Erin Geiger: 0:09

Connie, welcome to the show. Connie Franchini. She is CEO of sorrow publishing. I have been so excited to chat with Connie for so long, so I'm glad we could make this happen. So welcome to the show, and thank you for taking the time to chat with us today.

Conni Francini: 0:26

Thank you for having me. I look forward to our conversation today,

Erin Geiger: 0:30

so I typically jump right in, and I want to know what brought you to where you are today. Like, tell us a little bit about your journey and what brought you here?

Conni Francini: 0:42

Yeah, so I started out my career in journalism early back in the day. Studied journalism and thought, I originally thought I was going to be a newspaper or a television reporter, and kind of ended up in the PR world. Did a lot in communications and marketing and ultimately, as I was starting my out, my first marriage, decided that I was kind of ready for a change. Was working 70 hours a week. It was a lot of travel. It was exciting to be 22 years old and traveling all over the country to major events, but I was really kind of looking for something different, so ended up switching into education field and and loved the light bulb moments of, you know, being in education, but again, was then sort of looking for what's what's next, and found A really perfect blend of my communications background and my passion for, you know, sort of learning and leading and helping others grow. And ended up an educational publishing company, and spent about 15 years there, the last seven of which I was the editor in chief, and created and led and developed all sorts of amazing, award winning products. While I was there, got to work with the Smithsonian, got to work with time for kids, so many great partners out in the industry. And in 2019 I kind of felt like I was at a place. Personally, my kids were getting older, you know, settled into, you know, upcoming second marriage, and really kind of felt like I was in a place where I wanted something different. So left corporate life and started doing some consulting, and last year, stumbled into a few conversations with authors I had known for a long time, and heard some very emotional frustrations about their experiences with their with publishing, and started an exploration, a little research and development project, and discovered a need in the market, and created my own publishing company last year called Soro publishing. So so here I am now one year. We're just about, just over one year in, so it's been an exciting, big milestone.

Erin Geiger: 3:04

Well, congratulations on that. That's huge. And, yeah, definitely a need for that. I'm curious, what were the frustrations that you heard that inspired you to take action?

Conni Francini: 3:17

So these were, it's so funny. These were just very, you know, friendly, social, check ins, chit chats with folks I had known for a long time. You know, hey, it's been a couple of years since we've chatted, you know, how are things going? What are you up to in your business? That was really the whole point of these conversations. And heard a real frustration with the in particular the traditional publishing model. They were frustrated with the low royalty rates. They were unhappy with the level of marketing support that they got. One author shared that he felt like the book wasn't really his anymore, that the publisher had changed it so much, it just didn't feel like his voice or his baby anymore. And one, one author shared that she felt a bit like an indentured servant that she, you know, was asked to go out and do speaking engagements or what have you you know, always, at a much more minimal rate, wasn't able to keep contact with folks that she had led, you know, keynotes with, or workshops with, because they were ultimately, you know, the publishers customer, right? It's really just just sort of a function of that particular model so that, so that was really interesting to me. I was, like, it was really Erin within, like, maybe a week's time, but I had these two completely unplanned conversations, and heard this really similar sort of level of emotional frustration. And at the same time, again, sort of randomly, I was contacted by colleagues of mine who were going the self publishing route, and knew I had a background in publishing. Me and reached out to me for some guidance and support. You know, hey, I got into this thinking this would be really easy, and now I realize there's a lot to do. I'm worried that my book is going to look like a kindergartner. Help me make it right, and you're professional. Can you help me? I want my you know, I really don't want my book to be an embarrassment. Can you help me? So I have this strange, you know, again, just within a few weeks time, these strange points of input that came to me, and I, you know, as a, as an editor in chief, your whole, your whole primary role, is product development, right? Which books, what are, where are the needs in the market? You know, what's, where's the interest? What are people asking for? You know, what are people really going to be interested in? And so I kind of put on my product development hat and went, huh? This is really interesting. You know, I wonder if there's more here. So I ended up taking that into, you know, like really owning it, and saying, Hey, let me go see if I can learn a little bit more. And just reached out to people who, some I knew really well, some I didn't know at all, who had all sorts of range of experiences in, you know, the publishing world, whether they published with a traditional publisher, gone the self publishing route, or could be a, you know, successful, published author, but hadn't yet written a book, and just ask them, you know, can you share some time with me? Will you just be candid and kind of share your perspective on, you know, on kind of the state of things and your experiences and worries and what your needs and goals would be? And several dozen conversations later, I was like, there's a clear need here. And every time I would get new input, I'd be debriefing my husband at the dinner table. And finally, one day, we were on a trip in Austin, by the way, he said, How many more of these conversations are you going to have before you start this company? Okay, I think you're probably right. We have enough, enough data points, and I think I'll just go for it. So that's really how, how this, this company, was born was just true, honest input, research feedback that was really, really shaped by what I heard from folks out there, you know, who want to be published or have published already. It was, it was fun. It was really fun to see it

