#awinewith Susan Dean
MEET Susan
Susan is the Founder of Dean Publishing.
Find Susan here:
Dean Publishing website or Instagram @deanpublishing.australia.
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:09):
Susan, welcome to Spark tv. It's so fabulous to have you.
Susan Dean (00:14):
Thanks for having me.
Danielle Lewis (00:16):
And cheers. You bought bubbles, so you cheers.
Susan Dean (00:19):
For sure.
Danielle Lewis (00:20):
You're already my best friend, so I, I love it. Um, amazing. So I, um, you know, found out about you, I think through the usual way, which is Instagram stalking, and, um, and then yeah, we got connected over this podcast. So I'm so excited to share your story. Can you tell everyone what Dean Publishing actually is?
Susan Dean (00:44):
Yes, for sure. So, Dean Publishing really is obviously a publishing house, but it's an in-house publishing house. So we have our own ghost writers, editors, copy editors, um, designers, um, experts in the industry that are done all in-house. So the author, it takes the experience from start to finish. So we give them, obviously a printed book in their hand. So it can be from start of concept to, uh, book in their hand. And a lot of times when people gotta write their book, you know, they, they never get it done. 'cause we're in our own heads as entrepreneurs, <laugh> our minds go everywhere. Yes. And we need someone to kind of keep us on track. But, um, it is a little bit more than a publishing house because, um, you know, we, not only do we do, like I said, start to finish, but for me it's more about when I help someone publish their story, their lessons, their teachings in a book, I by default, are helping more people, because the more that I can spread the word of other people's businesses or their expertise, the more that I feel I have that ripple effect of helping more people.
(01:57):
Because I believe stories do transform people's lives. And so it allows me to help more people by helping someone get their, all their knowledge out of their head into a book.
Danielle Lewis (02:09):
I love that so much, because that is literally the reason we do the Spark podcast. So it is, you know, female founder interviews, but I, like, all I say is I want other female founders to be like a fly on the wall while we're having a glass of wine sharing our business stories, because that, I could not agree with you more, like that impact of just sharing people's stories. You just never know who's listening, who's reading that book. And their life could be completely transformed.
Susan Dean (02:39):
Absolutely. And, and you're spot on. Whether they're listening, whether they're reading, whether they're watching. Um, I think when, you know, and everyone will get something different out of a book or out of a podcast or out of a message that you've got, um, they could refer it back to themselves. They could go, well, maybe I can do it too, which is what I love. Um, and the thing is that, you know, what I love also about it is that no one kind of likes being told unless you're paying for it. Right?
Danielle Lewis (03:09):
<laugh>. Yeah.
Susan Dean (03:10):
Unless you're saying, I'm paying you for your knowledge, tell me what I should do. But I think what's so great when you are listening to a podcast, reading a book, and learning from someone else, is that you make that decision yourself. You make that click in your mind to go, oh, you know, maybe I could do that too. Or, oh, I didn't know that. Or, wow, how inspiring are they? I wanna do some work with them, or whatever that might be. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Um, so I think we learn from others, we grow from others. And so the more that we can share forward our teachings and our lessons, the the more that we can really impact the world together.
Danielle Lewis (03:49):
Mm. Oh, that is incredible. So how did you get here? Was there, um, a career before Dean Publishing? Were there other businesses? What's the backstory?
Susan Dean (04:00):
So the quick backstory is that, you know, I was at school. I think, um, there's a whole story there in the sense that, you know, I think I was more there for friends and <laugh> in my day. It was like
Danielle Lewis (04:12):
Every good entrepreneur, networking, <laugh> network.
Susan Dean (04:14):
And then I think in my day it was a little bit like, you know, my dad was, you know, I was, my dad was an army man, so it was like, you can't go on the doll, you have to have a job. Mm. So it was like the first thing you left to do was secretarial school, you know, in my day. So it was like, okay, I can get outta school, go become a secretary, and I could leave, you know? And so the typing skills, the touch typing skills have been hugely advantageous, but it was never really where my heart was. And I ended up going back as a mature age student and become a youth worker. Wow. So I worked with adolescents as a, as a, you know, in, in some quite heavy units, um, with the Department of Human Services. So I found that's where story re always resignated.
