Wyoming entrepreneurs inspired by reality show’s small business guru Amanda Brinkman

When reality TV star Amanda Brinkman was young, she had her eyes set on the prize of doing “good” with her life.

“So when I think of good things, I think of first responders and the military,” Brinkman said. “I think of our teachers. There are some jobs that are suitable, like running a nonprofit organization.”

At the same time, Brinkman felt a pull toward fields that were not considered very good. She loved marketing, branding, advertising, and even film and design.

Brinkman found herself grappling with this challenge one day in a high school classroom during a conversation about what she wanted to be when she grew up and what she wanted to do with her life.

Her teacher interrupted the exchange to discuss an idea that would change Ms. Brinkman’s life.

“But it’s Amanda,” said the teacher. “If people who want to do good in the world don’t get involved in business and marketing, how will the business world get better?”

That “aha” moment set Brinkman on a path that would one day star in a six-season series called “Small Business Revolution” on Hulu. This was a campaign built entirely around her trademark motto: “Do well by doing well.” .

do good by doing good

Through that campaign, Brinkman was able to support Main Street in six communities across America, injecting $500,000 into each community and supporting several small businesses that were on the brink of collapse. is completed.

The changes Brinkman brought about not only had a lasting impact on all six of her Small Business Revolution communities, but also during the COVID-19 pandemic, when small businesses needed ideas. and provided take-home ideas to countless other small business owners in America. number one.

Brinkman traveled to Wyoming on Thursday to share ideas with students and business leaders at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne.

She performed to a small but enthusiastic audience of about 50 people, many of whom told Cowboy State Daily they came not because they had heard of Brinkman before, but because of her They said they came because they saw the motto and knew it was exactly who they were. I aim to enrich my business and personal life.

And it’s all part of Brinkman’s next phase of doing well by doing good.

turn negative into positive

For Cheyenne resident Bailey Nowak, Brinkman’s appearance in Wyoming couldn’t have come at a better time.

Nowak had just received a life-changing medical diagnosis the week before and was looking for answers to life’s big questions.

“It was a heart problem,” Nowak said. “I actually thought I had a severe heart attack in the new year. It turned out to be a normal, irregular heart rhythm, and in fact, I’m going to live with it for the rest of my life,” she said. You just have to deal with it.”

This was tough news for Bailey, who relies on going to the gym every day for not only her physical health but also her mental health.

“I still go to the gym because it’s my positive space and my escape from reality,” she said. “That doesn’t mean there will be no more HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts. There will be more endurance.”

When she happened to see a flyer about Brinkman’s appearance, she knew she had to go there.

“I’m just trying to find positivity and a sense of purpose in everything (right now),” she told Cowboy State Daily, holding an electronic notepad filled with notes. “And then I saw that it was part of her keynote and I thought it was really perfect.”

No need to capitalize purpose

One important message that Nowak took to heart is that purpose doesn’t necessarily have to mean a capital “P.”

This was the conclusion Brinkman reached after reading hundreds of self-help books, podcasts, and interviews with people of all ages, cultures, and religions.

“I went to all the yoga retreats in the middle of the desert,” Brinkman said. “I did everything you would do in pursuit of a purpose.”

After all the wrestling, Brinkman decided he had lifted the bar too high.

“We’re going to put this capital ‘P’ in the distance and reach it one day,” she said, gesturing offstage. “And it became almost paralyzing. Because we think, ‘I don’t know, is this sacrifice something I’m supposed to do with my life?’ Is this the version of me I want? We’ve made it so difficult that we feel like we can’t move forward unless we know what our purpose is. ”

Brinkman had a breakthrough when he was thinking of going out on his own after the “Small Business Revolution” series ended.

It was then that she realized that her identity was intertwined with her work there. But she also realized that that wasn’t her purpose. Work should not be our purpose. In fact, nothing outside ourselves can be our true purpose. Because what is outside can be taken away.

“How we are is our purpose,” she said. “How do we move through the world?”

It’s not something we have to go far to find either.

“You already have it inside you,” she said. “Your purpose is who you are. As you were designed. You are different from me, but that’s all by design.”

