We were lucky to catch up with Susan Pohlman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Susan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.

On a business trip to Italy in 2003, my husband Tim and I took a break from entertaining clients and walked along the Ligurian sea where Christopher Columbus had learned to sail as a boy. The elegant beauty of Santa Margherita lulled us into silence as we ambled along, lost in our own thoughts. We had been married sixteen years, had two beautiful children, a cozy home on the outskirts of Los Angeles—and we were, quite frankly, sick of each other.

From the outside, our lives were idyllic, but on the inside, we were painfully disconnected and confused. Neither one of us could figure out why we were so miserable, but we both agreed that we were tired of trying. I knew that our days were numbered since I had quietly hired a lawyer prior to our trip. What I did not know was that a mere five minutes in the future my husband would utter the phrase that would change our lives forever. He stopped, asked me to move my empty gaze from the blue of the sea to the blue of his tear-filled eyes and said, “I could live here.”

These four simple words began an unexpected, heart wrenching, two-day conversation that ultimately ended with our signatures on a year’s lease to an apartment in Genoa-Nervi. Tim and I made an unexpected decision to quit our jobs, sell our house, and move our family to Italy. It was irrational, ridiculous, reckless and the best decision of our lives. It saved our marriage and our family.

The courage it took for me to make this decision was beyond the pale. I was stepping into unchartered territory and knew that it could have been a complete disaster, but something deep inside propelled me to walk through that unexpected door of opportunity.

Besides saving our family, it allowed me to pivot to a new career that I would not have imagined. At the time I was an educator and studying screenwriting as a hobby. Our experience made it into a memoir, Halfway to Each Other: How a Year in Italy Brought our Family Home, that was picked up buy a traditional publisher. From there I became a full-time writer and started my own business teaching creative writing to adults. I enrolled in University of Chicago’s professional editing program and added editing and coaching to my business profile. None of this would have transpired had I not said yes to that move to Italy.

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 believe I answered how I started my business in the previous answer.

Presently, I am the founder and director of the Phoenix Writers Network, a professional organization in Phoenix, Arizona. I am the author of two travel memoirs, six short films, and a variety of essays and articles that have been published in print and online. I love the art of storytelling in all its forms and genres.

I started my own business in 2010. I am an editor, book coach, and teach creative writing in person and online. I am a frequent presenter at workshops and offer a writing retreat once a year.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Building a reputation is based on authenticity, honesty, generosity of time and spirit, and delivering the best product you can. I spend a lot of time the first few years giving away my time and knowledge for free. I wrote free articles, taught free workshops around town, met with people seeking advice and direction with their writing at coffee shops. I truly enjoy people, so it was not hard for me to do this. When I felt confident and ready, I began to charge for my services slowly increasing my fee as I continued to seek my own professional development in my expertise. I take my profession seriously and work hard to be good at it.

It was slow and go for a few years, but one happy client at a time built an awareness of my business in town. I also made it a point to apply to teach at literary workshops and conferences around the country and abroad. Slowly but surely, my clientele grew. Now I work full time via word of mouth.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I published my first book, social media was in its early years. I had no platform, no website, and little knowledge of social media. However, there’s nothing like a publisher offering you a book contract to get your act together! I dove into educating myself about all of it. It was overwhelming at first, but then I decided which social media I could handle and committed to those. Over time, I dropped a few, but the key is consistency and availability. If you post something, and someone takes the time to respond, it is important to interact in an authentic way. Like anything, if you put time into it, you can grow your audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.susanpohlman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanpohlman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susan.pohlman.1/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-pohlman/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/susanpohlman