Erin Geiger: 7:29

take shape. Yeah, no, I bet. And so, how did you take the frustrations that you heard and so you created this company. It's publishing company. How does it differentiate from like, how did you How are you kind of applying what you know to solving or trying to help out those frustrations with this company? How is it different from the other publishing

Conni Francini: 7:51

houses? So what I did was kind of take all of that feedback that I heard and made a list of, you know, pros and cons of each of the paths. So on the on the traditional side, what are the things that the authors value and appreciate it? What did they like about that? Because it wasn't all horrible. Obviously, there was a lot they really valued, you know, what were the pros and what were the cons of the traditional side? And then did the same for the self publishing route. You know, there's a lot of pros and there's also, you know, a lot of cons. And then what we tried to do was to look at and say, how could we take as much of the good stuff from either end of the spectrum and solve for the challenges, and try to create what one author asked, she said, Isn't there a way to create a win, win. So the goal was to, like, take that mindset and say, how could we create more of a win win? How could we take the best, you know, both of these pathways of publishing, the traditional route and the self publishing route, and create something in the middle that aims to kind of, you know, create this different hybrid model. So our aim is to help our author, support our authors, and creating a professional quality book in months instead of years, that and still allowing them to keep their rights, their copyrights, their creative control over the book and most of the of the royalties. So that's sort of the blend of the two of those. And the way that we do that is, is one really giving them that professional guidance that they really want and value, you know, they don't, they want to be a part of it, but they don't want to be just completely directing everything, because they don't have that level of expertise. So we really give them that professional quality. We give them as much, you know, freedom and ownership and control as we possibly can, and that's where the rights, the creative control and the royalties come into play. And then the third part is we really strive to give them a partnership. We're really there to help build the author's platform, help elevate their profile, help them, you know, grow their own business. Because. It isn't about, you know, our publishing company, kind of owning and managing and, you know, and seeing the benefits of any success that comes may come from the book. It's really about us supporting them, right, and giving them that partnership that is unique to them as authors, to their platform and to the book and their audience. So that's something we feel like is really unique that you can't get from the traditional or self

Erin Geiger: 10:25

publishing route, yeah, wow, that's really, that's a smart way to kind of approach it. And is there, are there certain genres that you focus on?

Conni Francini: 10:34

Yeah? So we obviously education, you know, is one core audience area for us. We also are doing a lot of business leadership books. We have a business development books, marketing kind of in the works as well. So that's sort of another area. And then our third would be our children's books. So having come from an educational publishing company, I've created, you know, 1000s of children's titles, nonfiction and fiction. So we also have children's titles as well, which are super fun to create. So lots of creativity. You get to work with illustrators and everything.

Erin Geiger: 11:12

Wow, very cool. We'll definitely put some of that info on the show notes. I bet you some listeners are aspiring authors, maybe authors that are looking to make a change, so we'll definitely include that. And so tell us a little bit about being known as a devoted big sister to authors. I would love to hear

Conni Francini: 11:30

that. Yeah. So our company name, sorrow is a shortened version of the Latin word Soros for Sister, so it shows that kind of specifically because, again, this the idea of this company is that when we're working with authors, we're there to sort of be their devoted big sister. We've already walked this path. We already know how to publish high quality books. We know what it takes. We know where, where to go, how to guide them along, how to help them avoid, you know, some, some pots, potholes in the road, so to speak. And ultimately, like any great big sister, we want, we want them to shine. We want to guide them along the path. And we really want to, you know, allow them to sort of step out into the spotlight and shine, right? It's really more about us supporting them, rather than us sort of being the superstar of the show. So that's where the this idea of this devoted big sister and the name of the company come into play, and it's really defines our approach and in how we partner with our authors.

