Introducing our Newest Fairy Godmother, Sarah O’Leary Burningham Owner of Little Bird Publicity

We are pleased to introduce newest Fairy Godmother Sarah O’Leary Burningham, owner and founder of Little Bird Publicity! Sarah will be flying in from New York to share tips on “How to Be Your OWN Publicity Guru” at next week’s Utah County Chapter Meeting, Thursday August 18th. Don’t miss what you can learn from this New York City publicist and author! Register here!

Hometown: I’ve lived all over the country. I was born in Texas and have lived in Georgia, Washington, Utah, and now New York.

Current Residence: New York, NY

Education: BA in English from the University of Utah

Professional Background: Before founding Little Bird in 2009, I worked in publicity and marketing at a number of national publishers, including HarperCollins, REGAN, HarperStudio, and William Morrow, where I created and executed campaigns for Ralph Nader, Neal Boortz, the late William F. Buckley, Jr., Frank Warren’s bestselling PostSecret series, Clinton strategist Doug Schoen, Beth Lisick’s popular Helping Me Help Myself, and the late Jeanne Kirkpatrick. I also worked in publicity at Workman Publishing, Miramax Books, and Gibbs Smith Publisher, and I am the author of How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl’s Survival Guide and Boyology: A Teen Girl’s Crash Course in All Things Boy. I’ve been featured on the Today Show, FOX News, CBS News, NPR, Oprah Radio, in Newsweek and Teen Vogue, and on local TV and radio programs around the country.

What you wanted to be when you grew up: An interior designer

What you are: A publicist and author (the owner of Little Bird Publicity)

Brief Summary of your Start Up: Little Bird Publicity is a full-service boutique public relations and marketing firm that blurs the lines of old and new media to develop creative platforms for authors and brands. I weave more than 10 years of marketing, publicity and publishing experience on major bestselling projects together with my own experience as a published author, to offer innovative, targeted campaigns.

Company Website? www.littlebirdpublicity.com

What inspired you? I was inspired by the idea that I could balance my life and be my own boss, building on a career I loved.

How long have you been in business? Since September 2009

How did you fund it? I saved for nearly a year before launching the company, all while working a full time job. (I had a well-budgeted business plan to help me determine what my start-up costs would be.) I then used those savings in the first few months of the company, as I got the business going.

Do you have a Fairy Godmother (or Mentor)? I’ve had the chance to learn from many talented women in the book publishing and publicity worlds, including Kim Hicks at Workman Publishing, Suzanne Wickham and Judith Regan at Regan and HarperCollins, Greta deJong at the Catalyst magazine, my wonderful editor and publicist at Chronicle Books, and even though it might sound cheesy and she’s not technically in publishing, my own mother, who always told me I could be anything I wanted to be. I also have to give a shout-out to a college professor who inspired me to start writing creatively, Melanie Rae Thon.

Do you belong to any Business Organization or Networking Groups? National League of American PEN Women, Publishers Publicity Association, 85 Broads and now Startup Princess!

Current Business Challenge? Managing potential clients against the day-to-day work load. As a business owner, you need to deliver on a daily basis while still thinking about business for the future.

What are you doing about it? I’ve hired a part-time assistant to help manage office and administrative tasks.

Favorite motivational quote: “Proceed until apprehended,” something my dear friend Bridget Farmer once said. Her point is that when it comes to risk-taking, there will always be naysayers. You just have to go for it – make your own way – and don’t stop.

Family? A wonderful husband – I call him my 50% shareholder.

If so, how do you balance family and business? I don’t believe that a woman can have it all – I believe that a smart woman makes choices about what she wants and what works for her. For me, that includes maintaining a solid marriage and successful business, in that order. To keep those things in balance takes daily assessment and a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it.

Favorite book? For someone who works with books that’s a dangerous question! So many books, so little time. One I go back to again and again is The Great Gatsby. And I love Kate Chopin’s Awakening.

What do you do to relax? Yoga and regular vacations. I’m a firm believer in making the time to let down – if you’re a scheduler like me, be sure to work it into your calendar.

What do you want to change most about your world? There’s a lot of fear in publishing and the media right now, as companies close and budgets are slashed. I wish we could find a way to continue to publish quality books in a more timely manner. I truly believe that books have the power to change the world. I know they’ve changed mine.

What are you most proud of? The business accomplishment that I’m most proud of is starting Little Bird Publicity and making it a success. I launched the company in the midst of hard times in this recession and had a lot of people telling me that I should think twice about leaving my corporate job. Yet, I knew that I could make my business work and trusted myself enough to take that risk. It’s paid off, both financially and emotionally. I have never been happier.

What advice would you like to offer other Start Up Princesses? To trust your gut – but to back up your gut feelings with solid research. It’s critical to have faith in yourself, but no brilliant idea or amount of confidence alone will make for a successful business. You have to run the numbers and do the research to support your instincts. Being a good business owner is a combination of hard-work and intuition. Using them together makes you almost unstoppable.

Favorite Magic Wand (tool/resource)? WordPress – being able to create and work with my own website has enabled me to keep costs down while still developing my professional profile. I’m also a devoted reader. Before launching my business, I read a number of books on business advice, which helped me greatly.

If you could design a tiara, what precious stones would you use? I like funky, nature-inspired jewelry so I would probably go with some sort of cool shell or even petrified wood. Turquoise is another favorite.