That’s why, Brinkman added, when people quit their jobs to find purpose, they very often become dissatisfied with their choice within a few years.

“You have to figure out right within yourself how to think about it,” she said. “And we can take it to another location if we need to.”

Baby steps can be big

Brenda Burkle, executive director of Cheyenne-based My Front Door, struggles with some form of negative emotion every day.

Her organization aims not only to help people become first-time homeowners, but to break the cycle of poverty itself. Given the current high inflation and interest rates, there are many reasons why the people she wants to reach would feel negative.

“I think young families today are having a really hard time taking action because they feel like the world is unstable,” Burkle said. “Insecurity has become the new normal.”

With that in mind, her challenge is how to convey a positive message to people who are feeling overwhelmed.

Burkle said he found great ideas in Brinkman’s discussion of how FAQs can be used to improve search engine effectiveness, and how to modify websites to take advantage of them even more. I mentioned that I already have an idea for.

She also liked Brinkman’s message about how small decisions along the way can make a big difference.

Brinkman explained the point with simple mathematics. She recited the equation of her 1 to her 365th power, which always ends up being 1.

The idea is that if nothing changes, nothing will change by the end of the year, even if 365 days pass.

Brinkman then changed the number 1 to 1.01. Suddenly, instead of the result not changing, the answer to the equation becomes 37.78, and part changes.

“This is how we get to the grand world,” Brinkman said. “When we think about the life we ​​want, we often think that small changes are no big deal. We think that in order to achieve those things, something big needs to happen. thinking about.

“But it’s the small steps that are so important. Making one change every day can bring you closer to the life you really want to live.”

Small businesses need us now more than ever

Brinkman also took time to talk about how small businesses across Wyoming need support from their communities.

Small businesses are currently under attack like never before. Inflation is devastating, but on top of that, there are more competing online shopping venues than ever before.

A third of small businesses across America say 2024 will be a critical year after a series of severe economic roller coasters for small towns.

It was during Deluxe’s ​​100th anniversary campaign that Brinkman really became aware of the struggles of America’s small businesses.

Deluxe’s ​​traditional business was check printing, but that was no longer central to the company’s business model.

Mr. Brinkman needed a way to highlight the company’s history without drawing too much attention to something that was no longer the company’s focus.

Adding to that challenge, her marketing budget was very small and she couldn’t get much attention if she took a traditional approach.

First, she visited Deluxe customers to understand what makes things work for them.

Their personal stories amazed her. She had no idea how difficult it is to run a small business these days and how comprehensive it is.

As she heard story after story about how business owners were struggling to make it on America’s high streets, she realized this was the limit. This was the right angle for her new business Deluxe’s ​​campaign, which highlights her model and her 100-year history.

“As soon as you hear the stories of small business owners, you want to support them,” Brinkman said. “Suddenly you realize there is a real person behind your family.”

The small business revolution begins

Brinkman set out to tell 100 stories of small businesses across the country, calling his campaign the “Small Business Revolution.”

It quickly became a social media favorite. Brinkman said people responded so well to the stories that it soon became clear they wanted more than 100 of his stories.

That demand ultimately led to the idea for the “Small Business Revolution” television series, which was released on Hulu with two reality TV stars, Ty Pennington from the popular TLC show “Trading Spaces” and investor Robert Herjavec from “Shark Tank.” It aired six successful seasons. .

Overall, Brinkman’s campaign delivered 14 times the ad value of her marketing budget with traditional advertising, generating 13 billion total impressions, 6,000 news articles, 15 million views, and more. Gained 500,000 followers.

“We’ve had incredible success in organically reaching people across the country,” Brinkman said. “And it was meaningful. The lives of these executives were changed by what could have been just a marketing advertising campaign for a big company. Because in order for us to actually make a difference, Because the intention was to use the funds and the platform to have a ripple effect, not just within these businesses, but within the community as well.”

Best of all for Brinkman, it came from her personal motto that everything works out by doing good.

René Jean It can be accessed at Renee@CowboyStateDaily.com.