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Transcript

HSSF 005 – Sandy Koropp

[00:00:00] Lesley Whitehead: Hi, beautiful. This is your host, Lesley Whitehead, and I am so excited to share this bold, brave, badass, creative woman with you. I hope our conversation inspires you not to let anything get in the way of your passion projects. I promise you, we need whatever is on your heart to create for this world. 

[00:00:26] Hi, beautiful. I am here today with my friend, Sandy Koropp, owner of Prairie Path Books, lifelong reader, student, singer, I can’t wait to find out more about that, attorney, entrepreneur, community organizer, philanthropist, I don’t have enough space for all this, wife, mother of three fabulous humans, lover of all things home, she loves to cook and bake. As a matter of fact, she hosts monthly volunteers to cook in her home for a hundred people, which I’ve had the benefit of participating in. She’s our very own Martha Stewart. Hi, Sandy. Thank you so much for being here.

[00:01:16] Sandy Koropp: Hello, hello, good morning. Anything for you.

[00:01:20] Lesley Whitehead: You are the kindest and I am so grateful that you’re here today. So I want to explain to people a little bit before we get started on all the other things. Um, first of all, how young are you?

[00:01:34] Sandy Koropp: 59. I’m, 

[00:01:35] Lesley Whitehead: 59 years young. I love that. 

[00:01:37] Sandy Koropp: Better than ever, sister.

[00:01:39] Lesley Whitehead: That’s right. That is absolutely true. And you have packed a lot into your 59 years, which we are going to talk about. But the first thing I want to talk about is Prairie Path books, because this is how I was introduced to you by our mutual friend, Linda. So Linda. was renting space here, and she introduced me to an office opportunity, which I took in October. And then we would not leave you alone.

[00:02:10] Sandy Koropp: That’s true. 

[00:02:12] Lesley Whitehead: About moving your bookstore to this beautiful home we’re in, on the first floor, so that we could have our offices above your lovely bookstore. Can you, um, tell us a little bit about, how Prairie Path got started? 

[00:02:29] Sandy Koropp: Yeah, I mean, there’s a couple pieces to how I got started, but the first thing is that, um, Sort of stems from one word you mentioned, which is attorney. I was a lawyer and I worked really, really hard, long hours, travel and all that. And then my doctor actually said to me, cause she knew Dave and I were high school sweethearts and all that. And she said, you know, you should get started because you’re in your thirties and you don’t know if you’re going to be able to give babies a go, you know? So I was like, oh my gosh, really? I hadn’t really thought of it. I can be focused.

[00:03:09] Lesley Whitehead: Yes.

[00:03:10] Sandy Koropp: And so I said, oh my gosh, I’m like, honey, knock, knock, knock. Um, so no, we were lucky and had three babies in three years. 

[00:03:18] Lesley Whitehead: Wow. 

[00:03:19] Sandy Koropp: Um, because also she was just thinking that the earlier, the better in terms of my age. And so, that was something I did combined with working as a lawyer. And then I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was literally white knuckling my way to and from my wonderful workplace, which was McDonald’s Corporation in Oak Brook. I loved my job, loved it. And I also, though, was raised by a home economics major, and she thought the house should smell like love, 

[00:03:53] Lesley Whitehead: Oh, I love that.

[00:03:55] Sandy Koropp: Well, yeah, and then when I went back to work, she said, well, how is your house going to smell like love? And I said, well, I bought a bread machine, mom, and it has a timer. Um, and I did that, but eventually I couldn’t do it all. And so many of my friends stayed on in their work and still are. And, but for me, I just, um, had huge tugs and pulls on my heart. And so I left the law behind and was at home. 

[00:04:21] And then when my youngest basically could make macaroni and cheese on his own, I decided I’m gonna, you know, I’ve done a lot of volunteering in my life being a stay at home mom, but I’m ready to work. And my husband said, oh my gosh, great. We’ll commute together again. And you’re going to be a lawyer and our income is going to go up. 

[00:04:42] I said, well, actually I’ve been noodling, you know, opening a bookstore. And, um, he said, those are closing. This was 2013. They are not opening. What? And I said, no, no, I, I, I think I can do it. And he said, well, your only retail experience, San, is buying books. So how do you do it? And I’m like, as in all my life, I’m like, well, how hard can it be? I don’t know. So…

[00:05:10] Lesley Whitehead: Isn’t it great when we step into things, not having all the information, but that complete belief in ourself, nobody else gets it, but we’re like, I know I can do this.

[00:05:21] Sandy Koropp: I know. And he is like, San, you don’t see obstacles. And I go, I know, isn’t that the best 

[00:05:28] thing? So, I started giving events out of my home and my long suffering family dealt with cooking demonstrations because I, I love cookbooks and I, I guess kind of, not really, sold cookbooks at the end of my demonstration, and then I had presentations of books and, um, discussions of books. And at one of those I had 75 people, they were everywhere, sitting on my living room floor, it was crazy and, um. I know it was a very popular, controversial book at the time. So the speaker just did a great job. And, um, at that event was someone who works for Tom’s Price, the delightful family owned, gosh, I think 1800s, um, fine furniture store in 

[00:06:17] Lesley Whitehead: Right. 

[00:06:18] Sandy Koropp: And she called her boss, which was Scott and David Price, still in the family, and they said, we would love to have your event over at our furniture store. Um, because if people sit on our furniture, they are just going to realize that we’re better than the rest. And they are. So I said, um, what? So I went over for a tour and he showed me a space that they weren’t using at all. It was like a half apartment that a builder had built in the back of their space.

[00:06:50] They had so much space, they weren’t using it all. Um, but anyway, the condo or half condo stayed there, but the builder left. And so I said, can I have it? And Scott Price said, What do you mean? And I said, well, I’d love not to have events. I’d rather have a store. And so would my husband, you know, wants me out of the house. Um, and I said, but I can’t pay rent because I don’t know how to have a store. And he said, okay. And so that’s how I started, paying no rent in that little half condo on, it was actually on a wrong way on a one way street and kitty corner from the public library. 

[00:07:28] Lesley Whitehead: I remember it. and there was no door into the bookstore. You had to go through, which was smart of Tom Price. 

[00:07:35] Sandy Koropp: Yes! 

[00:07:36] Lesley Whitehead: But you had to go through the front door to get to your bookstore in the back.

[00:07:40] Sandy Koropp: Yes, it was it was a haul, you got your steps in coming to buy buy books with me. But I know and people found it because that’s the great thing about location and location changes. People who want books are gonna find you.