(05:00):
I mean, I loved writing stories at school and English, although my English teacher was never my favorite English, it's itself and writing stories I loved. And so from there it was just telling stories. So I might be just sitting, chatting with a child and I'll say, you know, I had a friend that did this, or there was another girl that I worked with that did this. And they'd say, you know, do you think I could do that too? And I'd say, yeah, let's do that. And whether that be, you know, learn how to play tennis or do something to get these kids engaged. And I was having such great success. I was hired by the young women's unit to work one-on-one, and it was just through conversation and story that I watched these kids shift. They, they lit up as if they had hope and they had made that decision.
(05:47):
And so from there, um, oh gosh, I moved into life coaching, relationship coaching. I worked with, um, the famous Dr. John Gray who, um, wrote the book, meta for Male Women Are From Venus. And I transitioned into life coaching where I, you know, I then moved into business coaching. I ran a couple of different businesses. And then for me, my coaching business grew, you know, through story, through me sharing story, through me writing in a, in a compilation book through me just getting my message out there. And so the transition with, with me was, I can only reach so many people. Mm. What if I could help all these amazing people that have got knowledge, whether they've, you know, educated themselves in something, whether they've learned through adversity, whether they've learned through their ups and failings and successes. How could I help them share their message forward, but also use that message to grow their business and their following? So, you know, and to me, when you are investing heavily in something that is your gold, your legacy that you're leaving, I wanted to make sure it was done right. I wanted to make sure that it was heartfelt, that it wasn't just words on a paper and someone just edited. I wanted to know every single author I worked with, and I wanted my team to know them. I wanted them to feel nurtured from start to finish. And so I hand selected experts 'cause belief in me, don't read my grammar and spelling <laugh>.
(07:21):
I love it. I always,
Danielle Lewis (07:22):
I know your strengths. Yeah.
Susan Dean (07:24):
I'm a publisher and it's like, I hope they're not spell checking my <laugh>. We send them out. But the point was, I brought in experts, experts know how to do a book cover, not just graphic designers, experts in the publishing industry, experts in knowing how to structure a story, how to get a book to, you know, have that grab and then how to get it up onto Amazon and all those things that, you know, rather than everyone trying to figure it out or, you know, doing what they think is great without having a professional to help them. I then built the team. And from there, you know, setting goals, always as an entrepreneur, I had a vision of a publishing house where people could come and, and I could feel the books and see the books and meet the editors and the designers. And so then I have this beautiful Dean Manor that I have in the Macon Ranges where people can, the authors can come and enjoy this beautiful space, but also get to connect with the people that have helped them pull their book and their legacy together.
Danielle Lewis (08:24):
Wow. I think that is such an incredible idea to make the whole experience, um, I guess tactile, you know, you just hear about when people write their books, how arduous it is. You know, they're just forcing themselves to sit at the laptop. I love the idea of actually making it an experience where they can come to you, they can connect with you, they can share their story. Yeah. It's just a really interesting take on something that a lot of people want to do, but often way too hard.
Susan Dean (08:56):
Yeah. And we wanna be in our creative space. We don't wanna be in our, in our logical mind where we are thinking, is this right? Is that not right? Because as we know with anything, when we speak from the heart, it's just, it's so much easier because one, you don't have to remember two, it's, it's, it's you speaking your truth. And so then what happens is if you go into your logical brain and you try and make it right, you end up either waffling, which you know, or you end up making it very boring for the reader. So when you are in your creative space, which is what we allow our authors to do, some authors talk out their book to us, and they, and then we ask them questions and we bounce off each other and do you think you should do it? This or this?
