Tanya Henrie thrives on taking risks.
Whether racing a sailboat, writing a book or running her own business, Henrie said she craves the burst of energy she receives from a new challenge.And that willingness to work on the edge is one reason she has succeeded for almost 15 years as owner and president of Salt Lake City's Anchor Printing and Graphics Inc.
"I didn't want to start a printing company, because it's so stress-oriented," Henrie said. "There are moments when I wonder why I did this. But I would feel like I had been kicked off the mainstream if I didn't have a business."
Anchor Printing has stayed in the mainstream and is growing at an annual rate of about 24 percent. That success led to its selection by the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce as Small Business of the Year.
Henrie will accept the honor during Thursday evening's annual Giant Step Awards ceremony. Other 1999 winners are Beneco Inc., community service award; Orrin T. Colby of Wasatch Crest Insurance, entrepreneurial success award; and American Packaging Group Inc., home-based business success award.
Henrie said she was excited to receive the award for a business she started after her employer, IML Freight, closed in 1984.
Henrie had served as production manager for IML's printing department. She said she knew its empty presses presented an opportunity. So after some hesitation, she decided to buy them and start her own business, choosing a name that referred to her love of sailing.
Henrie actually had to sell her sailboat to raise working capital for the new venture, which opened April 1, 1984.
"I said if I couldn't replace the sailboat in five years, running my own business was not worth it," she said.
It took six years, but she got her boat. And her business kept sailing along, growing from one employee to 23 by the end of 1992.
Then Anchor Printing hit rougher waters, Henrie said, as the market went soft.
"There are so many printers here in the Salt Lake Valley that everyone fights over the business," she said.
Henrie said Anchor survived by moving to a smaller press format and becoming unionized. Now its 17 employees work in a 14,000-square-foot building, churning out thousands of fliers, brochures, newsletters and other products for clients like local television stations, a mail-order prescription company and politicians.
And last year Henrie created a new subsidiary, T. Henrie Books, which printed her own work, "The Shaping."
"I've been in printing for 15 years, and I needed new energy," Henrie said. "That energy has been created because (writing the book) was a risk, and I like that."
It took her eight years to put her story of a spruce tree that wants to become a violin down on paper, she said.
Although she has cut back on sailboat racing to spend more time as captain of Anchor Printing, she said she sees many parallels between the two pursuits.
A sailor must focus on her boat while also paying attention to her crew, the wind on the sails and the conditions of the water, Henrie said. Likewise, a business owner must focus on her company but also work with employees, clients and vendors.
"When you're learning sailing and when you're learning to run a business, you do a lot by the seat of your pants," she said. "It's very exhilarating both ways."