Utah Valley Business Quarterly | Summer 2008 utahvalleybusinessq.com

Namifiers Founder Bryan Welton knows the name of this Day in the Life game — flattery. For starters, copies of Business! and Utah Valley magazine adorned desks and coffee tables of the company’s Springville office (major bonus points). He frequently started sentences with, ‘Not to butter you up…” And he’s probably going to name his soon-to-be-sixth child after me.

The irony, of course, is that ther’s no butter needed. Welton’s role at Namifiers, which is a manufacturer of identification department – while still letting employees do their jobs. And his attitude is contagiously optimistic. “Progress,” he says, “I could talk about progress for hours. I love figuring out ways to become better.”

I think the name for that is success.

‘LIFE’ ACCORDING TO BRYAN L. WELTON JR.
On Growing Pains – When you grow you are constantly changing. The hardest part is finding talent.
On Risk – I don’t really consider myself an entrepreneur. I’m big into the business model, and every risk I take is a calculated. If the numbers make sense, I do it. If they don’t, I don’t do it.
You’ll want to continue…

MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2008
Namifiers Corporate Headquarters, Springville
8:16 a.m. – Arrived at work after taking his kids to school
8:18 a.m. – Checked and replied to e-mail
8:24 a.m. – Texted Nate Bowler of Orem-based AtTask
8:28 a.m. – Verified payroll reports, paid bills (“When you first start up, you pay things when you have money. Now we can pay bills once a week — and they clear!”)
8:35 a.m. – Signed checks (“We personally hand out payroll checks to every employee. It’s a great way to thank them for their work and gauge job satisfaction.”)
8:44 a.m. – Started “the rounds” and walked through the company, checking in with every department
8:58 a.m. – Talked through warehouse expansion (placement of new machines, new offices, etc.)
9:14 a.m. – Talked with VP of Marketing Brad Gasaway (“Go create problems, will you? I think Briana’s bored.”)
9:22 a.m. – Met with Executive Assistant Jylare Johnson to go over the to-do list for the coming days when he’s in Holland (“Tell Brad to put together a company introduction letter in Dutch,” Welton jokes. “See what he says.”)
9:48 a.m. – Practiced Mandarin with a computer program to help during his business trips to China (“Sometimes I think I’m crazy for doing this,” says Welton, after saying “The cat is next to the car wheel” in Mandarin.)
11:15 a.m. – Met with Account Executive Wendy Hallstrom and gleaned her opinion on operations procedures
12:25 p.m. – Ate lunch (had Chinese food from a restaurant the office affectionately calls “Dirty Chinese”)
1:02 p.m. – Went to the warehouse to move machinery
1:58 p.m. – Called his wife, Jenny (“My cell phone is a 3-year-old dinosaur, and I love it.”)
2:32 p.m. – Decided the purchasing department could have a requested “pajama day” when they reached a team goal (Looking at me, deadpanned: “Of course they can have a pajama party. We are, after all, one of the best companies to work for in the valley.”)
3:18 p.m. – Met with his accountants to go over taxes
4:28 p.m. – Headed home to pack for Holland

‘LIFE’ ACCORDING TO BRYAN L. WELTON JR.
ON GROWING PAINS When you grow you are constantly changing. The hardest part is finding talent.
ON SHARPIES I love writing notes with Sharpie pens. They feel so bold and official. I used to sign checks with them, but I got in trouble.
TYPICAL LUNCH We eat out about three days a week, usually at Joe Banditos, Brick Oven, Dirty Chinese, or Dirtier Chinese.
ON RISK I don’t really consider myself an entrepreneur. I’m big into the business model, and every risk I take is calculated. If the numbers make sense, I do it. If they don’t, I don’t do it.