Our Founder and CEO, Amanda Dalnodar, has been nominated for the 2021 Enterprising Women of the Year Award. Since launching Brew City Marketing in 2009, Amanda has fearlessly led the business from startup to success. Today, Brew City Marketing is a thriving woman-owned enterprise with a strong presence in the greater Milwaukee area.

As part of the nomination process, Amanda was interviewed with a series of questions. Her answers perfectly exemplify why she is deserving of this once-in-a-lifetime award:

Describe the business or industry you are in: 

I am in the digital marketing industry, specializing in local search marketing for small businesses. We function as an extension of our client’s business, serving as their remote digital marketing department.

What is the greatest challenge you have faced since starting this company? 

I’ve found it challenging to prioritize my career growth while trying to keep up with the growth of the company. Fostering a team of highly skilled professionals requires me to continually work at sharpening my own skills.

How did you meet that challenge?  

I began meeting with mentors, enrolled in several courses, hired a marketing consultant, and worked with a business coach. All these services helped me to fine-tune my leadership skills. I’m a big believer in teamwork, and have found that surrounding myself with talented, innovative people has been paramount to our success.

Where do you want your company to be in five years? 

Our current clientele is mostly local small businesses, but I would like to see us expand on a national level. For 2021, we’ve created a marketing plan focused on servicing clients across the country. The pandemic has helped small businesses like ours become more comfortable communicating virtually. Nowadays, everyone is accustomed to doing business remotely. Even my 86 year old grandma uses FaceTime!

How do you give back to the community? 

As a business, it’s rewarding to give back to our community. Each quarter, we select a local organization to support. Over the years, we’ve held coat drives for the homeless, collected and donated books to schools, picked up trash for Earth Day, and participated in Giving Tuesday. We’ve also helped organizations promote their cause through advertisements on our website and social media pages.

Are you involved in any formal or informal programs to mentor girls or young women entrepreneurs? 

I choose to hire and mentor students from local universities. At one time, I was managing as many as eight students. Along with $15 per hour pay, I give them real responsibilities and marketing tasks while offering leadership guidance and career advice. 

What is the single best piece of advice you want to share with women who are starting new businesses? 

My favorite bit of advice is to “Follow your passion.” I trusted my intuition and built a career in an industry I felt passionate about. Now I find that I don’t even do this for myself anymore, I do it for the people I work with. That mindset gives me all the energy and perseverance I need.

What do you know that you wish you had known when you started your business?  

Dream big. If you work hard – harder than anyone you know – you will succeed.

Who was your role model or mentor?  

My mom, Carol. She was the first in her family to graduate college and worked as an RN for 40 years. Additionally, she has an impressive and unending well of emotional strength and physical endurance. She taught me to be kind, optimistic, independent, and to never give up.

Have you used other people’s money to grow your business? (bank loan, friends, family, equity, etc)

It wasn’t until the pandemic began in 2020 that our business had to borrow money for the first time. We secured a PPP loan to maintain normalcy and continue offering our employees benefits and growth opportunities while our company revenue stagnated for months.

How has the use of technology helped you grow your business?

Technology is our business! As society becomes more dependent on technology, we know we can count on business needs evolving. We will continue to help small businesses leverage our tech services for growth.

Congratulations on your nomination, Amanda! We appreciate your strong leadership and unrelenting dedication to Brew City Marketing. 

 

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