Growing with Determination

Lori Stutsman, Owner, President & Customer Success Manager of Extra Mile Marketing (EMM) Inc., takes pride in mentoring young people, particularly young women, both within her agency and outside it.

She is always willing to allow others to shadow her, attend client meetings and workshops, and participate in critical decision-making. Every year, she holds a Strategic Planning Session for the entire EMM team, where each person is encouraged to share knowledge, voice opinions, and help shape the agency’s trajectory.

During each Strategic Planning period, everyone is given a book to promote unique viewpoints, foster professional development, and expand their thought leadership capabilities. In addition, Lori encourages employees to seek out and attend classes that will help them grow personally, and she is always willing to pay for these classes.

Lori’s determination and courage has been an inspiration for all who have worked with her throughout her 30+ year career.

In 2002, during a tough economy, she quit her job to start EMM, facing innumerable challenges and roadblocks along the way. Yet she considers it one of the best decisions she has ever made and has developed an amazing team from all walks of life whom she can trust to do their jobs and grow the agency.

Lori has built long-lasting relationships with clients, many spanning over ten years. She cares deeply for her employees and clients, recently celebrating EMM’s 20th anniversary with a party featuring numerous past clients and employees, as well as current clients and all the current EMM team members.

Lori also supports a host of charitable causes. She has been involved with Friends of Youth, a sizeable regional operation that serves youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, unstable environments, and more. She served on their board for eight years, acting as both Board Chairman and Board Development Chair. She continues her work with the agency today, donating time and money, recruiting new board members, and even hosting a Giving Tree at the office. She also served on the Strategic Planning Committee and Math Adoption Committee for the Bellevue School District.

“I think of myself as somewhat of a pioneer for women in business, exploring new roads and constantly learning. I’ve been in the marketing and advertising field for over 40 years, and when I started out, right out of college, I was in the billing department of a large ad agency. But I saw my position as an opportunity to look and see what types of jobs were at an agency,” explains Lori. “As an example, I wanted to learn how to buy media, so I offered our Media Director a trade – I would take home her paperwork and do it in the evening if she would take that time to teach me how to buy media. It was a huge success, and because she taught and encouraged me, I eventually became a media director.”

According to Lori, the world has changed in the last 40 years, but she and her team have a long way to go. In her opinion, women must be steady, even, and intelligent. But she also thinks one of women’s strengths is that they can be caring and compassionate, which allows others to flourish, take risks, and grow in their jobs.

“This builds a much stronger team. Our team refers to each other as their ‘work family,’ and we joke that we are the Hotel California – you can check out, but you never really leave, as evidenced by the great attendance at our 20th anniversary party!” she elucidates.

“I started EMM in 2003 because I wanted to build an environment where people were excited to come to work – where they were energized by the team and could enjoy both what they do and each other. I think we have built that. It’s not something that I, alone, am responsible for. It’s a team effort.”

For example, when Covid hit in 2020, Lori was out of the country. The team had to figure out how everyone would start working from home. The COO had to ensure the technology infrastructure could handle the employees' and company’s needs. “In addition, the team was concerned that we would lose our connection with each other while working from home. So, they instituted a program where they would meet online for lunch every day at noon,” states Lori. “That way, we could still share our personal lives and client issues. If there was nothing to talk about, we would play online Pictionary or other games. Here we are, over 3 years later, and we still meet 4 times a week to stay connected. We are back in the office 2-3 days a week, but the tradition continues!”