Interview by Nina Lesowitz
Sue Wilhite has spent the last decade coaching businesswomen: authors, coaches, other creatives, or those in the helping professions. Her unique program, the Profit Attraction Formula, is the result of discovering that many of her clients have money issues, especially around deserving to make money.
“Many women in creative and service professions have a subconscious belief that it’s not okay to want to make a profit because they should be satisfied with just helping people. I’m here to tell them that they can do both – they have permission to make a profit! My coaching program explores the roots of these limiting beliefs and provides practical tools as well as firm coaching support.
“The coaching program comes from my business experience mixed with a deep understanding of how the subconscious influences everything we do. Some upheavals in my pre-teen years, including the death of my beloved father, left me with unrecognized PTSD symptoms that took years to diagnose. I spent twenty years in the tech industry as a programmer and database designer but was not satisfied. Hypnotherapy and other techniques brought clarity, focus, and purpose to my life. Technology is a great tool to make life easier, but the greatest tool we have is our own mind.”
Sue has published two books, Simple Success in 2003 and 21 Templates that Run Your World in 2007.
“Simple Success is a series of affirmations, while 21 Templates explores personality archetypes and how they affect work and relationships. My love of books led me to buy and manage a New Age bookstore in San Jose and then work as Event Manager at another bookstore. I found that authors and other artists would frequently undervalue themselves and their work. They had difficulty marketing themselves.
“Through my experience as an author and bookstore owner, I had become familiar with many aspects of publishing from many sides and found myself helping other authors learn about the publishing industry. So I decided to establish my own hybrid publishing company and author publicity program to help beginning authors.
“Writers who seek traditional publishing company contracts have to navigate a complex process. Book proposals now must include solid platforms and marketing plans, especially for non-fiction writers; even if the editor likes your work, if you don’t have the ‘reach’, the manuscript will never make it out of the slush pile.
“I started Positively Success Publishing to give authors time and space to create their platform and help with everything along the way — except for actually writing the book. My company provides editorial direction, layout suggestions, and helps authors design their marketing and publicity strategies.
“Writers like to tell stories, but not about themselves. It’s such a delicate balance between being enthusiastic about your work and knowing the realities of the publishing world. My biggest advice to authors is that you must tell great stories all the time, both in your book and about your book.”
WNBA-SF board member Sue Wilhite lived and worked in the Silicon Valley for over 25 years, and has recently moved to the North Bay. You can read more about her background on her website.
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