[00:07:53] Lesley Whitehead: What I remember because I didn’t know you at the time was that, um, everybody was talking about you and what a great space this was and what you were doing. And the other thing that I want to point out is what you were just talking about was something 

[00:08:07] that, Natalie Miller, the coach I spoke to last time talks about, which is when you want to take on something big, you start with small bite sized pieces. And I didn’t realize that you had started in your home. That was very smart, because you saw evidence right away that hey people will come, you know, I will build it and they will come. So you did create that evidence for you and for your husband and for everyone else. That was very smart.

[00:08:39] Sandy Koropp: Well, I was gonna do it, Lesley, you know me. So, the question is, send out the invitation, then figure out how to do it. And that’s what I did. I love hosting. I love my home. And I had done it many times for other things. And so I’m like, hey, wanna come over? And so, um, Yeah, that’s how it started. And then Tom, the Price family sold that building and Scott called me and, you know, told me I had to move and, um, he’s a great guy, loved that experience.

[00:09:11] And so I called Town Square Mall, had a name of somebody to call if you might want to move in. And my kids grew up at that mall, learned how to drive in that parking lot, so very familiar with it. And I’m like, I’m sure I cannot afford the same rent as Gap. Pretty sure, because I’m going from paying no rent to same as Talbot’s. I don’t think so. So I just left a message. I didn’t get Dan. I got his voicemail and I said, hi, I grew up, you know my kids at this mall I would love to be there, but I can only afford blank. And I know you’re probably laughing right now, but if you want to call me back, I’m a bookstore. 

[00:09:53] And so he was very good to me, and so we moved there not long after the Price family sold. And so, um, I was there for four or five years very happily, and then you and Linda started sending me pictures of where I could have the bookshelf and I couldn’t get it out of my mind, this beautiful house. And I’m so happy here. 

[00:10:19] Lesley Whitehead: Oh gosh, I’m so glad because, um, we are so happy. I didn’t know this, but it was a dream of Linda’s to be, to have an office above a bookstore or, or perhaps an apartment or whatever. It really is such a treat. I’m so, so excited for all of us. And, and what I love what you’ve done is you’ve really taken on the, like, I didn’t do the investigation about the house, so you know way more about it, but you’ve really been very conscious of making, it look like the bookstore fits in that time in a way.

[00:10:54] Sandy Koropp: Yeah, I mean, certainly aesthetically, which is something that, you know, I get, my mom was an artist in many medium, media. And she. You don’t really realize when you grow up with color or whatever that you’re getting a sense of color. But you know, when I saw choices for the walls and the rugs and things like that, I think my mother, because we always had tubes of paint around and she would always be talking about what she was happy or unhappy with with her current work. so I really enjoyed that part of making this the Prairie Path Books it is, and honoring the, um, turn of last century nature of the home. 

[00:11:36] Lesley Whitehead: One of the things that I love about Prairie Path books is I love your emails because I love the way you write. 

[00:11:43] Sandy Koropp: Thank you. 

[00:11:44] Lesley Whitehead: I am hoping that at some point you’re going to write a book yourself. Do you have any feelings about writing a book yourself?

[00:11:52] Sandy Koropp: I don’t really want to. 

[00:11:53] Lesley Whitehead: Really? I’m so surprised.

[00:11:56] Sandy Koropp: You know, I think, thank you for saying that. And I, uh, when people say warm things about my writing, I always say, you know, I know that I’m not using standard punctuation, but I did that when I was a lawyer. And when I closed that part of my way of thinking or being, I closed the punctuation rule book as well. And so I try and write that I consciously do in a way that you pause as if you and I are standing nose to nose and, um, and sharing. 

[00:12:27] Lesley Whitehead: Right? I, hear you in my head when I’m reading that. You’re very funny and you’re very, sharp and smart. And I, when I’m reading what you’re writing, that’s exactly, I hear you saying it.

[00:12:40] Sandy Koropp: Thank you. I mean, that’s, that’s the goal. And I, I try and make everyone feel good or better about their day. Every once in a while as a human on this planet, notably the George Floyd situation, um, murder, uh, in May of 2020, was something that I really wondered whether I can write about it. And I said, well, I really can’t write about anything else.

[00:13:06] Lesley Whitehead: Right.

[00:13:06] Sandy Koropp: And I’m supposed to be writing about reopening during COVID, which was kind of happening during that time. And, um, that seemed less important than, um, what was going on. So I, I try not to, as a business, tell people what I think about the world in general, but every once in a while it comes to me. to mind in a way I can’t avoid. And so for the most part, I just talk about what I love, which is reading and the seasons outside. And people really have responded to that. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow, Lesley. 

[00:13:36] Lesley Whitehead: Blizzard, blizzard, blizzard I’m so, I I’m right there with you. I’m so excited. So 

[00:13:44] Sandy Koropp: And I experienced that snowstorm on what day that was, but we were both here with the giant flakes for the first season and we’re all looking at our 1905 house and,

[00:13:55] Lesley Whitehead: I know. I love it.

[00:13:56] Sandy Koropp: The sisterhood we have up here.

[00:13:58] Lesley Whitehead: So the other thing that I wanted to talk about was, um, the way that you’ve brought, um, cooking into your business. So, um, you love to cook, you love to bake, um, you love cookbooks. Can you explain how you’ve incorporated that into this and also, now that you’re here, what you’re going to be able to do now that you’re at the house?

[00:14:19] Sandy Koropp: You’re so nice to ask that. I mean, so that was the first, hmm, yes, I think it was the first event I ever had in my home, in maybe September of 2013. I still sell the cookbook. I loved it. It’s called Keepers and um, great cover, great recipes. And so I had probably 25 people to my house and we talked about the cookbook and I sold the cookbook. And so that was the first event I did. 

[00:14:47] I am extremely enthusiastic about um, ingredients and food and nourishment and conversation. Probably best for last. I’m very enthusiastic about conversation. And so, um, that all just seemed like a really natural way to gather people and start my business. So it’s always been something I do in my life. And so pretty much the bookstore with reading and cooking is, um, you know, a blueprint for my store is my life. 

[00:15:19] Lesley Whitehead: But now that you’re at the house, um, you are going to have a, an oven here, a place to actually cook.

[00:15:28] Sandy Koropp: I know. I know. And thank you for pointing that out. There will be a normal, there was not in my very first space at Tom’s Price, even though there was a teeny half a kitchen. it was just like little top appliances. Um, so yeah, I’m going to have a real, kitchen to be in and cook from, and it’s going to smell like love here. And that, 

[00:15:48] Lesley Whitehead: Yes. 

