Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jelani Memory, founder and CEO of A Kids Co., located in Portland, OR, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
A Kids Co. is a new kind of media company, empowering the next generation through diverse storytelling. Launched in 2019, we create media for kids and grownups across verticals, including publishing, podcasting, audio, and video, focusing on telling the most important stories ever told.
Tell us about yourself
I'm a Portland, Oregon, native who grew up with dreams of being an artist. I didn't read a lot as a kid, so it's a bit ironic that I run a kid's book publishing. But having six kids means that a lot of my time is spent with my kids, helping them, teaching them, and learning from them. This business started because of my kids. I wrote A Kid's Book About Racism for them back in 2018, and they fell in love with it. They encouraged me to make more books on challenging and empowering topics like Divorce, Love, Death, Equality, and more. I took that idea and just ran with it.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment so far as a business owner is creating over 100+ books with mostly first-time authors on some of the most important topics kids will ever encounter. We have a truly unique publishing model where we write all of our books in a single day in collaboration with our authors. Because of our speed to market, we're able to create timely books that meet the moment for kids.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is that not every idea or product works out. We built an incredible app with over 50+ hours of incredible video content for kids back in 2021. It was going to be the "masterclass for kids." Unfortunately, it never got traction, and we had to scrap it. I'm proud of what we made, and it was tremendously hard to kill that product, but it was the right decision.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Here are my top 3 tips for starting a business:
- Find a problem that you have a unique relationship with. This is the spark for your idea!
- Come up with a solution that you would use. Build something, anything!
- Show that solution to someone, anyone, and everyone. Start marketing!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://akidsco.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jelanimemory/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jelanimemory/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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