Small business helps underrepresented kids see themselves in books

August is National Black Business Month, highlighting the contributions of the approximately 2.6 million Black-owned businesses to the U.S. economy.

We recently talked with Dr. Melissa-Sue John, founder of Lauren Simone Publishing House and a Citizens 2021 Small Business Community Champion award winner, to learn about her mission to share more diverse stories for children.

As a psychologist, author, entrepreneur, and mother, Dr. Melissa-Sue John has had a successful life. But she’s never forgotten where she came from.

Dr. John was born and raised in Jamaica, her island home that she loved for many reasons, including the unique cultures of its residents.

“I love the diverse people. I went to school with Black, white, Indian, and Asian kids,” she says. “We never referred to ourselves in those terms. We were all the same — Jamaicans.”

It’s that appreciation for shared human experience that brought her to America to pursue a career in psychology and eventually create a mother/daughter publishing service, Lauren Simone Publishing House. The East Hartford, Connecticut-based company, recognized with a Citizens 2021 Small Business Community Champion Award, is sharing stories of diversity and of what children of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities can accomplish.

As a psychologist, Dr. John believes people have certain fixed mindsets of what they can become. She was no exception growing up in Jamaica.

“I was going to study premed because that’s what good students did,” she says.

She knew where she wanted to pursue that career: in the melting pot of New York City.

“In college, there were so many immigrants from South America, Central America, and Europe,” she recalls. “It was amazing how we all interacted and bonded.”

But she noticed a disappointing trend when she ventured off campus to ride the subway.

“I saw all different types of people coming and going, but it was like people from the same ethnic groups had assigned stops — whether it was Chinatown, Little Italy, or Brooklyn,” she recalls. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow! New York is so diverse, but even within those cultural communities, people live in segregation.’”

It was the combination of that experience and her love of psychology classes that prompted her to pursue a doctorate in a different field of study: racial disparities and stereotyping.

After graduate school, she was a co-investigator on a grant to build a curriculum to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to pre-K children involved in Head Start, a program promoting school readiness for low-income students.

In her research, she noticed a troubling disparity and shared her frustration with her husband, Matthew, and their daughters.

“We talked at dinner about how most of the books I read to them never featured Black people,” she recounts. “They were always just about animals or white people. And when a Black person was featured in a story, it was only because they were the first to do something.”

Upon hearing those concerns, Dr. John’s then-seven-year-old daughter, Olivia Lauren, shared some powerful advice.

“She said, ‘Mom, don’t complain about the problem, be the solution,’” laughs Dr. John.

Dr. John couldn’t argue with her young daughter’s wisdom, but was unsure how to make it happen. “I thought, ‘I’m a scientist, not a writer.’”

She enlisted the help of Olivia and her older sister, Alyssa Simone. Each already had an impressive creative background. At just seven and 13 years old, her daughters were taking on small acting roles in New York City, including appearances on popular television shows.

One of the first books they would write was Olivia Lauren’s Guide to Becoming an Actor to answer questions children and parents would often ask about acting. That became the start of a series of guides, such as Olivia Lauren’s Occupations A to Z: A Children’s Guide to Jobs and Careers.

“A lot of immigrants come to this country thinking you’re not successful unless you become a doctor or a lawyer, but there are really so many fascinating careers,” emphasizes Dr. John.

The books also helped create a broader understanding of what diversity means.

“We weren’t just depicting Black or brown kids, but all types of kids…kids with red hair, kids with albinism, kids in wheelchairs,” she explains. “We wanted to let every child see that they matter and are important.”

The books also went beyond traditional occupational stereotypes, depicting an Asian basketball player and a Black female doctor, for example.

“If a child never sees a doctor, policeman, or firefighter who looks like them, it’s hard for them to imagine becoming one.”

By 2016, Dr. John’s plan to create diverse books had taken off. As word spread about the books she and her daughters were creating, authors reached out to see if she would publish their titles. This became the start of Lauren Simone Publishing House.

But she wanted to go beyond simply publishing a diverse range of children’s books. Dr. John wanted children to be a part of the creative process. She tapped young, local artists to illustrate books and engaged an established graphic designer to help these young talents develop their skills.

As part of that focus, she collaborated with the Love of Literature Book Club to create a virtual summer program, where children from all backgrounds and abilities could come to learn. The workshops drew children from all over the world, including the Bahamas, Canada, and Jamaica.

Dr. John, who juggles the business and her career in teaching and psychology, is thrilled by the success she and her daughters, now aged 13 and 19, have achieved with the publishing company. Thanks to the $10,000 grant from the Citizens 2021 Small Business Community Champion Award, they’ll be able to enhance the summer program and bring on a social media marketer to increase awareness about the program’s opportunities for young children.

Advice From Experience

Dr. John has learned a great deal in the process of building her company. She offers four tips for entrepreneurs thinking about starting their own venture.

1. Create a business plan. Putting together a business plan will help you set milestones for your business, identify who you are as a brand, determine how you differentiate from other companies in your industry, and be useful when you apply for grant applications or other financing.

   “We had two main goals: creating books and selling books,” Dr. John says. “But there are so many decisions to be made and obstacles to overcome when starting a business, such as choosing a location, obtaining financing, and getting legal concerns in order. Having a plan can help you stay focused.”

2. Be ready to learn.When they are getting started, many entrepreneurs may think they have to go it alone. But there are many resources available to help you gain knowledge in areas that aren’t your expertise, says Dr. John.

   “For example, marketing wasn’t our background, so we didn’t know things like how to market to schools, libraries, or bookstores, or how to use Facebook advertising, or how to solicit reviews,” she says. “We needed to identify our target audience, and we had to learn how to turn one-time buyers into long-term customers. We attended many workshops from organizations such as the Small Business Administration and the mentor networking group SCORE, and we worked with business coaches and consultants. We also joined professional organizations for publishers and authors.”

3. Maintain sufficient cash flow. John notes that cash flow management was one of Lauren Simone Publishing House’s biggest initial challenges. In the beginning, they used savings to cover startup costs such as logo design or securing copyrights. Now, she is more aware of resources such as business grants or financing. “It is very important to have more money coming in than going out at the end of the year,” she says. “This might sound obvious, but it requires focus. Budgeting and financial forecasting are skills entrepreneurs need to ensure that cash flow does not become a problem.” 

4. Take the leap. Most people feel like the time is never right to start a business. Dr. John says sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and see where it leads you. “You won’t regret trying, but you will regret never pursuing your dream.”