[00:15:49] Sandy Koropp: and you know, it’s interesting, Lesley, that you bring that up because It brings up a tough piece of small business. And that is often in small business, you have somebody that loves. what they do. They’re super passionate. They go all out. And I certainly have gone all out with anything I offer from Prairie Path Books.

[00:16:09] And there were a couple rather heartbreaking times when I offered too much of myself and people didn’t get it. Um, cooking demonstrations, for example, like they wanted to come and have fun and hear me talk and chop onions or whatever, but they didn’t shop. And so that was a teeny issue, which I didn’t, an obstacle I didn’t see Lesley. I thought that everybody would get it that I’m putting time and effort in and I’m not a Vegas performer. You know what I mean? Like, I’m trying to sell books and I, you know, I understand. Um, and I’m not, I don’t have any negative energy, which, you know, about me, I have to figure it out and get over it.

[00:16:58] And in fact, one of the reasons I, I went to like one booksellers conference and when I was a baby, um, owner of a bookstore and there can be rooms full of people, you know, talking about Amazon and how people come into your store and then go to Amazon. And I was like, you know, I can’t, I’m just going to do something about it. I can’t sit and talk about it. So I felt the same way with some of my outpourings of energy. And so, um, based on you and Linda, um, you connected me with, uh, Janet, the owner of a yarn shop in Glen Ellyn, and she had started a membership model. And I know Lesley, you’re a big fan of that. 

[00:17:39] Lesley Whitehead: Yes.

[00:17:40] Sandy Koropp: So the reason I’m talking about all this is that cooking demonstrations are largely going to be for my members. And I opened and closed, um, the membership, a couple weeks ago. And you are one. And so the reason I did that was in talking with my yarn friend and, and 20 year business owner, Janet, was that you’re in a room automatically with people that get it.

[00:18:06] And so they’re going to be with you for the long haul and they may or may not buy something that day, but I don’t have to braid my energy and love with sales at the end of a, a day. And that nearly broke my heart and made me close the store. Because I was like, I don’t know how to go halfway. And the things that I do, so I guess I won’t do them.

[00:18:36] And so there were a couple of years and I don’t know if people noticed or not, but, that I, like, 

[00:18:41] I can’t look at the sales at the end of the day and compare my love and passion for what I do and feel like you guys don’t get it. I, I can’t have that hostility or whatever in my, in my heart and mind. It just doesn’t, um, it’s oil and water in my DNA. So, the VIP membership is probably the way I’ll be doing all the kinds of things that require, you know, hauling bags of flour and, and stuff like that in a good way. 

[00:19:13] Lesley Whitehead: Right. Of course. 

[00:19:14] Sandy Koropp: The, in the most positive way, I can get back to who I really am, but not feel so sad that my heart was literally broken.

[00:19:22] Lesley Whitehead: I know a lot of business owners experience that because you are putting your heart and soul into this and you want people to get it and not come in and just, listen or take advantage and then go buy the book on Amazon. That’s just, that is painful.

[00:19:39] I understand. 

[00:19:40] Sandy Koropp: And it’s the way it is. I mean, I think that you with your talent of, in photography, your shots are so beautiful and bring all of your decades of experience of, um, composition, everything that you bring to a photo. And I know it’s hard in all the small businesses because people are like, I can get it cheaper. And so, for all of us. 

[00:20:02] Lesley Whitehead: Or I can just use my phone.

[00:20:05] Sandy Koropp: You’re like, you can, and so, 

[00:20:08] Lesley Whitehead: it’s not going to be the same, but yeah,

[00:20:11] Sandy Koropp: Right. So then, but there’s people I could talk all day to people who think I can get it cheaper. And I’m never going to convince them that the community, the love, the people they run into yesterday, it was our opening day at the store here. And there were probably six people that became friends,

[00:20:30] Lesley Whitehead: Right.

[00:20:31] Sandy Koropp: just being together. And luckily, you know, people who tend to come into a bookstore are open minded and wise and, and lovely and interested. Not everyone’s interested in chatting, but that richness of experience, I can’t teach it. I can’t talk it. If you don’t get it, then you should shop at Amazon. I get it. They’re really good. 

[00:20:52] Lesley Whitehead: Right. 

[00:20:52] Sandy Koropp: I just don’t do what they do. 

[00:20:55] Lesley Whitehead: That’s true. It’s community. And that’s one of the things that I said about you. You’re a community builder. and I want to use the example of another place where you share your heart and your love. of home and cooking where you have this opportunity for women to come once a month and cook in your home or if they’re not cooking, they’re chopping or depending on what your talent is. We talked about that. So let’s talk about that a little bit, how that got started and why you’re doing that and, um, who it’s benefiting.

[00:21:31] Sandy Koropp: You’re so nice to ask, and you and I were talking earlier about when certain people call you and and say, San, I need you to do this. You do it. And so a friend of mine, Kim, who I, we raised our kids together in a church, which is where I spent a lot of time volunteering and, um, with the bookstore, I haven’t been as involved.

[00:21:54] And so this opportunity to cook once a month for people who are prison experienced came up through my church and she’s involved in, you know, getting volunteers and getting projects going basically you bring food at around 4:45, 5 PM on the first Thursday of the month to a place where there are meetings and they get a hot meal once a month. They meet every Thursday, but we provide a hot meal once a month.

[00:22:26] And so, when she asked me to do it, I mean, I, I can do it. I can cook for a hundred people. I, I love doing it. I’ve, so I was like, okay, that’s just more cans of tomatoes than I normally buy, but we can do it. And then I was like, how do I do it? I said yes first, as usual, and, 

[00:22:46] Lesley Whitehead: I would love to know what your number one strength is, is it activator? because I think it is. That someone who acts before thinking. And there are so many pros to that, by the way, because they are the baddies that get things done. So take that as a compliment. 

[00:23:02] Sandy Koropp: I have less clutter in my mind, I will say that because sometimes I, I do talk to people and they’re like, aren’t you worried? And I’m like, no. 

[00:23:11] Lesley Whitehead: Right. I know. I feel that.

[00:23:14] Sandy Koropp: And actually there’s a book that I talk about a lot, which is not an award winning book or author by any means, but I was reading it for an easy, peasy, pleasy read, and in it became this life changing, I mean really character, but what she said was whatever happens, love that.

[00:23:35] Lesley Whitehead: Right.

