A Walk in the Park with Amanda

Amanda Aschinger is a friend of mine. She is a smart business woman. I met her when she was a producer of a local television show called All About Business. I remember learning that she has a newborn baby (her second child), husband and a career to manage. I was impressed by her ability to effortlessly juggle all of that activity.  Over coffee at the Starbuck’s at Price Crossing in Olivette Amanda explained the business model for the show.  The format offered quality broadcast production elements for featured companies to use for their marketing purposes once the program aired. A win-win argument that admittedly blurs the lines between paid advertising and earned media but an opportunity for small businesses and non-profits to cost effectively have a media presence with the bonus of video they might use for their respective websites and promotion.

That newborn is more than two years old now. Amanda is now leveraging her producer/writer credentials at Solstice Productions which she and her husband originally started in 1997. Amanda is skilled at business development and will continue to succeed in my estimation. She is a go getter in the best sense of the term.

We met at the Laumeier Sculpture Park recently one afternoon to catch up. I congratulated her on a luncheon presentation she recently offered to the American Marketing Association that was generally well-received. I encouraged her to stay close to AMA. She agreed to do so. As we headed to the parking lot, since the conversation naturally lead to story -telling I told her about my book (Failure Coach, a novel by Wes Morgan) being available on amazon.com. She smiled and admitted that she had a book in  early stages of development and that she would be buying my book.

“Great I would love to know what you think. And I hope you will let me know how your book progresses. And if/you feel ready to pursue publishing it I can share my experience but also refer you to some others who can help you navigate the process.”

“Well, first I have to write it.”

“True but consider this…Have you been to Key West?”

“Yes”

“Well you know Ernest Hemmingway was a young man when he lived there and if you visit his house – now a museum. ..Well, what I remember most from my visit there was that Hemmingway would get up each morning. Go to his small office/studio and write 600 words a day. After that he would go fishing. Later, maybe Ernest would visit local.”

“Sounds like a pretty nice way to approach a book.”

“I know you are a busy person, but I think that's the key. Make time for writing and keep writing.”

In the meantime, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment in recommending Amanda as a resource for your next corporate video production. For more information - amanda@solsticeproductionsvideo.com