(09:40):
You know, so should we leave this in? Should we put this out? You know, um, I like this quote. Can I have it in? Or is it plagiarized? You know, all those things that are really important to have a team. And I know that for me, you know, even myself, I've been in many compilation books and I've written many pieces, but now I'm doing my own, you know, book to show people. Oh, cool. And even I found that hard because I'm on, I'm an entrepreneur. My mind would go here and there and, and then I'd be like, oh, maybe I'll put this in and maybe I'll put back <laugh>
Danielle Lewis (10:13):
And
Susan Dean (10:13):
Never became too much. And then I'm like, team, I have, you know, you are the experts. I have no ego here. Just make it amazing for the reader. And I think that's what I feel that when people do that, we get the best out of the book. And that's when people read the book and go, wow. Like, I could feel this person's passion. I could feel their knowledge. I, I understood it. There was no gaps where my mind was going somewhere else. So a lot of our team do that. You know, the, the go between you as the writer and and the reader where we might go, Hmm, you moved there, the reader's gonna be like, what happened there? Whereas when you are writing it, you might have not even realize that you've left a gap for the reader to go, what's happened? And then you've lost them.
(11:00):
You wanna keep intrigued along the way so you know, and get information, you know, and not just have a heap of waffle as well. We want some tangible how-tos. And I think that's the difference. What we do here is we entwine the story. 'cause I believe the story is what people wanna know. Even with big brands, we wanna know where did they come from, what did they do? But then how do we entwine some how to, so what's in it for the reader? You know, how can they learn from your experience or your knowledge or what it is that you kind of wanna share.
Danielle Lewis (11:34):
I love that. So do you specialize in business owners writing their books or anybody, any story?
Susan Dean (11:42):
Look, predominantly we do because if anyone knows anything about books, you're not gonna get rich from a book, you know? Yeah. <laugh>, um, even, you know, I was speaking to John Gray, we launched a book with him over in Vegas, um, a couple of months back. And, you know, he got, you know, a couple of million bucks to, you know, go and sit and write, you know? Mm-Hmm. You're gonna find time to write. And he said, oh, it's, it's, it's four months, five months of, so he goes, I don't enjoy it. But when someone throws a check like that in front of you, you're gonna kind of make the time. Right? Mm-Hmm. The point is, not everybody, they know the sales that they'll get, whereas not everybody is that. And what people don't understand is that when you know, you sell a book, you're lucky to get a couple of dollars if you are using traditional, if you're, if you are kind of take that path Yeah.
(12:28):
Where, where the middle of the range, where, you know, self-publishing, go figure it out all yourself, you know, that's great. And you might save a couple of dollars and you might end up costing yourself a lot. Yeah. There's a lot of people come to us and say, oh my God, the, the, the printing's all wrong. It's not what I wanted. I didn't realize I had that plagiarized in there. Or, you know, they come back after the fact and go, I should have just gone with you. It would've saved me money. Mm-Hmm. But we're the middle of the range where it's a paid for service, but you've got a really good team of people. So my team's being, like I said, hand selected. So they do things quicker. They do, yes. They multitask things so we can keep the price down as low as possible and really hold your hand every step of the way.
(13:13):
But you know, you're not gonna get reach from a book. Right. You, you are going, you're going to really invest in this to say, well, what else is it that you are selling? Or what else is it that you're wanting? Yeah. You know, some people it's just purely about leaving a legacy, and that's okay. But for a lot of people, it's, they've got another service, whether that be coaching, whether that be speaking gigs, and they wanna sell them at the back of the room, whether that be that they've got a product or a service. You know, we are doing a, a beauty book at the moment. We've got a series called Why Shift. And, you know, people might wanna learn about beauty byproducts, but they can also use it as a marketing tool, grow their business. You know, that being said, we have been inundated by cooking books and children's books, so, really,
Danielle Lewis (14:00):
Wow.
Susan Dean (14:01):
Yeah. So we are, um, up to, I think our, we've got a few, uh, amazing books coming out in the children's category. We've got a couple of books that are already here, ball Rainy Day, we're all in this together. We've got those. And then cookbooks, we've got Nutritious and Delicious. We've got a, another, um, hamburger book coming out. We've got about two other, um, amazing, uh, like coffee table yummy cookbooks with lessons in them and recipes and stuff. So we've really gone into that as well. But some of these people also say run online cooking shows and stuff. Yeah. So they are also using it for branding and growing their business as well. For sure.
