Canadian Colleagues Publish Children’s Books About Real Life

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

Let's talk about fairy tales. That's right, fairy tales, and they have evolved quite a bit over the years. Fairy tales used to be pretty hardcore. Here is an example from the early 1800s. And by the way, this does relate to Side Hustle School, so just stay with me.

An example from the early 1800s, once upon a time there was a woman with two daughters and they had become so poor that they no longer had even a piece of bread to put in their mouths. Their hunger was so great that their mother became unhinged and desperate. She said to her children, "I've got to kill you so that I can get something to eat." How is that for a bedtime story? I'm guessing that everyone in the early 1800s grew up having nightmares. That was actually a mainstream popular story at the time.

Now, on the other hand, some of the stories that have survived in popular form to this day and most children's books have softened up to the point of pretending that the world is always okay and that nothing bad ever happens. Well, our featured Sadasilors of the day are two Canadians working together at an advertising agency. They're also both moms of young kids and they decide that children's books need to be able to deal with real issues in a sensitive way, but without skirting reality. That's the mission that serves as a foundation for their project, children's books about real life. And of course, this is a money-making project.

It's not just a mission. We will talk about the business side of it as well. Among other things, they do something really smart by packaging their books in bundles. So more on that at the end. And by the way, my name is Chris Guillebeau.

This is episode 600 of Side Hustle School. 600 episodes in a row every single day telling you a different story. Someone who's found a way to make money without quitting their job, doing something creative and creating an asset for themselves. Man, I am so grateful to be on this journey with you. So without further ado, quick little thank you to our sponsor and then I'll tell you all about today's story.

It's pretty good. [Music]

Megan Hadwin and Nikki Sangerik were just two moms in Toronto, Canada. Well, two moms who were fed up with puppies, rainbows, counting sheep, pumpkins and magic polar bears. They weren't upset with real puppies or real rainbows or real pumpkins and magic polar bears don't actually exist. Megan and Nikki were just fed up with the cliche tropes that existed in children's stories.

The tropes that fail to reflect the reality humans live in. Each trip to the children's book section left them feeling more frustrated than enchanted. Where was the honesty? Where were the books that were helping plant the seeds of empathy and resilience in the next generation? Answering these questions became the goal for Megan and Nikki when they decided to change the narrative, the children's story narrative, that is.

Their decision to shed the world of fairy godmothers and kissing frogs led them to create Other Life Lessons, an honest children's book series that focuses on teaching kids about the real ups and downs of life. The story of Other Life Lessons first took form eight years ago when Megan and Nikki started working together at a Toronto advertising agency. Since they met, they've been working together as a team, which forged them into an inseparable dynamic duo. During this time, they did everything together. They even had babies born a mere six weeks apart.

At this point, their whole world revolved around thoughts of what future life lessons they would teach their kids. And that's when it all clicked. They realized that their kids needed that honest children's book series, talking about the ups and downs of life. No fuzzy metaphors, no hiding the truth, real life lessons presented in language that children understood. At their day jobs, Megan is the copywriter and Nikki is the art director.

This teamwork makes for a high level of publishing efficiency. They didn't sit on their dream. They didn't wait until they felt motivated or inspired. They didn't wait for those fairy godmothers to tell them what to do. They just rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

Since Nikki had the experience using Adobe Illustrator, she created all the graphics and illustrations and Megan began weaving together the stories. They chose to start with three titles and build their brand out from there. The first three books were "Life's Not Fair," "Sometimes Someone Dies," and "Why Mommy Works." Once the stories were complete, they would join the text with images and Illustrator and then export a file that could go straight to the printer. Where did they find that printer? Well, a friend of a friend owned their own printing house.

So they made the connection and started getting samples and rates. There was a lot of trial and error when it came to designing the physical book itself, but in the end, they landed on a six by six softcover book with 36 matte pages. Once the details were sorted, they ordered a few thousand books to start. The books cost $2.89 each to print, and they would sell them for around $10 to $11 each. They also donate $1 from the sale of each book to a mental health charity.

When the time came to launch, Nikki and Megan published their website, sent their first email, and popped a bottle of Prosecco. That's what I do every morning when I publish the episode, by the way. Prosecco for breakfast. Because they'd prepared and asked people they knew to help with the announcement, they got their first sale within a minute of going live. Now, this is interesting.

The sudden launch of other life lessons impressed a lot of their friends and colleagues, but others were confused. "You had time to publish books and start a company?" They ask. But no, that's not quite how it worked. They didn't have time. They found a way to make time.

They had to make time for something they believed in. Now, we asked Megan and Nikki what some of their advice would be for side hustle school listeners hoping to publish and advertise their own books. They said, first, build a social media presence. Second, go to where your audience is. Third, whether you're self-publishing or not, never assume a publisher will do those things for you.

You have to do them for yourself. And number four, interact with others in your industry. So in their case, they go to trade shows, mom markets, and related events. They know their target audience, and they're willing to meet them where they're at. That's what sells their books.

And speaking of sales, how are those going? Because after all, it's not just a mission. It's also a money-making business. After five months since the birth of other life lessons, Megan and Nikki have made $16,000, almost paying off their $17,000 in startup costs. So what's next?

Well, they are already working on printing series two of other life lessons. They continue to expand the store. And now that those costs are paid off, they'll enjoy making money from every sale. [Music]

Okay, so I took a look at the website for other life lessons. I think it's a super clear, simple design.

I understand right away what it's about and how I can purchase a book. And here's something they did that was really smart. You can purchase each book on its own or in a bundle of three. Remember, they launched with three titles in series one. Now, I'm pretty sure that the bundle is the most popular purchase option.

So you can purchase these single books for $11 each, or you can purchase the bundle for $30. I would guess that most people who go to the website, who hear about this series, perhaps you, if you've got kids or if you know somebody with kids, it's hard to choose one of them. So why not just get all three, right? And they also have a For My Mom Friends bundle that includes three copies of Why Mommy Works. That's also available for $30.

In addition, they have some other products for sale, including a tote bag and mug that reads, at least pretend you're listening. I thought that was great. It's probably a good idea for anybody who works with other people, who works in a traditional job or goes to meetings. Isn't that what you always hope? Just pretend you're listening, right?

It's okay if you're not really listening, but just act like you are. Anyway, what a fun, meaningful, and empathetic business. I'm so glad they're doing it, and I look forward to hearing about series two, and hopefully series three and beyond. So Megan and Nicky, congratulations. Thank you for being part of Side Hustle School.

And listeners, hey, thank you for being part of Side Hustle School. It's episode 600. Did I mention that? We have come so far, and I still enjoy making this show for you every single day. All right, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better.

Today's show notes, guess where today's show notes are? They are at sidehustleschool.com/600. Crazy how that works, episode 600/600-600. We are done for this episode, but the journey continues. I will be back again tomorrow, and I hope you'll join me.

Once again, my name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.