When she was living in Virginia, Eileen Baugh helped an entrepreneur friend organize her paperwork and create systems to stay on top of it. Eileen did such a good job that her friend encouraged her to start a business out of it. She did, and Admin-On-Call was born in 1999. Working nights and weekends to help support her sister's Consignment Boutique, Eileen eventually stepped into her business full time when she moved to Syracuse and left her corporate job in 2012.

"The first year was challenging for me. I learned a lot through failures - it was all trial and error," Eileen said. "I almost went back to a full time job." Instead, she made a determined effort to leverage local resources, including SBDC, WISE, and WOC (Women's Opportunity Center). Of her first meeting with WISE's former director Joanne Lenweaver, Eileen recalls, "The welcome that she gave me- you would think she knew me for a long time. She introduced me to everyone, and everyone made me feel so welcome. That was it from there, full steam ahead." Eileen went on to do 1:1 business counseling, networking events, and training programs - even attending some courses twice to make sure she absorbed it all.

This dedication to self-development and relationship-building has served her well. Admin-On-Call is going into its 8th year, and Eileen received the WOC's Woman of the Year Award for 2020. She still learns from many local agencies, and also gives back by giving presentations and participating in WOC's mentoring program. "I like to be a resource for people who are coming up this path I've been on," Eileen reflected.