Meet Daniel Mendoza | Filmmaker & Small Business Owner

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

Hi Daniel, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Since the very beginning, our goal was to serve businesses and entrepreneurs who were looking to do great things for their communities. Having worked with larger brands with national and international audiences, we wanted to find ways to provide those very same, high quality, services to small businesses who were more locally focused. Our approach has always been centered on storytelling. By helping the smaller business owners and entrepreneurs share their stories, we knew we could really help them grow their communities and build stronger relationships with their own audiences.

Even when we are not working directly with businesses, we love to work on our own documentary projects that really highlight positive and impactful stories from our own community, state or region. In 2020 we worked on a documentary that highlighted 32 businesses and organizations throughout Arizona that were finding ways to serve their own communities, even while they were struggling to keep their doors open. It was a great way for us to stay connected to our own community at a time when isolation was creating physical and emotional distance between people across the globe.

So while we may not be physically building sanctuaries or homes in underdeveloped places, we strongly believe in what we do and the impact it has for everyday people. Especially in a state like Arizona where the economy is driven by small businesses and entrepreneurs, we feel like the work we do to help them connect on deeper levels with their consumers and audience has a lasting impact in local economy as well as society. Our goal is to always bring people closer together through the work that we do.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Art has always been my voice. Communication has never come easy for me and throughout my life I looked for ways to improve the way I communicated with the people around me. Art allowed me to express myself in ways I never imagined possible and I love to find ways to draw people in and make them think. Most of us spend our entire lives experiencing the world through our own perspective. But art allows us to see things differently, to experiment and in some ways become someone else entirely.

What excites me is being able to use storytelling as a way to not only express myself, but to help amplify the presence and positive actions of others. While I have never sought to be in the limelight, in some ways, I have helped create a company that is the limelight. Being able to empower others has always brought me great joy and satisfaction so in many ways I guess it makes sense that I started a service based business.

While life is certainly filled with challenges, I feel like my upbringing has really helped me be adaptable when facing hardship. I am truly grateful for that as it allows me to remain focused on solutions instead of the problems. The greatest lesson I have learned along the way is to not sweat the small stuff. It is really easy to burn your energy on small things that in the larger scheme of life end up being irrelevant. They are really distractions and not problems, unless you allow them to be.

This mindset has definitely carried over to the business and our team’s ethos. With every project, we know there are going to be challenges, but we just work together to find the best solution to keep us moving forward and on track for success. I would want the world to know that our company is all about the end results. While we definitely appreciate the journey and all of its lessons, we will always find a way to succeed. When working with clients, we consider ourselves an extension of their team because ultimately their success is our success.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I was to show someone around, the adventure would definitely start out at Peixoto Coffee in downtown Chandler. Then we would probably hike one of the many local spots to see the surroundings from a different vantage point. South Mountain provides a great view of Phoenix or possibly even Camelback. If it were in the Spring I would definitely recommend taking in a Cactus League baseball game. Even if you are not a sports fan I feel like Spring Training is a part of our culture here in Arizona.

As far as meals and drinks, there are so many great places to go that it really depends on what someone is in the mood for. Barrio Cafe is definitely on the list if you are in the mood for authentic yet modern Mexican cuisine. Most of our dining experiences are relatively local as we love to frequent places like Mingle + Graze, Elmer’s Tacos, Liberty Market, Joe’s Real BBQ and Joe’s Farm Grill.

I spend most of my time at coffee shops working on projects or getting inspiration from my surroundings but I really enjoy going to various local Farmers Markets. I feel like it is a great way to support local small business owners and stay connected to your surroundings.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I strongly believe that no matter how hard working you are, it takes a village for a small business or entrepreneur to succeed. But if I was to credit one person with my success or progress it would have to be my wife, Kellie Mendoza. We met back in 1999 and quickly discovered that we both shared a passion for film as I was working to become a filmmaker and she was attending school for Film Production. We both took very different routes to get to where we are today, but I have no doubts that it all worked out for the best. She graduated with her degree in Film and Television from Chapman University, while I got most of my education online, on set or through workshops. While her career did initially start out in the Film Industry, she eventually transitioned into the world of Events, which suited her well as her focus was on being a Producer.

We married in 2010 while I was still trying to build Amoroma Productions into an actual full-time business. Throughout the process she was supportive and encouraging of my ambitions, even assisting on projects whenever possible. By 2019 the company was in a solid position and she was able to leave her position at a hotel in Tempe to join Amoroma Productions as our full-time Producer. In many ways she has always been strongest in the things that I would consider my weakest points. She is great at networking and managing relationships as well as sales and establishing the structure that allows our company to run smoothly.

Before she came on board, I was doing everything myself. Looking back, I’m not exactly sure how I was able to manage for so long but it definitely has helped me gain a greater appreciation for what she brings to the table and the impact she has had on the growth of our company.

Website: amoromaproductions.com

Instagram: amoroma_productions

Image Credits
Nick Gasmena; Cyndi Hardy