Erin Geiger: 12:41

Okay, so that probably ties into a lot, into how you kind of approach mentorship, and do you, do you get a lot of new authors coming your way, or are most of them more established? I'm just curious about your different approach to mentoring, the different ones.

Conni Francini: 12:56

Yeah. So that's a good question, and that we do have a lot of new authors that we that we work with, and we have some experienced authors that we are working with as well. For those that are, that are new to the publishing side of things, we are really, you know, there to answer their questions, help guide them along. We really want to understand what their vision, you know, is for the book, and for, you know, for the work that they're doing, whether that's speaking or consulting or, you know, visits to schools, whatever that might be. So by helping, by kind of, really helping understand their vision, then we're, our job is to help bring, bring that to life in a really high quality, effective way, which, which they don't know. And we understand that, right? That's that's the value that we're bringing to the table to say, hey, if this is really kind of what what you want to achieve, what kind of outcome that you want, here's where we think this should go, and here's why. So we're also helping to educate them as well, and kind of building their capacity along the way, so that they because ultimately, what I see is that enables them to feel much more confident when they understand, you know, why we think we should position the book in this way, why we should change the title to, you know, a different title, or why we should reorganize the book a certain way, or why we should talk about It, you know, this way that's really is also building their capacity, building their understanding, and ultimately building their confidence. And that plays out that contributes to how they approach their their own work and their business, right? It really builds confidence in their work and their business, which is great, right? That's that sort of goes back to, I think, some of them, the aspects of teaching that I really loved, right, that you're, you're creating the spark you are. It's like a little rock in the pond. You know, one moment sparks 100 other moments. So one new, you know, a light bulb moment for them. About. How they talk about their book can help impact how they market it, how they promote it, you know, how they present it at their next keynote session. So with that's that's exciting, that feels really good to me, that we're not just helping them make a book file and make it available. It's it's more than that. It's bigger than that. And that's what's really great.

Erin Geiger: 15:22

Yeah? No, that is great because then they feel like they're genuinely partnering with you and a part of the process, or then just being told do this, this and this, and not knowing the context behind why, you know. So that's

Conni Francini: 15:34

absolutely yeah, or more of a, you know, there are plenty of entities out there that are really a production house, you know, give us your file and we're going to go make your book. But they don't tell you. We don't think you should do this, and here's why we think you should do this, this instead, and here's why we you don't want to just do what they're asking. Because they might not know that this isn't the best direction. We they might not know this isn't the best font choice, right? We have that that that experience and expertise, and we want to share that with them and make them feel part of the process, and again, feel more confident about what they're creating.

Erin Geiger: 16:09

Yeah, and so as a woman, not just leading but founding a publishing company. And I know, you know it's, it's early yet, but are there challenges you have faced, you know, even just founding the company and kind of moving along, and that's kind of a two parter, you know, you know, for for those that are aspiring female leaders, and maybe they're going to into a more male dominated industry, like anything to say there about, You know, like the challenges you're you're facing currently, and anything like kind of in your career,

