Laura gets a spark from bringing her clients’ ideas to life.

As a lifelong bookworm, she’s always loved stories — from the A.A. Milne books her mother read to her and the crazy stories her Dad made up at bedtime (“…and they discovered the belly button of the world…”) to Catch-22.

So it was no big surprise that Laura became a writer. And while she didn’t exactly set out to become a trade journalist for the accounting profession, she couldn’t have asked for a better career. With 15 years of experience writing for and about the accounting profession — seven of those years writing and editing practice management newsletters for accounting firms – Laura knows the challenges and opportunities that face marketing and other firm leaders.

Building on this journalistic background, Laura honed her marketing-oriented copywriting skills as Manager of Marketing Services for PKF North America. She supported the marketing efforts of the accounting association’s 80-plus independent accounting firms by writing a variety of turnkey marketing publications, from brochures to white papers and research reports, as well as by directing online and in-person training events.

After five years with PKF, Laura took the entrepreneurial leap and started Creative Sparks, a content development company that helps accounting and other professional services firms translate their complex, often highly technical ideas into compelling, resonant content.

In 1999, Laura (Bardey) met Bryan Sparks, her Taido karate instructor and future husband. Not only is Bryan the love of her life, but he also gave Laura an awesome last name and the support to pursue her entrepreneurial passion!

Laura and Bryan are proud parents of a beautiful Abyssinian cat, Blink. Laura’s clients know Blink as the “loud-mouthed cat” who likes to add her voice to the conversation!