Danielle Lewis (14:44):
I love that. So how then do we as a business owner decide if a book is for us?
Susan Dean (14:53):
Look, I think that you've gotta look at it purely as, you know, marketing. We can go and put a landing page on a website. We can go and be in a magazine. We can go and do, you know, Facebook ads and do all these different ads. But the one thing I find with a book is no one will ever throw a book out. Like a
Danielle Lewis (15:15):
Book is, oh my God. Yes.
Susan Dean (15:16):
Pass on. Yep. Yep. Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (15:18):
<laugh>.
Susan Dean (15:19):
And, and even if they haven't read it all, I mean, you want it to be good when they read it. You know, some people say, I just put a book out there. No. If I read a crappy book, there's no way, no, I'm gonna be going to work with them or do stuff with them. 'cause I don't
Danielle Lewis (15:31):
Yeah. You're not like frantically looking up their website or their Instagram or like wanting to know more. You're like, ah, I can't deal with that <laugh>.
Susan Dean (15:38):
Yeah. If that's the quality of their cover, if that's the quality of their work, what's their quality of working with them gonna be? Yeah. So the point is, we want something that is on brand. We want something that is good. And that's what we do also with our books. I mean, I find books need to be exciting. I mean, we did a great book for, you know, a lady that has like Office Fit Outs. I mean, you know, that book to me is interesting. There's lots. Oh
Danielle Lewis (16:03):
Wow. That's
Susan Dean (16:04):
Gorgeous. And yeah. And, and the point is that that book then leads in to, you know, we've got an app that are attached to our books. So we look at our books as a business Mm-Hmm. How do we make it amazing? How do we make it use it as a way to leave a legacy, but also to generate leads and have us be seen as the authority. Yeah. So as far as, you know, the listeners, you know, who should have a book, anybody in business should have a book that's, that's number one.
Danielle Lewis (16:35):
Yeah, I agree.
Susan Dean (16:36):
Any speaker, coach, trainer, anyone with a product, you know, think about what book you, you could be in. Like I said, we've got a series book where you could be in a book with, we've got a book at the moment we're doing in the beauty series with Y shift. And y shift, by the way, stands for your Share it Forward teachings. Oh. So they've got, they're like being 14 people say in a book, but make sure that it's not just one book, it's a book of a series, because then you're consistently marketing the book. So when I designed the books, or I help people design their own book, I'm thinking from an entrepreneurial point of view. So I do what we call a book mapping first. And like I go, tell me about your business. Tell me about your product and your services. Tell me what do you want this book to do?
(17:26):
Do you want it to, you want it to leave a legacy, make a difference? What else, what else, what else? And then I make sure that once I understand what they want the book to do, other than of course, leave a legacy and share your message. And I, I get that. I think everybody that's doing it for that is doing it for the right reasons than just, you know, ego. But I think that when you're it from that place, you still gotta invest. Well, and you still wanna do it so that it lasts you year after year after year after year. Yeah. And so the book becomes such a great investment from marketing point of view that it should be your number one thing. It it's what grew my coaching business. Whether it be that I handed them a book at a networking event, and now, you know, we are doing, you know, you can ship your book for free if you want pay for postage and handling. You can have it pick packed and sent all over the world. Like there's so much you can do with a book. And we also, like I said, have an app that's attached to it. So that, yeah. Tell me
Danielle Lewis (18:25):
About this app. What is this? This sounds awesome. <laugh>.
Susan Dean (18:28):
So the app basically, um, you know, we are all visual, auditory, kinesthetic, you know, we like to receive our information in different ways. The app allows you to download it on your amazing device that we all have. Um, and whether that be a phone, an iPad, or your desktop Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And now the book comes to life. 'cause what I wanted to do was connect the reader with the author like never before. Wow. So what that means is that now I'm reading this book and I'm loving what this person's saying, how do I go and listen to her podcast? Mm. For example, there's a link there. So say for example, one of our authors, Erica, who, um, her book is called Confidence, feels like Shit. She's the Confidence. Mm. I know
Danielle Lewis (19:16):
That book. That's so cool. Yeah. Yeah.
