Interview of a Christian in business: Susie Glennan

Q. Tell us a little about yourself, Susie.

I was born in Hollywood, CA and it’s not glamorous as everyone thinks. LOL I’ve been happily married since 1982. I have three children who I home schooled for about 8 years (part of the time while running a day care) and I’m the President of The Busy Woman, Inc.

When I was 25 yrs old, I came to Christ and became a Messianic Jew. When I was little I spent 5 – 6 days per week at synagogue and sang on the Bema (pulpit). I wanted to be a boy so I could wear what the men wore (such as a tallith and yarmulka) and sing on the Bema. I learned early on that enthusiasm for something can very well get you something that is otherwise impossible. Being a child with a LOT of enthusiasm for singing hymns helped to get me up on the Bema. {wink}

In 7th grade I met a girl who was a Christian. Unfortunately she was in a church that made you give up all of your worldly possessions and the more people you brought into the church, the farther up the ladder you got. I didn’t know this at the time so when she gave me my first booklet called Our Daily Bread, I cherished it, keeping it under my mattress and reading it fervently asking God to show Himself to me. There were lots of people in my path for many years, planting God’s seeds. It took me getting married and moving next door to Christians to finally learn and get to the place where I accepted Christ. Hubby was Catholic and I would ask him questions but after answering me off and on for years he said, “This is too important for me to mess up and I don’t have all of the right answers, so you need to speak with one of the leaders.” I did and here I am. {smile}

Q. How long have you been a Christian and what does Christianity mean to you, especially where business is involved?

I’ve been a Christian since 1989. It means EVERYTHING to me in every area of my life! Business is filled with ups and downs that frankly can devastate a person. If I didn’t have Christ in my life I’d either be out of biz or on meds. LOL It’s daily prayer, trust in Him, guidance from Him and so much more. How I treat people and feel about them has everything to do with my relationship with Jesus Christ.

Serving Him is all I desire and when money becomes the main focus because we have to pay the bills, I don’t feel Him like I do when I focus on sharing the gospel and reaching out to others.

Q. What is your primary website and if you have others, can you tell us a little about each site, the goals and purpose for each site.

www.thebusywoman.com is my main website. The Busy Woman’s Daily Planner made such a difference in my life that I bought the company so I could expand it, have a life long business helping others while helping to support my family. Other goals/purposes are to help women find a planner that fits with their personality, spend less money doing it, and offer awesome products that just about everyone needs.

I really didn’t set out to be in business. I needed this product and it was invaluable to me. As I used it others would tell me everywhere I went that they just had to have one, whether that was one of our purses or day planners.I also own www.funpurses.net that offers key finders and casual, every day purses. It is my fun, whimsical site. If it makes money that would be awesome, but it’s not our bread and butter.

Q. How important is it for a business owner to have a Web site?

I would say on a scale of 1 – 100, 98% in importance, even for a company who only serves their local community.So many people use the internet like they use the yellow pages. If you put your personality and information on a website, it could bring in more business than the company who doesn’t have one. I frequently use the internet to find a website about a business to research the company.

Q. What are some of the perks and pitfalls of running a business online?

Perks:

• Allows you to reach and service more people, world wide.
• Gives the business owner everything in writing.
• Helps automate your business in a different way than when you have to do it by hand in person.
• Flexible hours
  

Pitfalls:

• It’s less personal between customer and business.
• Can give you more business than you can handle.
• Your server can go down or you could have technical difficulties.

Q. What are your favorite resources for business owners (offline & online)?

Filemaker Pro database software
U-PIC Insurance
Constant Contact has been amazing for me!

Offline is UPS. I love UPS because they take very good care of me locally. It’s all about developing a relationship with your local office.

Q. What advice would you give to a Christian Business Owner concerning promoting their Internet Business?

Take it slow and easy.

Do your homework. Most women do trial and error and that is not good. Figure out with a mentor what your target market is. Don’t give away trade secrets.

If you get contacted by a magazine, do NOT tell anyone until it comes out. Often times the segment is cancelled. Find one or two trusted others to confide in and team up with. And it’s not rude to get them to sign a confidentiality notice either. It’s a wise business decision. If they are true friends, they will do it without batting an eye.

Busy Woman, Inc. gives you back time that would ultimately be wasted otherwise. You will not be a slave to your planner. YOU are the one who writes what is inside. Day Planners, Purses, Car & Home Organizers, Memory Books, and other gifts can be found at http://www.thebusywoman.com