bethel’s story
from helping big business to helping your business
Successful business owner and award-winning officiant Bethel Nathan of Ceremonies by Bethel knows how to build and run a successful service-oriented small business. In the past eight years, Bethel went from a brand-new business – in an industry new to her – to having done over 800 weddings and selling out each year for the past five years. This success was not luck. Bethel applied her years of business experience, her passion for celebrating others, and her public speaking skills to create a successful business, which she loves doing. And, with Elevate by Bethel, she wants to help you do the same!
After Bethel earned an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley, and an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird, she headed for Japan to start her nine years of working for global investment banks. These years included time in Tokyo, New York, and London, in which Bethel was originally helping institutional clients trade derivatives, and then moved on to develop and run worldwide training programs.
Although the pay was good and the job had its benefits, Bethel realized that she wanted something different. So back to San Diego she came to find her passion. After working for her family’s business for six years, as COO and implementing new financial and business processes, Bethel took her skills as a public speaker, her passion for celebrating wonderful couples, and her acute business acumen, and created Ceremonies by Bethel for herself.
Combining her background working for both large and small companies, along with her passion and skillset, Bethel found the right way to build a business that fit her. She focused on not only being great at what she did for her clients, but also knowing her ideal client, developing relationships locally to support her and her business, and on finding the right marketing tools and methods to attract her ideal client, including her clear strong support for marriage equality. With Elevate by Bethel, she now enjoys another passion… helping others to do the same, and to be to be successful with their own businesses – whatever that means for them.
Bethel lives in San Diego with her husband, Jason, and they enjoy traveling and scuba diving in exotic places whenever possible.