Conni Francini: 16:45

yeah, I think, as any entrepreneur or small business owner knows, you know, starting, starting a business from scratch is just simply a lot of work. You know, even, even though I feel like, when I made the decision to start, I was, I felt so clear, you know, this is my audience. This is the problem I'm solving. This is how we're positioning. This is what we're doing. The name came instantly I had, I just felt really confident about what I was getting into that being said, you know, it's everything. You literally have to build everything from from scratch, whether you're doing it yourself, or you're, you know, engaging other team members and resources to do it. You're just doing so much. I think it's just a, you know, maybe a message to share with anyone in, you know, in the listening audience who is in that space that, yes, that's true, you know, and you're not alone. It is so much work. Even against I felt so confident and so clear. I was like, this is going to be so easy to get things up and running, but it is just a lot. It's a lot of work. It is just a lot of, you know, a lot of work to get things established. You're starting from scratch and creating email addresses and, you know, everything, I think that's, I think that's just one thing to to kind of just recognize and acknowledge. You know, it is a lot of work, but it's also really rewarding. I think the other part of it that is a good lesson learned is, you know, the business side of the doing the work is the really fun part, right? Working with authors, figuring out what the cover should look like. I mean, all of that stuff, that's what's the positioning of the what do we how do we write the back cover like? How does this all come together? That's the fun stuff. I think the important part is to also acknowledge the value of, you know, marketing and business development. And the part that I think not all, but many small business owners and entrepreneurs, you know, don't love as much, right? If you're a restaurant owner, you probably love the food side, you know, you may not love the, you know, the marketing promotion side as much as that. So, you know, that's, that's, I think, an important challenge for me, to try to balance making sure that we're, you know, doing the marketing and the business development side of things, and really building that up and and, you know, because the fun stuff is, you know, it's making the books right, working with that's the fun stuff. Nobody wants to do, you know, SEO or something like that, but it's, but it's important.

Erin Geiger: 19:30

So yeah, and is there, was there a challenge that surprised you, that you kind of come across so far, that you're, like, I didn't think about that, or didn't think that was going to be that much of a

Conni Francini: 19:43

challenge, a surprising challenge,

Erin Geiger: 19:48

like, has it been easy to get authors like, you know, like, has it has that kind of come pretty organically, I would say.

Conni Francini: 19:58

I would say, as. Surprising. A surprising challenge is, initially, I thought we were going to stay really focused on education, because that's where, you know, my previous focus was in educational publishing, and got a lot of interest from kind of outside of that. And so making the decision about, you know, do we go outside of that lane or not? The education industry can be, overall, a little, I don't know what the word is, not hesitant, but there, there's a lot of for the education world, people tend to, kind of want to do sort of what's, you know, what's known and and what's been done before. And so, because we are a little bit of a newer model, I think it's taken, you know, a little bit of time to to build up more traction there than I was anticipating. And then we just as much we had to deal with the the interest from these other areas. You know, we initially weren't necessarily anticipating working with children's authors, but just got some just great, great, great proposals that felt like, you know, these are things we should be working on. These are authors we want to work with. So how do we how do we adapt, you know, in kind of where we thought we were going to go? And I think that adaptability is, you know, is certainly important. And you know, you think we have this plan, and you start acting on it, and maybe you get different inputs and data points and how to use. How do you shift, you know, and adjust as needed. So that's probably been, you know, the audience that we're working with is probably been a little bit, you know, of a surprise. If you had told me a year ago, here's where you're going to be, you know, here's the different books that you have published or have in production. I don't, I don't think I would have thought that we would have had this much outside of education. But that's, you know, kind of part of discovering, you know, discovering what's out there, and and listening to the market, feeling like, where you can provide

Erin Geiger: 22:08

value. So yeah, and that's huge. I'm so glad that you mentioned that, because I think that happens across industries, across company types, is that you, you launch thinking one thing, but then, as you said, as you get the data points that come in, you get feedback, and then it's like, oh, wait, maybe we need to go this way, you know. And you don't know that until you start and take, you know, one foot in front of the other. And it's, it's having that capacity to listen to what's going on around you and be like, Okay, wait there, you know, this is saying this. Say we should go this direction, instead of just having your blinders on of like, nope. On of, like, Nope, this is what we said we were going to do. And so, so that's really interesting that you say that, you know, like, Okay, now we're going to expand our genre type, and, you know, the authors that we work with, you know? And it sounds like that's what's the right call, too.