[00:23:36] Sandy Koropp: And she was actually going through a, a recurrence of an illness, and you know, it was hard, but she was that person that people were drawn to. And so when I read that, and maybe because the rest of the book was more simple in nature, that just popped out at me, and I said, you know what, whatever happens, it’s going to be a snowstorm tomorrow. We’re just going to love that. So I think that is the quality that, that I try and foster. It comes naturally to me, but I, I try and, um, think that way. 

[00:24:12] Lesley Whitehead: All right. Well, continue to tell us about the, um, organization of this volunteer.

[00:24:18] Sandy Koropp: I mean, I guess the community building aspect I don’t know. It just sort of, um, rolls like a snowball. I invited you having not known you very long. And I guess some people think that’s really strange, but I, I was like, why wouldn’t I just ask people to come to my house and stir tomatoes? You know, it doesn’t seem to me that weird, but I think always, I don’t have like a big barrier to, do I know you? Do I know you well enough? 

[00:24:51] Lesley Whitehead: Right. 

[00:24:52] Sandy Koropp: I, just seem like, you seem nice know, or just. I have a vibe with people and you and I vibed right away. 

[00:24:59] Lesley Whitehead: Yes. 

[00:25:00] Sandy Koropp: I just thought, will you come help? And I think a lot of people want to come help and yet. If you’re really, really busy and it seems like a vague, you know, big thing that’s being asked of you. I’m not a big fan of meetings. I mean, this is a really simple way to just have immediate impact. I mean, it is four kind of crazy hours, as you’ve experienced, trying to get food done and out the door where we drive it to, um, the ministry and right there. 

[00:25:35] I mean if you, not everyone can stay until five when we drive, but you meet the people with experience and there it is. It’s right there. It’s real. It’s extremely local. It’s on Roosevelt Road in Naperville, and so I think that’s why it’s so appealing and why there actually is a waiting list, too.

[00:25:57] Lesley Whitehead: I do feel like this is an extension or vice versa of the bookstore and the community that you’re creating because having gone to it, first of all, I’ve run into people that I already knew, did not know that you and I both knew and got to know in new ways. Um, and then also met new people like Tori, your neighbor who handles, has a, a large marketing company does branding. And then I connected her with, um, Bob, my partner who had created a product and needed, uh, big marketing brand company to help with that. And so while it’s volunteer and you’re, you know, developing this community, it’s also, not intentionally, but networking in some ways, um, which is also lovely to see because we all want to support each other.

[00:26:51] Sandy Koropp: And it’s so, I don’t know what it is, but it’s a warm nest that you can provide. I think it’s really helpful to have cookie smells, you know. Um, but everybody knows I’m in a safe place where, um, people are good and you can always say how do you know Sandy and, and your friends are ready. That’s obviously the first question people ask when you’re in someone’s home and meeting a stranger. And so I think everyone is willing to do that. And yeah, I have found some of you out for coffee without me. Um,

[00:27:25] Lesley Whitehead: That’s true. 

[00:27:25] Sandy Koropp: New friends.

[00:27:26] Lesley Whitehead: Lisa.

[00:27:28] Sandy Koropp: I know, Lisa is a big one. We’ve made so many friends in my house. 

[00:27:33] Lesley Whitehead: Also though you extended to, and I’m sure the whole group, but we’ve also done walks behind your house in the woods.

[00:27:39] Sandy Koropp: Yep. So that is just a way to, work off the cookies. I don’t know. So yeah, it’s, um, it is, why not? And so many people, and you know, cause that path narrows sometimes to one or even two people. So you have to switch up who you’re talking to. 

[00:27:57] Lesley Whitehead: That’s a really good point. Look at you. You’re kind of a puppeteer. I didn’t realize it. I did not. 

[00:28:05] Sandy Koropp: It’s been there for a hundred years, but yeah, I have noticed that, oh, where’s Wendy? I was talking to her a minute ago. Oh, hi Lisa. So it’s all good.

[00:28:16] Lesley Whitehead: That’s so funny. Okay. Then I’d really, really, cause I don’t know anything about this. First, I want to talk about you being a singer. I don’t know about this. I mean, you’ve worn so many hats, cheerleader, now singer, performer. I want to know about the singing part of this. 

[00:28:36] Sandy Koropp: Well, I was a normal, you know, kid who, uh, my mom was a singer, uh, like traveled the country in college with a group. Um, and so I kind of used to hum a tune. Um, but then you, why did I try out? I tried out for a high school musical. And I…

[00:28:56] Lesley Whitehead: Cause you’re brave.

[00:28:58] Sandy Koropp: what the heck, you know, I was just like, 

[00:29:01] Lesley Whitehead: Oh yeah. What the heck? Not all of us feel that way about high school musicals. I love to watch them. Did not try out for them. 

[00:29:07] Sandy Koropp: Well this was back in the day when we were humble pie. I mean, like my mom sewed the costumes and, um, but there was an opportunity to take voice lessons. Through that choir director, or whatever. And so, I, I did. And so, I, I, I liked it. And I had some roles in the high school setting. And then I continued to study for, uh, years.

[00:29:33] And then just sang, you know, wherever. Um, a lot in church, a lot at weddings. But I didn’t, like, you know me, Lesley. I wake up at the crack of dawn. I like to go to sleep. I don’t have any evening entertainment in me. I’m like, 8:30, 9 pm I like to be in bed. So, 

[00:29:53] Lesley Whitehead: Unless there’s a football game.

[00:29:54] Sandy Koropp: Unless there’s a football game, you’re right. Um, but no, I had, I did not have a ton of offers to entertain, In a paid way anyway, but it was not a path I saw. I was much better at school than singing. And so I, you know, went forward with, um, with academics in a big way, rather than any sort of music major and that kind of thing. I like studying.

[00:30:23] Lesley Whitehead: But do you still sing?

[00:30:24] Sandy Koropp: Sure. The acoustics are great in this house.

[00:30:30] Lesley Whitehead: So I’ll be coming in one day, you’ll be singing up a storm. I’ll join 

[00:30:33] Sandy Koropp: wailing to Bonnie Raitt. Yeah, let’s do It. 

[00:30:37] Lesley Whitehead: Wait, didn’t we have, so the baker that you have come from Scotland. 

[00:30:43] Sandy Koropp: Coinneach MacLeod. 

[00:30:45] Lesley Whitehead: He sang, didn’t he, at the last event?

