We recently connected with Joanna Lindstrom and have shared our conversation below.

Joanna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

When I left my job to start my own grant writing consulting business my primary motivator was to have more time with my then 2 year old daughter, Elise. I had the unwavering support of my husband. I had two clients ready to go and solid experience including my two years serving in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso. All I needed was a name.

I noticed with consulting many people use their name – or an offshoot of their name like their initials. Although I love my name, I wanted something that embodied more of me. I thought maybe using something that showed my love of Burkina Faso and my Peace Corps experience. I served as a Girls Education and Empowerment volunteer from 2008-2010 and learned both French and the local language, Gulmancema. With that past experience and being a female-owned business I liked the idea of using the French word for “she” – elle. Of course, there is already a wildly popular magazine with that name. Then I thought of my motivating factor, the reason I wanted to try this business to begin with – Elise. Not only did I want to spend more time with her I wanted to show her how girls and women lean in. We do hard things. We start businesses. We provide. We thrive.

That’s when it all came together. My business would be L Professional Writing. The L for Lindstrom. The L for “elle.” The L for ELise. (emphasize added).

Nearly 9 years later, the name has slightly evolved to a more colloquial “L Pro.” I love the simplicity of the name and, of course, its origin.

Joanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Joanna Lindstrom created L Professional Writing (L Pro) in 2016 with two nonprofit clients, each with annual grant goals of approximately $150,000.
Today, L Pro includes Joanna and seven incredible, part-time staff members. The L Pro team assists dozens of nonprofit clients annually—including the two founding nonprofits—helping them reach their fundraising goals with ongoing grants for one- time projects. .
In its tenure, L Pro has a proven track record, securing millions of dollars in grant funding for general operating, programs, and capital projects.

Any advice for managing a team?

“Pay them in culture.”

L Pro has a high-trust and highly collaborative environment. Everyone on the team has been instrumental in helping build the business. This not only creates buy-in to the organization but it also communicates trust.

Of course, team members are also compensated well but we also have flexible hours and lots of support. Managing a team well comes down to assuming the best in everyone and giving them opportunities to grow.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Ah, pivot. The most overused word of the pandemic.

Like most people, COVID-19 brought about the most “pivoting” in my life both personally and professionally.

I was concerned my nonprofit clients would face shuttering their operations. Or face an overwhelming demand of services. I wasn’t sure what grant funding would look like. (Little did I know that the world of grants would get incredibly busy.) My pivoting in that time was to remain nimble and responsive to client needs, and be prepared for deadlines that were fluctuating and changing. I also did have the unfortunate experience of watching a nonprofit close permanently. This experience taught me the importance of consulting and coaching my clients before issues become irreparable.

At the same time I did a complete pivot and started to homeschool my daughter. She was 3/4 of the way through kindergarten year when schools shut down. I decided to continue the journey on my own – homeschooling her for all of her 1st grade year. I never would have imagined I would be a homeschool parent or that I would enjoy it so much! It was exactly the pivot we both needed in a year of constant change and turbulence. I’m grateful I built L Pro in a way that provided that flexibility.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lprowriting.com/

Image Credits

Montana Hideman of State41 Photography