Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Vermeer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I was given the name of my business through a friend who was naming a conference I was hosting. The simplicity of this does not compare to the IMPACT he had on me and has on the business. I will never forget speaking with her over lunch, I can remember the exact space and the burger I ate!

After I described to her the mission behind the conference that I was planning, She stared at me right in my eyes and said it’s Fueled By Faith. From there my business took on that name, It was more than the conference It was the entirety of our organization because the mission is built into the name! The brand evolved over time and it simply grew organically how it was always meant to be!

Emily, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In 2020, I was asked a pivotal question, What are you tolerating? This question along with discernment from the Lord, discussions with my husband, and effort led to our beautiful adventure of entrepreneurship while moving, and raising kids! We don’t do things the easy way around here!

When I was blazing the trail for my virtual assisting agency at that time, I was looking for networking groups. I guess my expectations were too high, or there just weren’t deep-rooted groups in my area. I wanted more than a stack full of business cards and potential referrals. I was desiring friends in business that I could pray for and over, but that could educate and pour into me as well.

With this not existing, I went to a friend for advice on where I could find a group like this. Powerful driven women who had a heart for God and Business simultaneously. She so beautifully told me that didn’t exist and God would create it through me. So 2022, we launched our first conference of 25 women, right after a hurricane the night before and God moved. We then started a podcast and a membership and quadrupled our conference attendees to over 100+ last fall.

We love to provide driven Christian Leaders and outlets that pour into them. Because we get it, being a leader means you POUR out more than YOU GET POURED INTO. That stops now. So through our podcast, our memberships that host virtual and in-person meet-ups, and our annual conference we ensure you are getting FUELED!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was first given the thought of bringing women together for an event, I was so pumped. This is my wheelhouse, I love event planning. Have you ever gotten a task and know you can NAIL it!? This is an entirely different ball game when you are the SOUL Person! You are the leader and the help. You are the speaker and the host. You create the budget and must stay within the budget.

It’s hard to give your all to ALL aspects of an event when you are the one person doing it ALL. I remember being on my office floor DONE! So ticked that I couldn’t fill the seats. I KNEW I was going to have 100 women in those seats. I knew it was going to be transformational! I have seen women fill rooms with so much ease. They also had years of building up influence, experience, teams of people assisting etc…!

It was then that It hit me the name of my business was more than just a name, more than a cute saying, or sticker you can slap on a water bottle. It was and is a way of life. To be surrendered to the assignment on hand and let it play out how it is meant to be! It was a learning lesson of control, becoming aware that I was trying to do it all myself and I didn’t have to!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting is probably one of my favorite topics to share because I used to have such a different outlook on this before I was an entrepreneur. I remember when I worked a “corporate” job, in our hiring process, the team would look at the applicant’s work history. Typically if there was a lot of movement or many jobs in a small span of years this was a red flag to the employer.

I have a completely new lens having pivoted MULTIPLE times since 2020! In January of 202o, I committed to being out of my corporate job by the end of the year. I was bound and determined this would come through my Network Marketing Company and I went ALL in. In many different events, I somehow stumbled across virtual assisting and was able to land 2 clients working 15 hours a week and earning the same amount I was being paid in my Full-time job. In January of 2021, I gave my 2 weeks and built a successful Virtual Assisting Agency, then was pulled into networking and events for Christian Leaders.

So If anyone were to read my resume today, It would be a bag of mixed skill sets displayed in many different descriptions and titles that just sum up to move on to what feels right for you! Because if it feels right you will show up for it! You will do what is required of you because you long for it! Embrace the pivots, be encouraged by them!

Contact Info:

• Website: Fueledbyfaith.org
• Instagram: Emily_vermeer

Image Credits
Kennedy Parker