Her Story
About Amanda
Amanda Hughes is a business development professional in the commercial construction industry with five years of experience. She works with Spectrum Building, where the company specializes in ground-up construction, interior upfits, restaurants, retail developments, offices, and medical projects across the Carolinas. Hughes transitioned into the field after a background in medical sonography, having earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and completed diagnostic medical sonography school specializing in breast ultrasound. She started in business development and briefly handled project management, teaching herself to read architectural plans and manage projects despite no prior construction experience. Hughes attributes her success to her drive and goals, emphasizing the importance of building trust and long-lasting relationships with clients, developers, architects, and subcontractors in a competitive, male-dominated field where she had to prove herself as a woman without a construction background. She values integrity, loyalty, consistency, and caring for people, both professionally and personally.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Amanda
01What do you attribute your success to?
My drive. I have a lot of goals and I want to prove to myself that I've gotten to where I am today because of my strengths and drive. I want to prove to everybody that anybody can do it.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Building trust is super important because clients have to trust that you will complete their project without issues, with transparency, and stick to budget. There are a ton of other commercial general contractors so competing for the same projects, which is why building relationships and showing value is important. It is a male-dominant field and in the beginning people didn't take me seriously because I am a woman without a construction background, so I had to prove myself and was self-taught.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity, loyalty, consistency, and just generally caring about people. Consistency in showing up for people goes both ways for personal and business. Being a people person comes naturally to me.
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