Meet Amanda Owens | Chief Everything Officer for Daymaker Gifts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Owens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I started Daymaker Gifts in April of 2021. I spent much of the COVID quarantine time doing my best to support local small businesses by shopping online and sending personalized gifts to my loved ones across the country. One of my dearest friends (and a recipient of said gifts) asked me, ‘When are you going to turn this into a business?’ UGH….YUCK! Starting my own business was THE LAST thing I ever wanted to do. So my friend asked me to ‘brain dump’ all my thoughts into a google doc and share it with her. All the good, bad, and ugly thoughts I had about this little idea. So I did and within a few days she had a solution for every problem I had listed, an encouraging word or link to an article or online class for every excuse I had listed for why I ‘can’t’, AND she showed me why this was an important mission to embark on. So after much talk with my family and my God, we took the stimulus checks the government kept sending us, and started Daymaker Gifts.

I have always loved giving and receiving gifts. It is truly my love language. As much as I love the gift giving holidays, my favorite gifts to give and to receive are the ‘Just Because’ gifts that someone gives you on a random Tuesday ‘just because’ they were thinking of you. I think the world needs more of this type of generosity and I want to make it easier for people to do this more often.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Daymaker Gifts is approaching our 3rd birthday in April this year and I am so incredibly proud of what we have built.

Our entire business model is to ‘Create a Culture of Generosity’ and we do that at every step in the process.

We fill our boxes with products from other small businesses.

We donate a portion of each box sold to our featured ‘Difference Maker of the Month’. Our Difference Makers are special non-profits that are doing good in the world around us. Some are local, some are international, some are faith-based, but all are near and dear to our hearts here at Daymaker Gifts.

We make purchasing a gift for a loved one, simple, easy, and special. We put together each gift personally. We ask you to tell us a little about the gift recipient on the checkout page, so we can add personal touches to the gifts. We also handwrite every single card that goes into our boxes. It’s your words in our writing. The giver feels good, is supporting small business, giving back through our Difference Makers, AND the gift itself is making someone’s day!

The way we see it…it’s a WIN WIN WIN WIN kind of transaction!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am in Northern Colorado (Greeley area) so I will give 2 different answers. One for my neck of the woods and one for the Denver metro area.

Northern Colorado/Greeley Area:

I would definitely take them to the Downtown Greeley area for great shopping and restaurants. The DDA has done an incredible job of making our Downtown area something to be proud of (and my fave little shop, Mom’s Popcorn, is a can’t miss here too). Austin’s Grill, The Cow, and Luna’s Tacos are some our faves.

We would then head over to the Kress Cinema and have a beverage or two in the Speak-Easy lounge before catching a movie at the old cinema downtown. But before we head home for the night, we would definitely go visit the Syntax Distillery in town. It has the most delicious distilled spirits/cocktails I have ever tried. They are female owned and operated and the owner is a former Chemical Engineer. They have done an excellent job renovating the old Feed & Grain and some of their spirits have been distilled in the original grain barrels. Mmmm good!

Denver/Metro Area:

The hubs and I LOVE to catch a show or musical at The Buell Theatre. It’s one of our favorite past times. We always catch a meal beforehand at Sams Diner #3 just down the block and then head to the theatre.

Catching a Rockies game or just visiting the LoDo / Larimer Square area of downtown is always a good time. We love the Milk Market and Union Square. Great food, coffee, cocktails, and shopping in both areas.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A motto I live by is, ‘LOVE SHOWS UP’ and man oh man has this been true on this journey of running my own business. There are so so many people who have cheered me on along the way. My husband and 2 daughters are the true backbone to this business. They are often ‘voluntold’ rather than ‘volunteers’, but they continue to show up every time. Whether it’s building the website, setting up for an in person event, or helping me to package and ship the gifts. They have spent countless hours brainstorming new ideas and marketing strategies with me.

My amazing friends and family, especially my Up With People family, have continuously supported, placed orders, shown up for events, helped build boxes, and cheered me on every step of the way!

But I think my biggest surprise along the way has been the incredible Women Small Biz owners I have met on this journey. We fill our boxes with products from other small businesses and I often try to find women or minority owned businesses to partner with. The women I have met through these partnerships are absolutely AMAZING! Many of them have become my biggest champions and collaborators. Even if their products don’t end up in my boxes, they shoutout, encourage, and inspire me every single day! Women often get a bad rap, but I have been blown away by the power that comes from the world of Women Entrepreneurs!

Rebecca Victor with Mom’s Popcorn, Katie Prall, home decor influencer/Realtor, Izabela & Dave Kvesic from We Are Bluewater Business Coaching, Taylor Slocum Photography, Savannah Owens, digital creator/web-designer, Randi Jo Owens, creative genius/worlds best sounding board, Joe Vasquez, brand builder/all around champion, and last, but not least my husband, Jared Owens who has continued to support and believe in this dream of mine even when I have lost all faith.

Website: www.daymakergifts.net

Instagram: @daymaker.gifts

Linkedin: Amanda Owens

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daymaker.gifts/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjkigMYCVtn25SDjRb9fgHw

Image Credits
Taylor Slocum Photography