Born Climbs Career Ladder by Outworking the Competition

When EquipmentShare’s Midwest regional sales manager, Josh Helmstetler, made his first trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he asked Michaella Born to show him around. He quickly realized why Born thrived as a territory account manager.

“It didn’t matter where we went, she knew every project, knew every contractor on those projects, knew the subcontractors and could tell me exactly where she stood with the subs,” Helmstetler said. “She had her ducks in a row for every single project I asked her about. That’s a quality we look for not just in sales reps but in leaders.”

So when Helmstetler went looking for a district sales manager to cover Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Illinois, he knew exactly who he wanted.

“The greatest thing about Michaella is her work ethic,” he said. “That’s something that often gets downplayed. When you talk about sales, everybody wants to talk about the ability to close, how to navigate conversations and read body language. All of those are good qualities, but unless you’re willing to get out in front of people, those qualities don’t mean anything.”

Born could have never predicted a career in construction equipment rental. She went to cosmetology school and spent two years as a hairdresser.

“I enjoyed talking to people, but I realized standing behind a chair all day was not my thing,” she said.

Born took a data-entry job at an industrial tool and equipment company and quickly worked her way up to an outside sales job. She went on to work in heavy equipment sales for two companies in the Milwaukee area. Born was single at the time, and she spent almost every waking hour learning everything she could about construction equipment and building relationships with contractors.

“I worked very hard to get to where I am,” said Born, who is now married with a 5-year-old “mini-me” daughter who shares her love of shopping. “Early mornings, late nights, being out there, being present, being a face to the community — that’s where a lot of my success came from.”

Born joined EquipmentShare in 2020 and kept expanding her book of business. Among her biggest wins was helping EquipmentShare land a three-year contract as the equipment provider for Milwaukee’s Summerfest, a massive music festival that takes place over three weekends on the shore of Lake Michigan.

"I would say every day was a success,” Born said. “I literally work with the best people in the industry. I wake up every day wanting to go to work because I know going to work is my happy place."

Things were going so well for her as a TAM, Born hesitated when Helmstetler approached her in January 2024 about the promotion to district sales manager. Born thrives on organization and order — one of her favorite hobbies is housecleaning — and she needed to think through all the details about the new position before deciding. Nine months after Helmstetler first offered her the job, she accepted.

“Josh and I sat down, and we were there for five hours, going through everything and seeing how much he believed in me,” Born said. “It made me realize maybe there is something else out there for me. If I have such a good management team backing me, they will be there by my side helping me.”

In her new role, she spends a lot of time riding with TAMs and passing along what helped her succeed.  

“The thing I’ve asked Michaella to do is have little Michaellas running around all over the country,” Helmstetler said. “I want her to repeat what she did and how she went about it, being somebody that’s in the field with the reps so they realize they’re going to have to hustle to outperform her.”