Christina Birmingham

Christina Birmingham

Job Description

As the co-owner of a technology company, I do everything that is “non-tech” related.
Operations Manager
– All finance / Payroll / Benefits / Expenses
– Bookkeeping, reconciliations, AR / AP, Government Remittances
– Work with accountant on business direction
– Sit on the the Strategic Planning team for the company.
Human Resources Manager
– All recruiting, hiring, training, labour relations, terminations, employee engagement and education
– Work with Strategic Planning team to ensure we have the right people in the right seats
– Resource planning
Other
– Office management
– Answer phones, dispatch employees
– Customer service / Sales / Marketing to new and existing clients

Relevant School Subjects

Business, Guidance and Career Education, and Social Sciences and Humanities

Areas Of Expertise

Business & Finance, Computers & Telecom, and Service Industry

Career Story

Not a linear path to business ownership at all. However, the common thread is customer service, building a network and volunteering.
Highschool – I worked 2 -3 jobs at all times; FT in the summer; all customer service in grocery, produce, butcher shop, fast food.
Post HS / College – I kept 2 jobs all the way through college since I chose to move out when I was 19 and needed to pay rent / groceries. OSAP would not fully fund costs
Post College:
– First Degree – Laboratory Technologist – Always knew I would study medicine and enter the medical profession at some level. I was able to get a 1-year Internship in my last year of college and was able to work FT in my field of study. However, there were too many Lab Techs in Ontario / Canada and they shut the program down. This left 100s of techs fighting for a position, many bumping part-time staff out of positions. I had to pivot.
-I started back into customer service in retail / coffee shops. Needed to pay off OSAP bills. Sold everything from ladies clothing, shoes, lingerie, giftware and accessories. Always working in a coffee shop as 2nd job for extra money. I ended up managing in retail clothing for almost 20 years. I brought a fine knitwear store from London to Burlington when we moved to the area in 1997.
– Worked in retail management until I realized I needed to back end my work with a degree to prove experience. I chose to take a Human Resource Management course at Sheridan College PT in the evenings.
– During HR Degree / Certification – Worked in various office spaces, eventually working and managing the office of the church I attended. Learned to do bookkeeping / finances through the volunteer elder board; taught by 2 CGAs and national CFO. I was able to complete my HR degree in 2 years working FT and studying in the evening. Moved to a NFP organization in Hamilton and was part of the Fundraising Team, bridging administrative support and finance handling. Learned how to fundraise huge amounts of $$ for the charity.

At the same time, my husband decided to leave his 25 year career in System Control Automation to start our own business. He started a “break / fix” IT company. Assisting SMB with IT support and repairs. I supported him with sales, customer service as well as finances (bookkeeping) PT and was fortunate to find work as an HR Consultant with a local firm in Hamilton.

Human Resources Consulting – As a consultant I worked with SMBs providing recruitment, training, labour relations and termination support (both on site and remotely).
As our business grew I just took on more of the HR and Operations for our business. I continued to work in HR Consulting until 8 years ago when we started hiring more employees and changing the business to a true Managed Service Provider both of IT and Cyber Security.

As we grew our business I joined the Flamborough, Hamilton, Burlington and Milton Chamber of Commerce, as well we are a part of a various Business Networking groups; HAND, ORBA, OWSCA, BEN, IA, BEO. Taking a networking / presales approach for lead generation.

Have been in this current position with my company for just over 13 years.