eMonday Woman Interview with Susan Daffron

This week we have the pleasure of getting to know one of our newest members of the Women's eCommerce Association, Susan Daffron, President of Logical Expressions, Inc. and Author - Web Business Success, Happy Hound, Happy Tabby, Vegan Success and avid IdeaWeaver software user

Hi Susan!

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Susan Daffron and I am the president of a book and software publishing company called Logical Expressions, Inc. In addition to producing our own products, we help people create information products such as books, Web sites, and audio products.

2. What would you say is your "claim to fame"
I think my "claim to fame" is an ability to explain even technical things in an easy to understand way. That's probably what my clients and readers of my books and articles compliment me on the most. As far as our business, many people are intrigued by the fact that we run our business from a log home that is about 45 minutes from a small rural town in Idaho. We live on 40 acres of land and can't see our neighbors. A lot of people find that bizarre, but we love it. (In fact, the reason we started our own business in 1994 was so we could leave the city and live anywhere we wanted.)

3. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
Being a publisher means that every day is different. Today, I wrote a press release and revised a Web page. Last week I designed letterhead for a new project we're working on. Tomorrow, I'll write our weekly Publishize newsletter and work on the layout of a new Web site we are creating. As a small business owner, I do everything from designing ads to paying bills.

4. What are some of the trends you are noticing in your profession/industry?
The publishing industry is changing dramatically. In fact, a lot of books you read about self-publishing are becoming seriously outdated. Thanks to short-run digital printing, people can publish a book without a huge cash outlay for inventory and set up. It's so much less expensive to create a book than it was in the past. Plus, the horrible waste inherent in printing thousands of books that may not sell is eliminated when books are printed one at a time only when a copy is sold.

5. From where do you draw inspiration?
From books. Like a lot of writers, I'm a reader. I love libraries and I have bookshelves full of business books that I refer to all the time.

6. What one thing would you like to learn this year?
Although I have done a lot of it, I continue to learn more about writing copy all the time. I come from a technical writing background, so I find writing compelling copy somewhat difficult because tech writers have a tendency to "over-explain" everything, instead of focusing on benefits. Copy writing is a different breed of writing and I'm looking forward to getting better at it. (At least, I'm getting lots of practice!)

7. What are your personal/professional goals for the next 6 months, year?
To continue to get the word out about our books and software. I will be doing blog tours for our books, and am lined up on a few online radio shows and podcasts as well. Plus, we are launching a new national pet rescue organization that will provide educational information and business tools rescuers need to save the lives of more animals in animal shelters and rescue groups. I'm really excited about that, since I think I can bring a lot of great information to people who need it.

8. What do you like to do for recreation?
This area is a recreational paradise. There is a huge lake and a ski resort nearby, and thousands upon thousands of acres of forestland for hiking. In the winter, we downhill ski, cross-country ski, and snowshoe. In the summer, we hike, sail, kayak, and garden. (I have a fairly large organic veggie garden that I really enjoy because we are vegan.)

Plus, as I said, we have our own 40 acres of forested property, so all year every day we take our four dogs out for a walk on the trails we have cut through the trees. (I always say that our dogs were really lucky that we adopted them; our place is "dog nirvana.")

9. What book(s) are on your nightstand?
Okay, this is kind of embarrassing. When I saw this question, I went and counted all the books on or under my nightstand. There are 62, most of which I've read. I have about 10 that are still in the "to be read pile." Our local library has a used book sale the first Saturday of every month and let's just say, we are SO there. I am a tremendous consumer of what I refer to as "junk novels." If it's a mass market paperback, I've probably read it or will read it.

10. What is the one thing you would like readers to know about you? About your company?
We do our best to create the highest quality products and services we can. Our company has been around since 1994 and is a member of the Better Business Bureau and the Online Reliability program, so unlike a lot of businesses that operate online, we are not some fly-by-night operation.

I think in an increasingly impersonal world, knowing that there are real people who care behind a Web site is important. And our Web site is www.logicalexpressions.com by the way ;-)