenic I do pinch my elder vice presidents. The only quality is time. They're 20, and I've sewage galore much years nether my belt. That doesn't mean they won't beryllium maine aliases transcend maine successful arsenic galore years arsenic it takes. People hide that everyone has capacity and potential, truthful why wouldn't I dainty a brilliant, smart, motivated 20-year-old female good truthful that she tin beryllium the champion she tin be?

When I was 22, I stood successful statement astatine a pop-up astatine Sephora successful Scottsdale. I had my résumé successful manus and waited an hr and a half to meet the laminitis of the beauty marque philosophy. I told her, "I want to activity for you." The adjacent day, she connected maine pinch the team. It didn't autumn into place, but having that gusto is precisely what group need. I deliberation it's uncommon today.

Why not sprout your shot? Why not email personification aliases DM them, aliases nonstop an audio message? People are human. We each person to put our pants connected the aforesaid way, moreover though I mightiness person much years of acquisition doing it.