[00:30:48] Sandy Koropp: He did, yeah. So he, um, sings traditional Scottish songs and um, so it’s a lot, for people who do it 

[00:30:57] it’s sort of like, how would you know that you’re in the room with a high school gymnast? You know, if she’s 59, like, well, how would you know that and unless she just flipped a flop? And you’re like, oh, I didn’t know that about you. So it’s the same in singing, you know? There’s really no reason that you would know that about people but it certainly I mean,

[00:31:21] Lesley Whitehead: Well, unless you were in a choir, you know, unless you were participating right now in a group choir that I knew about, 

[00:31:28] Sandy Koropp: That is true. And I think it’s a good conversation starter, you know, I think if you’re in a party and I love conversation starters.

[00:31:36] Lesley Whitehead: Can you harmonize? Let’s go.

[00:31:38] Sandy Koropp: Well, no, just like, what did you do in high school? or whatever, like, what was your thing if you had one in high school? And, um, in fact, Jenny, who is my best friend and is a great conversation starter, she always asks, um, who taught you to ride a bike?

[00:31:53] And It’s really fun way to bring people out and, um, that’s probably my private passion, conversation starting and just um, getting to know people and, and, um, hearing, you know, like a snow storm is a great conversation starter as well, like tell me your biggest snowy impact story and, um, gosh, there’s a million.

[00:32:17] Lesley Whitehead: What I love about you is you are very curious. I’m very curious as well. And so when you meet people, I’ve watched you, you find out a lot about them and the stories are so interesting. I know you have a million of them. Um, that’s why I think you could easily write a book, but perhaps I’ll push you on that later.

[00:32:37] Sandy Koropp: Yeah, and you know, this is something you probably don’t have time to talk about today, but one of my favorites, which has yielded so many conversations that I, that I go back to is, um, what do you think of the word shy? I have had so many interesting conversations with people of many generations, even in the same conversation cluster, because people right away aren’t afraid to share what they think, because everyone has an opinion about someone who is shy and it, you know, it gets.

[00:33:10] So much out of people, like they were shy or, I had a conversation one time and this one woman said, I could tell she was really bright just by the book she was looking at in my store, and somehow I asked this to a group of people in the store and she said, I never raised my hand once in my life. All through college, never once. And I said, can I tell you what I think about that?

[00:33:36] And she said, yes. And I said, well, I was a natural hand raiser, but also I come from a family of teachers and it’s really hard on them when no one is talking. So with that dynamic, I would feel silences and it’s not because I thought I had the most interesting things to say. There was a lot of dynamics with me raising my hand, not at all, although sometimes, me thinking I was right or, um, worth listening to. I mean, I knew that the quiet people were probably thinking smarter things than me, but. I just have that, you know, impetus from being raised by teachers that don’t leave them up there 

[00:34:17] Lesley Whitehead: Right.

[00:34:18] Sandy Koropp: with quiet. So, I’ve had so many interesting conversations, so you can steal that, you and everyone listening.

[00:34:24] Lesley Whitehead: That’s going to be your book. That’s going to be your book. It’s going to be all the stories about the answer to that question. All right. So, so what I also want to know about, because I don’t know the answer to this is how you became an attorney. Why? Where, what did you do with that? And what’s going on now with that?

[00:34:42] Sandy Koropp: The, the straight answer, I have to be honest, is scholarship. Um, I did not grow up with, um, a lot of cash, and I was good in school. And so I went to college, um, in good circumstances and then I, I really studied hard in college and I got scholarships to law school and I guess I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with an English major. Um, so I was like, I know I’ll keep going. 

[00:35:13] So I went to law school. My boyfriend at the time, my husband, had started law school a year ahead of me. So I pretty much applied to only one school. And it was the same as my undergrad, University of Illinois. And so I just moved apartments closer to the law school and studied like a complete maniac. That’s just the way I do it, Lesley.

[00:35:35] Lesley Whitehead: I love that.

[00:35:36] Sandy Koropp: Yep. And I, I mean, I like studying. I like, you know, I like closing my door sometimes and just really thinking. And I like sharpening my pencil every three hours and going back and thinking again. So it’s, it’s a huge, quiet is a huge part of my personality. 

[00:35:54] Lesley Whitehead: And you wouldn’t know that knowing you because you are so friendly and outgoing and communicative. And yeah, that’s, I, but maybe that gives you more energy to be able to do those things, being in the quiet for a little bit.

[00:36:08] Sandy Koropp: You asked me earlier when we were coming in, what would people be most surprised by with you? And I said, oh, people are always shocked that I’m an introvert. And they, if, I mean, you could spend a lot of time reading and thinking about introverts. And I don’t really do that, but there is one book called 

[00:36:29] Reading People. And it’s just basically about all the types of people. And for introverts and extroverts, she breaks them down into two sorts.

[00:36:41] There’s introverts who are shy, and there’s introverts that are not shy. So the shy introverts are the ones, right, like we used to call them wall bangers that they, you know, couldn’t leave the wall. Like they needed to be at the, you know, outside of every social event if they ever went to any or classroom. 

[00:37:00] Uh, but then there’s not shy introverts and that’s what I am. And that is that I, 

[00:37:04] I love, I’m curious, I love to talk. I’m not shy, but I love, I can sit and think for eight hours that makes me really, really happy. And whenever I say that, I’m like. It’s not because I’m thinking great things. I’m not Stephen Hawking, you know. 

[00:37:19] Lesley Whitehead: I don’t believe you.

[00:37:21] Sandy Koropp: Well, but I mean, I’m not. So sometimes people are like, oh, she needs to think, you know, it’s not like that. But then there’s, um, shy extroverts, which my husband is one where he, he’s not quite sure in an initial exchange or two, but then, oh my God, he could talk all night and go to like, he could go to three Christmases in one day. And I’m literally signaling after the first hour and a half, like there’s too many words being spoken in my head. And I think one thing that introverts experience is that you do have a head full of stuff. So to take more in, you know, it gets crowded. 

[00:38:02] Lesley Whitehead: Right, 

[00:38:03] Sandy Koropp: And then there’s, you know, not shy extroverts. And then those people are Jim Carrey and, um, Chris Farley. 

[00:38:09] Lesley Whitehead: Right.

[00:38:10] Sandy Koropp: Who just, you know, have everything out there. So anyway, it’s an interesting book. And I think it’s really interesting that people do not believe that someone who isn’t shy could possibly be an introvert. And that just shows that it’s a complicated word.

[00:38:24] Lesley Whitehead: Absolutely. All right, let’s go back for a minute to you being an attorney though, because, okay, you went to law school and then how did you decide what kind of law you were going to practice?

[00:38:34] Sandy Koropp: You know, it’s funny that I never really thought about this in. Um, this way, but I, when I was a summer associate, I, um, by the way, next to me was Barack Obama in our little cubicles.

[00:38:50] Lesley Whitehead: Oh, crush, crush, crush.