Conni Francini: 22:56

So it goes back to that whole early part of listening, listening to the market, you know, yep, just being, being tuned into opportunities. I think anyone, I think a lot of folks in entrepreneurship, or, you know, specifically product development, or folks in the tech world, probably too you you go into it with a with an idea, and you've got to be willing to, to take that loop right, and take the input loop and adapt. So, yeah, that's, you know, I think common, as you said, common for for folks in the in the small business, entrepreneurial space, and it's been, it's been a happy adaptation. Let's just

Erin Geiger: 23:40

say that I love it, and so you're dealing with creatives, and we are a whole other segment of the population. So I'm curious, like, how do you kind of adapt your leadership style to that? And you know, like, is there something that, Okay, listen, if you are going to go down this road and lead creative professionals and any you know definition of the word that people should know going in, going into it,

Conni Francini: 24:13

working with so first of all, I feel like I am part of the creatives community, even though I come primarily, You know, from way back when, from the editorial lane, but you know, led again, strategically, led just multi million dollar products. So from a product development perspective, I certainly have kind of worn all the different hats, but worked with authors who, in you know, are their own lane of creatives, designers who are their own lane of creatives, digital folks who are their own lane of creatives, editorial, right, marketing, all of those, those different creative thinkers come together to, you know, to produce, you know, a product or a book, whatever that might be. And one thing I know about creatives is they are very passionate. It about their work. They, they, they really feel strongly about, you know, what they're bringing to to a project. And I learned early in my career that to that everyone bring may bring a little bit of a different kind of viewpoint about it, and a different, you know, creative expertise to that project and that, honoring that and recognizing that, and really trying to bring everyone to the table, ultimately created the best possible outcomes that was hard to learn. You know, as an editor, I felt like you know everything about editing is precision, you know, accuracy. And I prided myself on sort of having a plan and a roadmap laid out for everyone. And I quickly learned that telling the designer how to design was not, was not a great strategy. They didn't like that to think of it. Wow. Who would have who would have thought

Unknown: 26:01

so, you

Conni Francini: 26:02

know, I think my approach has really been to strive to help kind of define the outcome, right, kind of that big picture outcome, focusing on things like, what's our audience? What do you want them to take away from this? I love the question, what do we want for books in particular? What do we want a reader to feel, think or do after reading this book? And so things like that, I think, really shape creating that sense of shared understanding where we all kind of can get on the same page with that while also valuing and giving space for the different creatives to kind of bring, you know, their expertise to the table, because the designer alone isn't going to make a great book. The editor alone isn't going to make a great book. The publicity person alone isn't going to be, you know, the end all be. All to create a great, marketable book. Everybody needs to put their creativity, you know, into the mix. But that was a hard lesson to learn. You know, I thought I was doing what I was supposed to by kind of coming with a plan and having a lot of, you know, precision and accuracy, and this is what everyone is going to do exactly. And that that wasn't that wasn't it. So that's kind of the approach that I've learned to take.

Erin Geiger: 27:23

Yeah, like a big record scratch,

Conni Francini: 27:27

yeah, had plenty of eye rolls from designers. Like, why are you telling me how to design this? You know you? What do you even know about it? So, yeah, yeah,

Erin Geiger: 27:39

exactly. And I think everyone in whatever creative, you know, vertical that they're in, like, as, like, a writer or, you know, you're just like, Okay, everyone thinks they can write or market or design, or, you know, whatever, and you're just like, oh, you know, so, yeah, I get that right.

Conni Francini: 27:56

I think the other thing I've learned too, is to especially when something's not working. To, instead of saying, I don't like this, do this, I've learned to try to articulate more of what the what, here's the here's the problem, or here's what, here's what's not working or not resonating, you know, or what I think isn't probably not going to resonate with the audience. And then say, you know, how do you, how do you see we, you know, resolve this, or address this, rather than, again, that specificity of, you know, I don't like this, change it to this instead, is probably not gonna You're gonna miss out on an opportunity, I guess, in working with creatives of really, again, engaging them with their expertise, and you know, what they can bring to it by telling them exactly what to do.

Erin Geiger: 28:44

Yeah. I mean, that's so true because you're, you're going after the same end goal. So if you frame it as that, you know, like, Okay, well, what impact will this have, versus, you know, we look take a different approach to it. So I think that's so spot on. Were there as you kind of, you know, went through and are continuing to go through your career. Were there women in leadership who, you know, modeled what was possible for you kind of early on? Were there some that you were like, Okay, I'm going to take a page out of her book, you know. Or, okay, I like how that person did it, or that person showed me what not to do. So just curious about that.

