Amber Duncan is the business development specialist at Turnkey Merchandise Programs, LLC (asi/185008) in Battle Creek, MI. She earned her BASI in January 2019.

Who in the business world do you admire most or strive to emulate?

Michelle Obama. This woman has exemplified (in the face of extreme adversity in the public eye and in the cutthroat world of politics) what being a “woman in power” with impeccable class truly is. She’s poised, well-educated, well-spoken, a mother, an author, an amazing speaker and an advocate for women.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, what would it be about and what actor would play you?

It would resemble Boiling Point, Trainwreck, Finding Dory, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Bridesmaids, Jumanji, Southpaw and 50 First Dates all rolled into one. They all contain snippets of my life. Jennifer Lawrence would play me. She’s compassionate, a little crazy, determined, brave, a winner, loving, hilarious and a risk-taker.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

“Be present. Don’t let a moment slip by because life is too short. Love your family, listen to your children, laugh always and be kind to people.”

What’s one thing you’d do to improve the industry?

With Millennials and Gen Z moving quickly into the workforce, the industry has to stay ahead of the game with product knowledge, education and the ability to get things right now, simply because most of our workforce has been raised in a world where the expectation to have something yesterday is very real.

What’s on your business and personal bucket lists?

Business: To run the company I currently work for when the current president retires, or develop enough relationships throughout the industry that I’m traveling the U.S. educating and training other aspiring sales/marketing professionals on how to develop their business. Personal: Continue raising my children to be successful, happy, wonderful human beings; travel to Bora Bora; retire by 60; and live happily ever after.

What’s one sentence you’d like to hear from your boss?

“Because you’re so awesome, and you’ve built our company’s outside business partners so well, here’s a hefty raise. Oh and here’s that trip to Bora Bora you’ve wanted so badly. P.S. We’d like you to travel, on behalf of our company, to train other business development executives like yourself to be just like you. Let’s open branches all over the U.S.”

If you could choose an age to remain forever, which would you choose? 

Between 30 and 39. I feel like once I hit 30, I started to really figure out who I was as a person. I was settled and experienced in my career, I knew I wanted to be a leader and to be around people, my relationships in corporate America were growing stronger every day, and I was really having fun. Work wasn’t work anymore. It was really a part of me.

What would you do with your 15 minutes of fame?

I would empower people all over the world to get up, get out there, build their own path and brand, and be who they want to be. I would educate young and hopeful professionals how to be powerful in this often-times challenging and overwhelming world of Corporate America, and show them that if you put your mind to it, you truly can do anything you want to do with your life.