[00:38:53] Sandy Koropp: And so I, um, You could sample sort of things you might do at the firm if you did join upon graduation and I, there was an intellectual property department that had a lot of, um, sports and entertainment work. And that’s what I really, was drawn to. 

[00:39:12] Lesley Whitehead: Okay. 

[00:39:13] Sandy Koropp: I like the group and I’m, you know, as you know, I’m a huge daddy’s girl, um, sports fan.

[00:39:21] Lesley Whitehead: Yes.

[00:39:21] Sandy Koropp: And so like, I’m like, I can work with the NFL. I’m going, and so I totally loved it. And I will have, you know, that I worked very closely with Michelle Robinson, Obama. And when we were summer associates. Um, we all had summer advisors and mine was named Jim Hitzman, who I adore, but he did not like, they were supposed to be nice to us and like take care of us and see if we were okay.

[00:39:48] And he was busy that summer and he never, he’s so nice, but he was like, what he did, you know, not take me at lunch a lot. And so Michelle was Barack’s advisor and she took him for lunch constantly. And so. Office was right next to mine, and I’m like, bye, Barack. So then when I would see my summer associate advisor, I’d be like, Jim, what is up?

[00:40:13] Lesley Whitehead: But you also weren’t in love.

[00:40:14] Sandy Koropp: I know, right, right. And so he… 

[00:40:16] Lesley Whitehead: there’s a little bit of that. 

[00:40:17] Sandy Koropp: I know. And so he’d be like, what? What’s the matter? Is something wrong? Do I need to take you out for lunch? And I’m like, well, no, but I mean, geez. So I thought that was hilarious later in, in life, but yeah, so I, I got, I went into that intellectual property field because of the, um, singing and the sports. And so I loved it. I loved being a lawyer. I loved it.

[00:40:43] Lesley Whitehead: Now did you work for McDonald’s right away or did you work for some other?

[00:40:47] Sandy Koropp: No, first was the law firm where I met Barack and Michelle, which is Sylvia Anston, and then I left for more, a more focused, um, McDonald’s, I was exclusively sports and entertainment, um, and, you know, some trademark, but you know, I just love, they used to say, you’ll know you belong at McDonald’s when you start having ketchup and not blood in your veins. And I was all in. I loved it. I just was a huge believer and, um, love the people, love the freedom of, um, I actually sat in the marketing department, um, and not the legal department because there was so much happening so fast. And I, you know, I absolutely loved it. So that kind of circles back to how much I must love my kids.

[00:41:34] Lesley Whitehead: Right, to leave it.

[00:41:36] I 

[00:41:36] Sandy Koropp: know, rotten little buggers. So, yeah, that was, that was something. And you know, you will laugh, Lesley, um, I was talking to someone who’s kind of going through this and she said, well, how did you know? And I said, well, you know, it was gradual, but what really made, I made the call that day when I ran out of sugar. And I was working and, you know, being a mom and I, it’s just like, so anathema to me to run out of a basic ingredient that I just cried and I called Dave and I’m like, I am out of sugar. I’m quitting my job. I’m not kidding.

[00:42:13] Lesley Whitehead: And he’s like a hum and a hum and a hum, what?

[00:42:16] Sandy Koropp: Well, there had been signals, but that was it. I’m just like, I have not, I lost myself. 

[00:42:25] Lesley Whitehead: Yes. 

[00:42:26] Sandy Koropp: How could I not have sugar? 

[00:42:28] Lesley Whitehead: You’re so Martha, I swear. I love that. I’m sure when I was a stay at home mom, I might have run out of sugar.

[00:42:37] Sandy Koropp: I know, I just, it was, I think I was probably looking for the signal, the sign that, you know, no more white knuckle driving back and forth. 

[00:42:48] Lesley Whitehead: Right. Okay, I have to ask you, are you still in touch with Michelle and Barack? 

[00:42:54] Sandy Koropp: No, I’m not. I mean, I exchanged a few Christmas cards and that kind of thing, but, not really. I mean, so many of us, once we had kids, became poor communicators. So that is my story. But, um, she had a great sense of humor. She would just, she would spur me on. She got me in trouble. Cause she wouldn’t give me that look like, uh huh. Did you just hear him say that? And then I would,

[00:43:21] Lesley Whitehead: My only claim to fame with them is years ago, my sister in law, Worked for Planned Parenthood and before Barack was running, but was talking about it, um, there was an event in Chicago and he came. And so I took a very quick photo, not with a professional camera. I don’t think maybe it was, I don’t know, of, um, he, my mother in law and one of my brother in laws. So, um, I do have that photo.

[00:43:49] Sandy Koropp: Yeah, yeah. He’s, uh, you know, the real deal. There was no doubt about it. Even then, this is in summer of 1989.

[00:43:56] Lesley Whitehead: That’s wild. Alright, but now you are coming full circle, correct? You’ve decided to,

[00:44:04] Sandy Koropp: I’m getting my license back. 

[00:44:06] Lesley Whitehead: Yay! 

[00:44:06] Sandy Koropp: I will be in law. I know. 

[00:44:08] Lesley Whitehead: So excited!

[00:44:10] Sandy Koropp: I know. Thank you. I, I am too. I mean, so many people have asked me why.

[00:44:16] Lesley Whitehead: Because they have no tact. 

[00:44:19] Sandy Koropp: But, and sometimes it’s like why? Are you getting divorced? And I’m like, no, no. 

[00:44:31] Lesley Whitehead: Did your husband make you?

[00:44:33] Sandy Koropp: Nothing to do. 

[00:44:34] Lesley Whitehead: How’s the bookstore doing? 

[00:44:36] Sandy Koropp: How are sales? People ask that a lot. You’d be surprised. And so I just want to, Lesley. I, I loved myself when I did that. There is a part of my brain that, um, hasn’t been active in that particular way in a while. And I don’t not love who I am now at all, but I just. Miss it. I mean, I, I loved, uh, I loved my job and for all the right reasons, I left it behind, but, um, I just want to, and I know I can. There are requirements that I have to fulfill of continuing legal education. You can’t just hang out your shingle and… 

[00:45:19] Lesley Whitehead: Bummer. 

[00:45:19] Sandy Koropp: I know. So I have to work on it. I don’t know how long it’ll take me, but um, six months maybe to catch up on the 12 years I haven’t been licensed. And so I know, well, you’re going to be hearing…

[00:45:34] Lesley Whitehead: Lots of swears and we’ll be drinking wine at night.