Susan Dean (19:18):
And so Erica's got podcasts. So when she talks about a specific thing in her book, she links it to the best podcast that aligns with that chapter. Oh,
Danielle Lewis (19:26):
That's smart.
Susan Dean (19:27):
That's so smart. Yeah. I'm listening to this podcast and I'm liking this podcast now. I'll subscribe. Mm-Hmm. So I always find out what is it that you want it to do? Well, let's get it to do as many things as possible. Yeah. So the app will allow them to jump onto your podcast. The link's still in the book, but they can now easily just click in. Cool. Um, where do you wanna take them on your landing page? Is there photos in there that you wanna put? Is there videos that you wanna put in? Mm. And rather than them getting, say, lost off on YouTube where you're taking them to an external link, yes. The link is all embedded within the book. So they're just staying with you the whole time, but they're getting more and more nurtured, more and more connected to you. And so by the time they reach out, they're already kind of sold, or they feel that they already know you and you're so, you are attracting the right clients, you are attracting the clients that you want. And then it's just a matter of how do I get my books out into as many places as possible? And that's where I think it's important that the author owns the copyright and they own everything in that sense. They own the copyright, so they can sell it off their own website. They can do, you know, lots with the book themselves. Yeah. So then we talk about how do we, how do you wanna market this book? You know, what's gonna serve you to get this book into, you know, as many people's hands as possible.
Danielle Lewis (20:47):
Wow. That is so incredible because I think you're so right. Like if you think about a book as a marketing strategy, it has to be integrated into your whole ecosystem. It can't just be a thing that you put out and go, yeah, you're right. It's not gonna make you a billionaire <laugh> just the book. So yeah. How does it actually help everything else that you invest in? So I absolutely love the app idea. That is so cool. And, and I've actually not seen that before. Like, I just think about every buddy book I've read and I, you know, it is very much a, oh, this is really interesting. I'll Google the person, you know, and then, and that's kind of your link to finding out more. Like they, you know, authors really make it hard for you to find them.
Susan Dean (21:31):
Yeah. And so what I wanted to do was say, Hey, you get bonuses if you download the interactive book. Yes. Yeah. Is is if someone purchased a book off Amazon Mm. If they're gonna know their name, unfortunately Amazon won't say, here's the list of people that have bought your book to add to your database. Exactly. So what the app allows you to do is any people that have downloaded your book, you then get sent the CSV file, you can then remarket, Hey, how did you like my book? Have you had an opportunity to get your downloadable bonus, whatever it is that you've got, that allows you to have this lead generation like never before. Mm-Hmm. And, you know, um, we, we've got, um, you know, and also sending them to where they want to go for that particular section of a book as well. Yeah. So if you've got multiple products, you might run events, you might have a podcast, you might do coaching, you might speak, you might have lots of different things and offerings. So then how do we send them there without it being salesy? I think that when people come to you, and, and the reason that I think it's so important, like I said, is, you know, when I first started in coaching Yeah. I had a client call me on a phone. Yes. I'm showing my agent
Danielle Lewis (22:49):
<laugh>. That's all right. I remember the days <laugh>.
Susan Dean (22:51):
Yeah. And, and I had a court on it. And, and I remember thinking, well, how many books of mine have been picked up that no one has actually called me? Yeah. Actually has gone to that next step or how many books have been brought. And they put them on the bookshelf, but they haven't got around to it. So we wanna entice them to say, Hey, get the interactive book and get bonuses and more. Well then they're gonna put in their name and email to get this, um, you know, and grow. And we're always, um, developing the app. We're always improving it, and we are just about to go through another phase of improving it and seeing how we can, you know, really integrate it. So when you are investing in something so personal and so amazing as a book, how do we then integrate it into all our other, you know, ecosystems and Yeah.
(23:41):
It's, um, it's exciting. And we've got, uh, yeah, lots of, um, things that we've got on the plan for next year and opening up writer's retreats so people can come and have experts surrounded by them so they can write at the same time. So for me, it's like I'm not going anywhere for a long time. And my daughters have both joined the company. I've got, my oldest daughter turns 30 in January, and she's joined the company. My other daughter's 27, she's pregnant with my second grandchild. Wow. And we've got a cot in the office. So <laugh>, we're kind of, we all
Danielle Lewis (24:17):
Love a family affair.
