Digital Chatter Episode #011: Sandy Lawrence

Eric: Hello and welcome everyone to another episode of Digital Chatter. My name is Eric Sharpe and today my special guest is Sandy Lawrence. Sandy Lawrence go ahead and say hi to everyone.

Sandy: Hi Eric. Hi everyone. This is great. I'm so excited Eric about being here with you, seeing you again. And my thanks to Michelle Scism that we both know who is my coach, my business coach and through her I met Eric and now here I am. That's what I love about this world in which we live the day where you know you can be on the air any time night or day live and in person and I love the love that, love that, love that. So I'm a publicist. I have a public relations company. I understand a lot of people don't really know what public relations means but I help you tell your story basically. And I work with authors, mainly authors or speakers, coaches, business owners who want to have a book to share their heritage, share their story and leave a legacy. So that's my that's my passion, Eric. We talked about that earlier. I love. I just had an interview today with a lady that works with animals and as soon as she started talking I was like oh my god you have a fantastic story. So I love hearing people's stories and helping them share them with the world.

Eric: Now, Sandy you've been a publicist for for a while. You've had - you're an entrepreneur, a small business owner. You've worked with a lot of people and you've done this for at least 15 years right.

Sandy: Fifteen years. It is actually 15 years in June was my anniversary.

Eric: So congratulations. This is perfect. And that is a testament to you know a small business owner and for those of you who are watching this you know being in business for 15 years as we know, as a small is business, is very difficult. It's tough. And I'd like to know I mean, how did you, what what's your background? How did you transition from you know where you were back then and where you are now?

Sandy: And that's part of my story. So I love telling my story. So I worked for a technology company for almost 20 years and then I was offered an early retirement in 2002. Sitting at my desk one Monday morning checking e-mail and there was this email from corporate and there was this offer and I mean I still get chills now thinking of you know just a regular day and a regular e-mail. And there was the one that changed my life completely.

Sandy: So I had a week to think about it and to make a decision and to let them know so I had to have it faxed. If you remember what fax is. On Friday, it was Monday I had until Friday to fax in my decision and it was you know of course the most difficult decision I ever made. And so all week long it was like will I do that. Well I'm not do that will I do that. Not doing that. And somewhere in the midst of that week my mother in law, who was an author came to me and said I know I know you're struggling with this decision and I know it's going to be challenging. You'll be out looking for clients. Can I ask you would you help me promote my books? And I know you're gonna do it. I know you're going to. So will you help me promote my books? While you're looking for technology clients because I assumed that I would have technology clients. I'm like Of course.

Sandy: So made my decision, I faxed it in and we got started. Her books- I had read her books before, mysteries, cozy mysteries. That's before I knew there were different kinds of mysteries, but hers was a cozy mystery. And I set up a book signing for her at a tea room, because when I started reading her books around marketing standpoint and saw that every day Aunt Louise and her little compadres or entourage would sit and have a cup of tea and when they had tea they would discuss something going on where they were - she had one book about Ireland,