[00:45:36] Sandy Koropp: I realized with the professional responsibility courses and all the things I have to get back in touch with. But I’m, I’m really excited. I will probably have no clients. I do not know. 

[00:45:46] But, um, it’s something I want to do, and I think it’s something that, you know, I missed in raising my kids in a way. I mean, I, I was always proud of who I was, but I think, um, if the situation were the same now and COVID brought so many opportunities for part time or remote work or, zoom taking place of airplane travel, which was a big part of my job. And, and that, that was just hard, of course, we all know that. I mean, if it was snowing and you got caught in New York. 

[00:46:19] Lesley Whitehead: Yeah. you’re not coming home.

[00:46:20] Sandy Koropp: So that it was just a reality that wore me down. Um, not others, but for me that was hard. And so I just, I really loved it and I, I am, I, I feel like I want my kids to see me in that way,

[00:46:35] Lesley Whitehead: I love it. I, you busted your ass to get that. and to me, once an attorney, always attorney, I know you have to have all of these credentials and classes and things like that, but I applaud you for it. I think it’s wonderful. Do you know what kind of, um, law you’re going to practice?

[00:46:52] Sandy Koropp: Um, so what I did was basically, um, I have done my own representation as a small business. So there’s everything to do with negotiating leases and, basically coming to agreement. In a way that when I write it down, everybody understands everything and talks about everything and what you learn in law school and you’re kind of naturally good at it if you even choose law school is looking forward like what might happen. 

[00:47:23] Like we just had a snowstorm here at the house and so the way I negotiated my lease was that was based in customer comfort and safety, so that there’s no inches where the shoveling has to happen. It has to do with how safe is it going to be when my store is open and customers want to come in. And that’s the shoveling. So that came in handy just because I know that if you think about things as a small business owner, you’re going to, if you spend a little bit of time, know what might happen and then plan for that.

[00:47:59] So. I’ve done that kind of practicing on my own behalf and I obviously did, um, all transactional contractual law in my practice, but then I’m, I’m probably going to do trusts and estates as well. 

[00:48:13] Lesley Whitehead: One of the things that I would tell you is, at least personally, one thing that I am not strong at is negotiating. And I feel like I could take, I need many courses in negotiating because just as an example, you know, I moved in and when I rented my space, I, this was how it went. Can I paint the room? Sure. You can paint the room. Then you moved in and the whole place got painted. And I said, you know, was that part of your negotiation? Certainly it was. Oh crap. I went back and I said, hey, will you guys paint the room? Well, sure. We will do this part and you pay for this part. 

[00:48:49] So I just for that little bit, you don’t even know, but that was huge for me because I am not a negotiator. I’m sort of a people pleaser. And so I, truly believe this of a lot of women tend to be not great at negotiating. So if you ever wanted to do any kind of like skills building for other professionals, women, et cetera, that would be a great topic to attack, I think, because that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of women but we could really use it negotiating in a way that is not, you know, steamrolling someone, but is very, you know, strong in your power.

[00:49:30] Sandy Koropp: Well, I think my experience as a transactional lawyer showed, even though I represented McDonald’s was definitely the 800 pound gorilla. Um, but we dealt with a thousand pound gorillas because two, my main, um, folks, they became friends, but it was Coca Cola, NFL, Disney. So they were as big or bigger gorillas.

[00:49:52] So you, you really learn to ask for what you need, know the difference between that and what you want. And then think through what’s going to happen. The first conflict, what might the first conflict be and how are we going to handle that? And then write that, that down too. You know, so I, I definitely ask for the world because if, you know, you don’t ask, the answer is always no, 

[00:50:19] Lesley Whitehead: Right. 

[00:50:19] Sandy Koropp: And that’s not good for me.

[00:50:21] Lesley Whitehead: No! Of course not. 

[00:50:22] Sandy Koropp: I think I was born a little bit asky, but I definitely learned to negotiate as a lawyer and it’s, you know, definitely has, has come in handy. 

[00:50:34] Lesley Whitehead: All right. I know I’ve taken up a lot of your time. We’re going to wrap this up, but before we do, I want to ask, um, a couple of, book questions. You do this wonderful quarterly, um, book review with your friend Carrie and it’s such a wonderfully attended event. I mean, everybody wants to come. Um, you used to have it in a, building that, you know, held like 80 people. 

[00:50:55] Sandy Koropp: Not anymore.

[00:50:56] Lesley Whitehead: That’s okay. The people will still come, even if you run it over days. But, um, what are some books you would recommend and maybe to business owners, to, um, women who are looking to build skills, but also read for fun? You know, what are some different books that you would recommend?

[00:51:18] Sandy Koropp: That’s interesting. You know, I almost read, not all fiction, but I tend to find messages in the fiction. Like I said, with the, um, 

[00:51:28] Maddie Dawson book, whatever happens, love that. I don’t separate my personal and business messaging. Um, so an author that I’m really big on right now is very pro America, but in a way that doesn’t go gentle on the issues that we have and how my book of the year last year was Small World, by Jonathan Evison.

[00:51:55] He is an author that a lot of people don’t know, other than that his book Lawn Boy, which I absolutely loved, has been the most banned book in America.

[00:52:05] Lesley Whitehead: Good grief.

[00:52:07] Sandy Koropp: I know, and whenever I mention that, people who have read it and loved it are like, why? What is the thing? And so I kept reading him after I loved Lawn Boy and I’m gobsmacked.

[00:52:20] He has a new one out now, which I’m reading and will recommend at Champagne and Snowflakes, um, at the end of January. But Small World is about four families and you go back and forth between 1850. When each of those families, their ancestor first came to America. it goes back and forth between who these people were in 1850 and who they are now. 

[00:52:46] And it goes through every possible immigrant story. Um, there’s actually an escaped slave from 1850 and they were not willingly emigrated to America, of course. But you follow that family, German immigrants, a Chinese immigrant who worked on the transcontinental railroad, which is fascinating to read about. And so you get to know these people in a very American way and their struggles and successes. And, um, I just think that he is such a fresh voice in American historical fiction and, um, I love everything he’s written.

[00:53:29] Lesley Whitehead: Oh, I love that.. Thank you. I would love for you to share with everyone, you’ve already told us about, um, what people would be surprised to know about you, unless there’s something else you want to share. 

[00:53:39] Sandy Koropp: A lot of people are surprised that a bookstore owner is a huge sports fan because they think that, I don’t know, do they think that sports fans don’t read or we’re dumb or something? I don’t. Yeah. So I have, people are really surprised when I say that as I’m talking about Jonathan Evison or something and I’m like, oh, and did you see that Bill Belichick retired today? Oh my God. 