Susan Dean (24:19):
It is. But then even our staff become family as well. You know, they, they all are passionate about what they do. And I think that's what's important. As you would know in any, if we're not passionate about what we do, how are we going to deliver something of great value, you know? And so all of my team are hand selected, they're passionate about what they do, and so they, you know, really look after our authors and give them, you know, premium service.
Danielle Lewis (24:48):
I love it so much. So let's, so we've obviously talked about how amazing it would be to have a book for your business and your marketing. Let me just ask you about your business. So, you know, you obviously, um, you know, there was different journeys, different businesses, the life coaching, different careers before, um, Dean Publishing sort of took off. What has it been like in that journey? So your journey to building this business and, you know, you just said, you know, every year we're getting better, we're adding more services, our team's amazing, we've got the app. What's that journey been like for you, you know, as a business owner personally? Has it all been smooth sailing or, you know, tell me about that <laugh>.
Susan Dean (25:32):
No way. I don't know. I think, um, you'd have to have, I don't know if anybody in business can say it's ever been smooth sailing. Mm-Hmm. No. Look, um, I was in lots of businesses. I was, you know, I had the, um, the shiny object syndrome, and I'd be jumping onto this and doing too much instead of concentrating on one thing. I also partnered with some people that had different values than what I did. And, and I was left with a lot of debt and no assets and having to, you know, saving myself through that. And, you know, I have, um, I've had some really big struggles where, you know, we lost everything. And pretty much we were about to have everything taken from us, you know, from, um, our home to our cars, to having to pull children outta school. And Wow. It was a really, really hard time.
(26:29):
And I remember, um, you know, my children were fairly young and, you know, and, and I've had a couple of these things happen. I think I've had three, and I think they come in threes. I've had them, oh my God. <laugh>. Yeah, <laugh>. So I had three, um, times that, that kind of put you down and then you go, oh my God, again. And then the, the, the third one, I think Nelly broke me, but maybe it was the second one. I think I was a little bit more resilient, but resilient by the third one. Mm-Hmm. But I remember the second one, I think it was, and, and I called it my upmarket breakdown. I literally went and got myself a bottle of Grogg <laugh>, a packet of chips, a block of chocolate. I booked myself into a hotel room in the city on the last credit card that would go through before they knew already over Mm-Hmm.
(27:20):
<affirmative> over. And I sat and I reckon I cried a river for two days. I Wow. Held my little heart out because I was trying to hold it in so much around my children. Yes. I just drove and I just, I rang my husband and I said, I need to get out. I need to go. I can't do this in front of the kids. I need to go. Mm-Hmm. And I think once I cried it all out and felt sick in the morning, a massive hangover. Mm-Hmm. Um, I woke up and I went, okay, what am I gonna do? Yeah. You can't for another night here anyway, you're gonna a runner <laugh>. So, um, what are you gonna do about it? And I went, I'm not gonna let somebody else break me. What is the universe? Tell me what is going on here. And I think, you know, I gave it another go.
(28:09):
'cause I'm, I'm, I feel that, you know, I love collaboration and I love working with people and I am a people person, but I think I just collaborate in a different way now rather than a, a partnership where you're both directors and things like that. Yeah. And when you've got different people and different values. And I think for me it was, what are you trying to tell me? And I went back yourself. Oh my God. It was to back you. Oh my God. I just got goosebumps. Yes. And I just went, that's it. That's it. I am the sole director of this company. I will build it the way I want. I will hire the way I want. I will, I will overdeliver, I will underpromise and overdeliver. I will create an amazing center. Which by the way, wasn't here. It was on my dream chart.
