Torch, Winter 1981

14 The Times and the Seasons by Pat Landers Dixon A ndrea Lundberg Printy is a modem day example of wifely excellence . As I interviewed her about the Christian businesswoman and free enterprise, the work portrait of the woman in Proverbs 31 came to mind. That virtuous wife had servants to manage , money to invest, and a position to admire . Similarly, Andrea shares the same responsibilities in her business, LecTec, in Minneapolis, Minnesota . Tell me about yourself and your educational and professional background. Godly parents taught me the Word of God; as a result, I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as a young child. After graduation from a school of nursing in Chicago, I worked in a psychiatric hospital in Iowa. I am married to David Printy, president of Morison International Liquid Asset Management, Inc., and the mother oftwo sons, Luke and Chuck. While David was in Vietnam, I did some research for a physician on transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), which is used in acute, chronic pain . The results ofthat project were four published papers and my working as a consultant for a company which manufactured these TENS devices. Didn't LecTec come about due to your study and involvement in the TENS modality? Yes . When I was working with the other company, I found that its nerve stimulator didn't have an adequate conductor of current into the body. So a physician, an engineer, a pharmacist, and I got together and started LecTec in 1977. So, Andrea, you were experiencing the free enterprise system first hand. What were some of the experiences you as a woman had in the birthing of this new company? Well, the initial investment was minimal: we each invested around $300 to $600 each . It's difficult to think that the original investment was only $1600, isn't it? No one took a salary for awhile . The company formed in July ; in September, we started to sell our product: electrodes. That' s unheard of- to begin making a product that soon . Since I was the only partner who could use a calculator, my duties consisted in obtaining and controlling the finances . My husband helped and supported me in this . Now, at first the bank had to adjust to this idea: my walking in there to discuss cash flow projections for the company. This hesitancy has stopped since LecTec has proved itselfand doesn't need the bank anyway . Even now as the vice-president, I may give a price quotation over the phone to an unsure businessman. He hears my voice and then asks to speak to "the decision maker." I then assure him that he is talking to her. You're vice-president of your company. What are some of your duties in that position? To do all the financial and all the clinical work . Ifwe need to have a product tested in a hospital, I do the evaluation. I handle all the personnel and insurance and manage the office staff. Some days, I even go downstairs and make electrodes . No two days are alike. Variety is the spice of life. Absolutely . We now make 50 different products and are launching a new one, a transdermal medication . pad. Are you a national or international company? Over two years ago, we sold a Japanese company the right to manufacture our product there and we now own 30 percent of their stock. With that investment and our own company, we' LL do a million dollars in sales this year. That's amazing for a four-year-old company which started with a $1600 capital outlay. True, Pat, but I could walk out ofLecTec tomorrow and deem it a good experience. The loss would be minor compared to the realization that God has something better ahead. I believe Proverbs 3:5 ,6. I am not attached to the company; my husband and children come before it. We Christians can't afford any permanent ties as that. The business world is exciting, but the dividends are temporal. My values lie in the recent realization that l want to invest my life in the lives of others: that's the eternal investment of fl Timothy 2:2. That's exciting! This lady's achievements in our free enterprise business world are not within reach of us all, for she possesses unusual gifts and resources. She may have well proved that domesticity has no restricted sphere . Even the woman of Proverbs 31 had responsibilities which extended beyond her home to the management of her lands. Andrea's husband and children come first before any business interests, but they have been her main support and encouragement in the venture. She, like the woman in Proverbs, is the delight of her family. No , her success is not by mere chance; rather the means to that success lie on the strong foundation of the fear and wisdom of God .