[00:54:02] Lesley Whitehead: I know, to me, you might as well be speaking German because you said that the other day when we were leaving, something about a game. 

[00:54:08] Sandy Koropp: College Championship, you didn’t even know it was Michigan, Michigan, Washington. Hello. Knock, knock.

[00:54:14] Lesley Whitehead: Who won?

[00:54:15] Sandy Koropp: It was Michigan.

[00:54:18] Lesley Whitehead: And for 26 years, I was married to a huge Viking fan. So I was part of that for a while. 

[00:54:24] Sandy Koropp: I understand. 

[00:54:25] Lesley Whitehead: I was a good supporter.

[00:54:26] Sandy Koropp: Yep. Kirk Cousins is a quarterback. You got that? Anyway, so you were going to say something else.

[00:54:33] Lesley Whitehead: Oh, I was going to say, um, well, first of all, do you have any other advice for small business owners Any wisdom, brick and mortar, specifically.

[00:54:43] Sandy Koropp: Yeah. I mean, it’s been 10 years and I might need to think about that and 

[00:54:49] Lesley Whitehead: Congratulations! 

[00:54:50] Sandy Koropp: get back to you. Thank you. 

[00:54:52] Lesley Whitehead: We can have a second. 

[00:54:53] Sandy Koropp: Or I can just write it and you can, if you can enter it somehow, because it’s so much and I’m trying to, um, you know, filter it all through a tiny funnel, a couple sentences, and I’m struggling with doing that. 

[00:55:07] Lesley Whitehead: That’s okay. You can, I’ll let you think on that in your time of silence.

[00:55:12] Sandy Koropp: Well, 

[00:55:12] go for it. I would say go for it. I did not get a business degree. It has been clear many times, but I was 50 when I started. 

[00:55:20] Lesley Whitehead: But I also think you’re smart. You surround your, yourself with people who know what they’re doing. I think that you hire well, and I do think that you’re very good at that about surrounding yourself with people who fill in the gaps. 

[00:55:33] Sandy Koropp: Yeah, and I, I mean, I think certainly there’s a modesty which comes from starting a business when you’re 50 and you had no experience in the field whatsoever, that I tell my staff when they start and sometimes I have teenagers that do closing shifts or whatever. And I say, Brooke, you know what? I’d be surprised if there’s any mistakes left when I depart for the day. don’t worry about it. We’re not surgeons. You know, we’re just sort of selling books and I always support whatever anybody does in, in good faith.

[00:56:10] And I’ve been very lucky. I mean, who applies to work at a bookstore, right? I mean, I’m very lucky. Some of the nicest people and the most honest people in the world. So I’ve had no issues. And sometimes when I’m with other small business owners, they’re like, Can you believe the teenagers today? I’m like, they’re awesome, right? I love them.

[00:56:30] Lesley Whitehead: You’re getting the pick of the litter.

[00:56:32] Sandy Koropp: Well, I mean, kinda. I mean, parents love that their kids work here, and the college kids that have come back have said, oh my god, I talk about you during interviews. Or not me, but the situation all the time. Because, I mean, if there’s a leak in the toilet, it’s on you. I don’t care that you’re 16. You know, you gotta.

[00:56:52] Lesley Whitehead: It’s all figure out able.

[00:56:54] Sandy Koropp: is. It is. It’s knowable.

[00:56:56] Lesley Whitehead: Life skills, life skills, people

[00:56:59] Sandy Koropp: Exactly. So I hope I shed some light on why, you know, you wanted to talk to me. 

[00:57:05] Lesley Whitehead: Yeah, of course, why they want to hear from you? Of course. Okay. Last but not least, let’s, I would love for you to share the best way for people to support, follow, be involved, et cetera, with Prairie Path Books and you Sandy.

[00:57:22] Sandy Koropp: Oh, you’re so nice. Um, we have a website. So it’s [email protected] is the email. You can contact me directly that way. And if you forgot that already, we’re the only bookstore in Wheaton. So if you just Google, um, Bookstore and Wheaton you’ll find us in the website and you’ll see our store hours And we you can also shop remotely say during the 10 inch snowstorm You can shop remotely and have things delivered to your home.

[00:57:53] So So yeah, there’s all kinds of way, but I mean the best thing that people like is coming in. We spend a lot of time on making the space inviting and welcoming and candlelit. And, um, there’s smart people here wandering around. So, and I, I will help you get started in conversation.

[00:58:13] Lesley Whitehead: Yes, you will. And please everyone sign up for Sandy’s newsletter. I don’t care if you’re in California, wherever it is worth reading. Every time she writes something, it’s so entertaining. I love it.

[00:58:27] Sandy Koropp: As soon as we get off the phone, I’m writing one.

[00:58:30] Lesley Whitehead: Nice. All right. Well, then I will leave you alone to do that. Sandy, thank you so, so much for being here. All of your wonderful brain power, your sharing, your community, for moving Prairie Path Books here. We so appreciate it. Linda and I are so happy and we are so grateful for… 

[00:58:48] Sandy Koropp: you two are really hard to like. I’ll say that. What’s there to like about you two? I don’t know. Give me some time. I need some more time. No, you guys are delightful. We’re gonna have a blast.

[00:58:58] Lesley Whitehead: I know, I’m so excited. Alright, you have a wonderful day and we’ll talk soon.

[00:59:02] Sandy Koropp: Okay, honey bear. Bye. 

[00:59:04] Lesley Whitehead: Thank you. Bye! 

[00:59:05] Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you found this episode inspiring as well as entertaining. If you want more out of the box wisdom from boots on the ground, creative, brave women like this one, subscribe to Her Story So Far podcast wherever you listen, and please share this link with anyone who needs some inspiration. To receive more wisdom in your inbox, sign up for my weekly letter at Lesleywhiteheadphotography. com.

[00:59:41] Her Story So Far podcast is produced in conjunction with mad talented executive producer K.O. Myers at Particulate Media. 

[00:59:51] Thank you to all my beautiful bold guests, without them there would be no show.

[00:59:57] Until next time, get out there and make yourself visible to the world. We need you and your creation. If no one has told you today, you are beautiful.

Her Story So Far

Her Story So Far focuses on outside-the-box conversations with badass female creatives. These women are birthing amazing passion projects in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of their lives. Host Lesley Whitehead is an artist, visual storyteller and multi-passionate marketer. She believes age shouldn’t stop you from achieving your dreams or make you invisible to the world. Join us to be inspired by the wit, wisdom and one-of-a-kind experiences of these amazing women.

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