(28:55):
And I, it, the funny thing is it looks as I'm, it, it looks better than what it did on the dream chart. Oh, that's so cool. Yes. On the dream chart. Mm-Hmm. So me, it was just back yourself. Mm-Hmm. And the moment that I got that message to back myself, do something and do it well. Yeah. Or you do anything else. That's my biggest advice. Pick one thing, do it damn well, and then you can add to it. Yeah. And so for me, it was the publishing books. Believe me, I've got a GM and a team that goes, Susan, no, we love the idea, but we're parking that one. 'cause I'm a typical entrepreneur. I'm coming up <laugh>. But now I keep them more aligned and more streamlined. And I love what I do. And I think it's now just building something that's, it was never, my children weren't a part of it at the beginning, you know, it was just me and, and a virtual assistant and a dog sitting between my legs in a garage.
(29:48):
Mm-Hmm. Um, you know, to, to then getting a personal assistant. So there was a live person there. And then two, my daughter coming and joining and then to, you know, I've got an editor and then one designer part-time. And then now I've got two full-time and I've got others. And then I've got editors that's grown. And now we've got like, I think 12 staff that Wow. Are on the books, you know, full-time that, um, are working really hard and producing amazing books. And our authors are raving fans. And that was all what I had. I want raving fans. I want, I want equality, I want this, I want that. And then the center was a neighbor's house, which was a, I came for a neighbor's gig across the road and I went, this is my publishing house. And my husband's like, what? I said, this is it.
(30:35):
It's fine. It's it. And I just, for six months I was hoping that every car that turned down was not gonna purchase it. Um, 'cause it took me six months to finally, you know, being in your own business and trying to get finance for this and that. It's always hard. And I got it. And I knew it was mine from the beginning. And now I've got a beautiful purpose built, um, Dean Manor with an 18 seated theater and a stage. And I've got this amazing place that people get to come and play. Oh my God. It's just all come together. But, you know, I backed myself. I stuck with one thing and did it really well, and I used my values and went, well, how would I wanna be treated? I got sick of paying for things and, and then, you know, you weren't looked after.
(31:21):
I was sick of being overpromised and underdelivered. And, and so I went, well, how do I want mine to be? If this was mine and I got to start over, what would I do? And so it's been a hard, you know, hard yard to get it to where it is. And that's why I said to people, you see the success, you see the books. We just wanted to make sure every single book was great. Mm-Hmm. And we just wanted to make sure everyone was looked after. And, you know, it's up, it's up to them to get out there and promote the books and get out there and do their job. But we know we've done an amazing job and I've built a resource hub now, so I'm starting to put more and more content there. So our authors aren't just getting their book done. Mm.
(32:01):
They want some additional resources. There's lots there that you can learn from and grow from, from the sense of, how do I mark up my book? What's, what's the latest book talk and different things like that. So now it's about that. So now it's like, I figure that this is gonna be me for the rest of my life until, you know, they, they, until I'm probably, uh, repeating, they drag you out of there. <laugh>, my daughter say I already did that now <laugh>. But I've brought the youth into it now 'cause I had no idea about Instagram and, you know, and all that. So my daughters have come in and brought the youth into it and brought some amazing authors here, you know, and keeping it modern and, and you know, and so I kind of get to do all my laps. Business coaching, like as in author book coaching more now. I've stopped sort of more my business coaching. I just help my authors now. And um, yeah. And that's kind of the long and the short of it. But no, never cruisy, always ups and downs. <laugh>, I think just love what you do. Mm. And uh, stick to it and have some logic about it. But but be a dreamer too. Yeah. 'cause dreams do come true. You know, when you, when you know what you're doing is good, ethical and something that you love and you know that you can help that person, you know,
Danielle Lewis (33:22):
Dreams do come true. There is no better way to end this podcast session. Susan, you are absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for spending your time here on Spark tv, sharing your wisdom and insights at the Spark community. Um, yeah, so grateful for your time.
Susan Dean (33:40):
Thank you so much. And thanks for including wine in it. It's, um, a really, really good, absolutely. Use for a, um, for a nice refreshment in the middle of the day, <laugh>.
Danielle Lewis (33:50):
I love it. No, again, so grateful for your time. Thank you so much.
Susan Dean (33:54):
Thank you. Bye-Bye.