Conni Francini: 29:23

I, you know, I have a really, sort of unconventional response to that. I think, you know, most people would think about, is there a business leader that I know, or, you know, someone is a fortune 500 executive? I I really would go back to when I was in elementary school and through high school, went to a local dance studio owned by a woman. This is back in, you know, 19 in the 70s when she started, you know, when she started this studio and was in business for. 45 years, or whatever, she kind of shaped a lot of like who I am and how I sort of approached my professional work, and just seeing how she worked with her students and with her staff. But as a business owner, she's definitely, I think, sort of left that legacy with me that I didn't really appreciate until I got into business ownership. Probably didn't really fully see it until I got to that point. So there's some really interesting things. As one is, again, she was a small business owner, you know, very much at a time when that really wasn't a thing. You really weren't a small business owner. In this woman, small business owner in the 70s. She had children. So she was, you know, doing this work, building this business, all while, you know, raising two kids. She was very, very fortunate that she had a very supportive husband who, you know, not only was fully supportive of her business, you know, just from the logistical start side of things, but just, you know, personally and as a human right, would be there on, on Sundays, you know, helping to get ready for, you know, the show, and would, you know, bring in, you know, snacks for everyone when we were running late with rehearsal. I think that part is so, so important. And I think the biggest takeaway for me is kind of how she approached her business, that I now can see how much of that I've really adopted into my own approach of business, is that there were plenty of other studios, you know, larger and flashier and bigger and, you know, this kind of, these sparklier accolades. And she didn't want that. She had a real clear vision for what she wanted to create. She wanted this certain culture of kind of, like teamwork and integrity and humility and humanity. And, you know, hard work and she didn't want flash and sequins and crazy tricks and, you know, so she had this very specific approach that I really valued. And I It wasn't just learning dance moves. It wasn't just a pirouette or, how could you do, you know, a key tree leap. It was a lot about teamwork, you know, helping each other, working working together, working really hard, doing your part. You know, doing all the kind of little, little hard work behind the scenes that that you had to do in order to be able to get out there and create a show, for example. And I think that that sort of approach is, I can see how that has really shaped my approach to businesses, you know, I really want to, kind of, you know, be in the trenches and work alongside these authors. I really want to do the hard work to help them produce something that's quality. I don't want to tell people I'm going to make you a New York Times bestseller, because that's just not, that's, you know, that's just not real. So I think that that is, if, you know, if I think about like, who really has helped shape my approach to business, it probably is thanks to, you know, my dance studio from my childhood days, you know, along a long way away, but certainly, certainly, really important, really foundational for me. Well, I love

Erin Geiger: 33:20

that. It does translate. You know, it's not just about glamorizing opening night, you know, or like the launch of a book. It's like all of the little steps that built up to that, you know, are really where the importance lies, rather than the the flash, you know, flash in the pan,

Conni Francini: 33:37

the things that, the things that are going to matter, you know, could you? Can you? Someone asked me, you know, can, how do we get an Amazon bestseller status? Well, you can pay, you know, plenty people pay people to go on and and do reviews and, you know, and, okay, yay, then you got that. But ultimately, that's not really going to help sustain you as an author. It's not really going to elevate your platform. It's not really bring you potential other consulting clients or Keynote opportunities. Why don't we do more of the real stuff, you know, the stuff that's a value that's going to help you long term, rather than some of the flashy stuff you know over here, and there's plenty of companies out there that you know that sell the flashy stuff and and that's just not what we want to do.

Erin Geiger: 34:19

Yeah. What type of dance were you learning as a kiddo?

Conni Francini: 34:24

Oh, I started out in tap, which was so much fun, and then I got into jazz, and I got to do the moonwalk at the dance recital when I was, like nine years old. So that's dating myself for when the moonwalk was actually a big deal. We did a little soldier number, and I did the moonwalk. So mostly like jazz and hip hop, I did, you know, cheerleading and song leading and all sorts of fun other performances and things. But I started out in tap.

