Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Susan Crossman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Susan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I I had been home with my three children for ten years when my husband was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer and died three months later. My youngest kids were seven and nine and my husband left a “secret debt” of nearly a quarter of million dollars, which was, thankfully, taken care of by life insurance. But I was in a serious pickle and had to recalibrate my life to go back to work. My children were traumatized by their father’s illness and death and I had a physically “disabled” mother living stubbornly independently 15 minutes away. I didn’t see how I could manage a full-time job and still be the mother and daughter my family needed me to be. So I re-started a freelance writing and editing business and now provide book coaching and editing services for people who are keen to make a difference in the world. I’m proud of my determination and resilience, and the business I’ve built but more than that I”m proud that I’ve raised three spectacular kids on my own.

Susan, 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?

I ended up in business in a state of high stress after my husband of 15 years passed away. The experience catapulted me into a major life recalibration, out of which I started my business and finished the novel I’d been working on for (in total) 13 years. That was the first of five fiction and non-fiction books I”ve written so far and it also was part of my trajectory into offering book coaching and editing services for people who are keen to make a difference in the world. I help people solve the problem of how to write a book that shifts paradigms, changes minds, moves hearts, and inspires action. I have a deeply spiritual (not religious) approach to my work and my mission on the planet, which is to support people to writing books that create more peace and harmony in the world.

Have you ever had to pivot?

About three months prior to the start of the pandemic in March 2020 I realized that in order to scale my business I needed to begin offering group programs to an international clientele online. I had already started putting my business online when the pandemic hit, so although we did experience a big drop in revenue that year, we were well on our way to counterbalancing that with our online programs.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

We have a well-rounded marketing strategy that sees us active in email marketing, social media, events, speaking, and networking. Everything leads people to a 1:1 discovery call with me and it’s in those discovery calls that the prospective client and I are able to determine if we are the right fit for each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crossmancommunications.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susancrossman/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CrossmanComms

Image Credits
Vine Studios for the headshots