When Suzanne Hull was laid off by her employer in February 2009, she seized it as an opportunity to help other out-of-work professionals – and then launched her own small business. 

“It’s what really put me on the path to where I am today,” said Hull, who at the peak of the Great Recession launched a networking forum called Unemployed in Des Moines. 

Working with other professionals who had been laid off, Hull realized that many people needed assistance in developing their social media presence as a networking and job-seeking tool. 

“I get really excited about people being involved in shared interests,” she said. 

Her efforts evolved into Contemporary Business Solutions LLC, in which she packages her communication and planning skills on a contract basis to other small businesses. 

“The most challenging part, I think, is realizing that I’m not only the business owner but I’m doing the work – I’m a one-woman show,” she said. 

Hull also has a knack for recognizing and responding to various needs she sees in the community. 

Last year, for instance, she co-founded a nonprofit organization, the Des Moines European Heritage Association, to bring a European-style Christmas market to Greater Des Moines. 

“I saw not necessarily a market need but a cultural need,” she said. “I saw that there were several cultural events (in Greater Des Moines), and the European heritage was overlooked a little bit. I wanted to be able to foster cultural learning, so that we can remember why we do the (traditions) we do in our homes. That’s important to me.” 

Hull, who is married to John Hull, has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Wartburg College. She loves to travel internationally and spend time with friends. Her favorite destination, where she lived for two years and visited several times since: Germany. 

Reasons she’s a forty:

• She graduated from the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute in 2013.

• She breathed new life into the Social Media Club of Des Moines, revitalizing it when it started to falter by stepping up to serve as president. 

• She’s fluent in German and founded Stammtisch – Des Moines German Club in 2009.

• She served on the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce’s genYP Leadership Committee.