Erin Geiger: 34:53

That's really cool. I took when I did jazz as a kiddo, I did jazz, or I did when I did dance. I did jazz too. So of. Very cool. Okay, so what advice would you give women you know, because they're, you know, our audience is a mix, so it's like some that are just stepping into leadership, some that are aspiring to it, and some that are wanting to take their leadership to the next level. But here this question, we're really talking to those who are just about to step into their first executive or founder role, any bits of wisdom or insight to share for them,

Conni Francini: 35:28

I would say the one really important lesson I learned is to not be afraid to reach out for support, guidance, soundboarding. I have been pleasantly surprised and grateful that during the times in my professional career as a as a manager, as an executive, as a C suite leader, anytime that I've had questions or, you know, needed any kind of guidance, when I reached out to people, specifically, people who I don't have any relationship with at all. I've been really surprised and grateful that women in particular were very happy to respond, you know, give their input, give their thoughts and be candid, get on phone calls. It was, you know, so I that was one thing I would say, I think, is women in particular, we tend to feel like we should sort of figure it out. I think for me personally, that's my Midwestern, you know, pick yourself up by your bootstraps, sort of upbringing. And it's, I think, a good reminder to, you know, reach out if you have questions, if you need help, if you're just looking for advice, if you just want a sounding board, my experience is women in particular, are, for the most part, very gracious in sharing their thoughts in a little bit of time with you as well. So I

Erin Geiger: 36:59

agree with that, I think most people want to see other people do well, and are honored to have a small part in that. So I think when you do reach out for help or support, it's usually warmly received. So but I also understand it's hard to do that sometimes, you know, but it's just kind of like realizing, Okay, it's time.

Conni Francini: 37:21

But if you don't, if you don't ask, you can't, you know, you can't get that, that support or input. And, yeah, I was, have been always pleasantly surprised about that. Anyone listening, if you if you have a question, or feel free to, you know, message me on LinkedIn, or, you know, reach out by email, and I'm happy to return the favor that has been done to me many times over, over the years,

Erin Geiger: 37:45

and that's a perfect segue into my next question, where is where can people find you online if they do want to connect with you?

Conni Francini: 37:52

Well, I am on active on LinkedIn under Connie Franchini, devoted Big Sister, so I'm easy to find. I did come up ranked for ranking under the term sister one time, which I thought was really funny. Or you can hop onto our website, which is sorrow, S O, R O, sorrow publishing.com and there's a contact form there if you'd like to reach out to me there as well. And we're also on Instagram at sorrow publishing, awesome be happy to answer questions. Be a sounding board. Anything at all, perfect.

Erin Geiger: 38:27

And I have one last final, just a fun question I ask everybody, which is because we're just music heads over here. So always curious, if you could only listen to one music artist for the rest of your life? Who would it be?

Conni Francini: 38:41

Oh, gosh, that's really hard, because I have a pretty wide range. I would say the group whose concerts I have cried at most often, and that would be YouTube.

Erin Geiger: 38:52

That's a good one. That's a good one. I have yet to see them live. I had friends that traveled to Vegas. I wouldn't say it was last year, because they were playing in that sphere. Sphere.

Conni Francini: 39:02

Yeah, really, really, really incredible. Yeah, that really incredible experience. Second, second place. I cried when I watched them, but we were on the floor a couple years. Several years ago, we were on the floor at the forum, and was, you know, like eight feet from Bono. Just incredible, like the soundtrack of my middle school, high school years, it just took me back. It was great. They're amazing. How about you? What's yours?

Erin Geiger: 39:28

Thank you for asking me, Beastie Boys. Absolutely love them, like I've loved them for years and years. And my mom will just be like, still. And I'm like, still, Mom, have not grown out of them. Still. That's great. They've really evolved. If you listen to their earlier music, up until their later stuff, it's like they just see their whole life coming from being a teenager up, you know, into a solidified adult. It's interesting.

Conni Francini: 39:58

I'll have to listen. I think I only really. More familiar with their earlier their earlier songs from from way back when. So I'll have to take a listen. Take away from me, thank you.

Erin Geiger: 40:07

Yes, they've evolved, Connie, from their fight for your right to party days. Well, thank you so much for spending this time with us. Connie. Super, super. Appreciate it. I know a lot of tidbits that you shared are going to help a lot of people as they, you know, take the next step into their careers, whether it be founder corporate nonprofit, you know, wherever their their journey takes them. So thank you. I really appreciate it. Thanks. Aaron, you.