BY RYAN SPELTS • PHOTOS BY MELISSA SPELTS
It takes a special type of person to succeed in business. It takes hard work and grit because, sometimes, business is hard. Sometimes, you loose a key client or customer. Sometimes, people get mad at you for something that seems unfair. At other times, it seems that everything is just on fire and all you have is a squirt gun to try and douse the flames. Historically, women have had a harder time in business and had to fight for their rightful place. Today, in my personal observation, some of our most powerful business people are women business leaders. I am impressed every year when interviewing some of these amazing women at their strength and their passion for doing great things. These women don’t make excuses, and they get things done. I, for one, am inspired. This month, we have highlighted women from our community. Some are business owners, others are business leaders. They all play an important role in our local business community. We are honored to tell their stories and hope you will enjoy reading them.
Danielle Arana
Danielle Arana has always been involved in the people business. She is actually an introvert, but she has still been drawn to getting out of her comfort zone and working with people. She started noticing how important customer service was and how people were sometimes treated poorly. She has always wanted to be someone who can make people feel good about her and who they are, so they feel respected. Danielle loves working at Connection Publishing because, over the years, she has had many sales jobs that felt rushed and hurried. Here, she is asked to “connect” with her clients and get to know them better. It is right in line with her driving force to be a trusted friend and advisor.
Amberlee Bauman
Amberlee Bauman graduated from SUU and worked in several departments planning events; notably, she worked for the Shakespearean Festival. She then fell in love and moved to Northern Utah with her husband. She worked for the University of Utah and several Non Profits before taking a break to spend time with her family. She took a position at the Davis Chamber of Commerce and is the director of marketing and events. She has always wanted to be in event planning and, early in her career, was able to work with her mentor, Mindy Benson, who gave her a great step-up in the industry. When she plans and then executes her events, it gives her a thrill and an adrenaline rush. Her goal is to create events that are life-changing. She wants attendees who attend her events to meet someone or hear something that will make an impact in their life and change it for the good. Amberlee is married with two children.