Amanda Brinkman’s Purpose Pursuit
Most CMOs don’t get recognized at the grocery store. But then, Amanda Brinkman isn’t your average marketing executive—and that’s not even counting her signature spiked blonde hair and leather pants. She’s the one who persuaded Deluxe Corp., an old-fashioned behemoth best known for printing checks, to bankroll the original streaming series Small Business Revolution. As the face of the show, Brinkman became, as she deadpans, “mildly recognizable.”
She also got asked, with increasing frequency, to speak about purpose-driven marketing on stages and panels across the country. Seeing social media posts of her on set with a revolving array of reality star co-hosts like Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s Ty Pennington, it was easy to forget that Brinkman still had a corporate day job. But she was all too aware as she juggled TV shoots and speaking gigs with corporate meetings and managing a team of employees.
“I started questioning: Is this my purpose?” Brinkman says.
And so, after six seasons, two Emmys, countless public appearances, and eight years with Deluxe, Brinkman announced her departure in spring 2022—to the surprise of no one. The real surprise came after she turned in her employee badge and realized she missed her job. Here’s how she’s reconciling the change and moving ahead.
“I felt like I left part of me at Deluxe. It took a while to reclaim that. Transitions are hard because it’s change. Give yourself space to feel the depths of that.”
—Amanda Brinkman, founder, Sunshine Studios
Aha moment
“I was in this cosmic swirl of meetings and speaking and questioning what it all means. I finally realized: A job is not our purpose. It’s wonderful to find a job with meaning, but purpose is who we are and how we move through the world.”
Portfolio career
“How do I hang on to the pieces [of work] I love and get rid of the parts I don’t?” The success of Small Business Revolution prompted Brinkman to start Sunshine Studios, a production studio and consultancy focused on brand storytelling. Her first documentary, Stories Behind the Menu, explores cultures through food. Underwritten by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, it debuted last fall at the Twin Cities Film Festival. Brinkman has also stepped up her keynote speaking around “doing well by doing good” and finding purpose.
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Don’t underestimate the comfort of stability.
As an innovator within a corporate structure, Brinkman became increasingly fixated on the confines of the organization. Now that she’s out, she actually misses some of the infrastructure. “When you’re an entrepreneur and you go on vacation, you can’t turn it off. I miss the team. I derived a lot of meaning from leading people.”
Say no.
“Sit in your value. What I say no to is as important as yes.”
Keep your day job.
“If everyone left corporate jobs, we’d be left with soulless machines. We need people who feel like purpose and goodness belong in business. It’s a mindset shift.”
Keep up with Amanda Brinkman’s work and upcoming projects.
