When Carrie Sass started her business eight years ago, she thought she and her daughter in law would run a small event business. However, it’s turned into one of Stockton’s premier marketing firms.
By ELIZABETH STEVENS
Business Journal editor
STOCKTON — Carrie Sass started Sass PR in 2006. It was a mid-career shift after her start in printing and a short stint later working for CSU Stanislaus at the Stockton Center. But it was working for the Record newspaper in community relations where Sass built connections and developed her love of Stockton.
Her company now represents a range of businesses that includes Lincoln Center and Allied Waste as well as nonprofits such as Visionary Homebuilders.
Sass PR also produces San Joaquin Lifestyles magazine.
Business Journal editor Elizabeth Stevens met Sass at her office in Lincoln Center, and they talked about business, family and community.
CVBJ: How did you decide you wanted to start your own business?
SASS: I started Family Day at the Park with the Record 18 years ago now. I did that every year and then when I left the Record, somebody else did it that was in my place.
I really missed working heavily in the community, and I thought, ‘Well, what the heck. I’d like to continue doing the event.’ I just quit (CSU Stanislaus) and went to (publisher) Roger Coover and said, ‘I want to keep doing this event for you. Would you have an interest?’ And he hired me to actually do the event for him.
CVBJ: Did relationships help you build your business?
SASS: Yes, and I think working for a newspaper or Lincoln Center, for instance, or even (San Joaquin Lifestyles) magazine, serving on boards and committees helped. It was my position in the community, the kinds of jobs that I had that allowed me the opportunity to work with the Eberhardts or the Spanoses or all of the other wonderful people in the community that actually do good work for different nonprofits.
When I went out on my own I knew I had those connections, and I knew I was fortunate to have those connections, but I didn’t understand how wonderful those would become for having my own business. It really did help.
CVBJ: Waiting until you were established must have helped.
SASS: It wasn’t a plan. It just happened. This is the irony of the whole thing. I honestly thought Anna and I would be running a small event business putting on events, and it’s just blossomed into something much, much bigger. We didn’t even advertise. We’ve just really been blessed.
Every day I’m amazed that here we are doing what we’re doing. It surprises me that we found a niche and we’ve been able to meet it or to find it and grow with it. I was surprised that in the drop in the economy that we were able to stay in business, or that we were able to thrive, but that was because a lot of people didn’t have in-house marketing anymore, so they would utilize us on a temporary basis.
CVBJ: How is it doing business in Stockton?
SASS: I love the relationship of so many different people that are connected one way or the other to this community. The people I hire are connected to everybody. There’s somebody related to everybody in this town, and it just makes for a wonderful, diverse opportunity for business.
It makes a great opportunity for relationships. It’s very encouraging that there are generations of families here. I just hired Elizabeth Esau. Her great aunt is Marian Jacobs. Marian is my mentor. For 30 years Marian has been teaching me how to do PR and marketing. Amazing woman. Here I am now mentoring her great-niece. It’s just like this little sandwich! Everywhere you’re involved, whether it’s through UOP or the Chamber or the Business Journal, wherever you’re involved, you’re connected one way or another as long as you’re not holed up in your house somewhere. It’s an amazing town for connections.
CVBJ: You work with your daughter-in-law.
SASS: My daughter-in-law Anna is just my rock. She’s just something else. She’s the Steady Freddy. She just keeps us moving on. She’s the kind and gentle one. She has her degree in hospitality. She’s the wonderful, hospitable person. She’s just very good about making sure I’m taken care of to make the connections and then she helps me follow them through. I’m hoping to prepare this for her to take over someday.
It’s unusual. She asked to work for me before she was even engaged to my son, and I thought, ‘Oh, this could be a good thing or a bad thing.’ And it’s just turned out to be an amazing thing.
CVBJ: How do you balance family and work?
SASS: I make them go to everything with me so I can see them! (laughs) We have really good family time. We just make it a point to do as much as we can.
We make it a point to gather as much as we can and everybody lives pretty close to their families. I’m very flexible on holidays.
My husband’s a teacher, he’s taught at Lincoln Unified forever and I do need to mention him. Without him it probably wouldn’t have happened. He’s just always there. He’s the one that’s going to help me schlep tables and all that kind of stuff.
CVBJ: What do you like best about your job?
SASS: What I like best about my job is the variety and energy that is created every single day. (We’re) always moving. The relationships that we’ve built with our clients, but most importantly watching the development of a young staff.
They’re a great staff. They’re really young, very vivacious. Smart. I love watching that.
CVBJ: What advice do you have for women who are thinking about starting their own business?
SASS: Just go for it. A colleague of mine, Judith Buethe, who I adore said to me one time, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen? You could fail.’ Yeah, she’s right. That’s about the worst thing that could happen, and who hasn’t somewhere along the line?
So, surround yourself with great people. Surround yourself with wonderful, supportive staff. Have a team.
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