With 14 years in corporate America, Stacey made the decision to stay home and raise her family when she was pregnant with her first child. It was a life changing move. This suburban Wisconsin Mom was not a teacher by training but she went on to create Kindergarten and First Grade books now used in schools across the nation. Now, a successful author, publisher, motivator, consultant and Mom, Stacey is nationally renowned as an education expert.
From Strollers to First Grade
So how did this all begin? When Stacey’s first daughter was a toddler she walked the neighborhood with other Moms and like many American women, tuned into Oprah daily for entertainment and inspiration. Like a good Mom, Stacey was eager to prepare her young daughter for the new world of Kindergarten and tried to find resources they could use together to help with this transition to formal education. Alas, there were none.
A lot had changed since Stacey remembered First Grade, let alone Kindergarten. There was new terminology and a different language that seemed foreign to this corporate mogul turned full-time Mom. Partly to help other families of the same generation understand how to help their kids and to better prepare their little ones for this new school adventure, Stacey developed “Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten” a resource that was a big hit with the children, parents, and the teachers.
The Power of the Mommy Brigade
What made these books unique was not only the content that empowered parents to bridge the proverbial generation gap with the new school language – these books were designed with durable dry erase material for every page. Ever read a book to a sticky fingered youngster? These books were ingeniously designed to be kid friendly and mess proof.
The prototype passed muster in the neighborhood and the kids were the toughest critics helping to design the many iterations before publication. But how does a first-time author publish a book? Here comes the Oprah connection! Stacey recalls the Millionaire Mom episode on Oprah that motivated her to make this book project, a reality. She picked up additional tips from another Oprah show on self publishing and was inspired by yet another show about Africa where youngsters asked for books to read instead of dolls to play with. Talk about tugging at your heart strings!
Stacey was a Mom on a mission with a passion to get her book published and that she did. With the unconditional support of her husband and kids she calls them her “saving grace” during this publishing journey which had times of frustration and challenge. Stacey is committed to paying-it-forward by helping other Moms realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
How did she get published? Oprah’s show on self-publishing was the first time Stacey had seriously thought about self-publishing her own book. She researched self-publishing on-line and found many people who raved about Dan Poynter.
“To me he is the Oprah of Self Publishing. I read Dan Poynter’s The Self Publishing Manual and followed the steps in his book. I found a local printer who introduced me to Two Bit Production and they were willing to take a chance on me to do my illustrations and website. They believed in what I was trying to do and were willing to work with me to bring it to life. They believed so much in the mission that they were willing to tear up their bill if it was a flop. Having their faith gave me the courage to soar! Thinking back they took a great risk and I would never be where I am today without them and many other people, many of whom I did NOT really know all that well, that believed in what I was trying to do and stepped up to the plate to offer words of encouragement or forged connections to get me to the next step.”
Amazed by the number of people who believed in her to the point that they became brand evangelists sharing the news about her books to teachers and schools, Stacey truly believes in the power of networking. She decided to do a small press run of 3,000 books and did not order an ISBN number (this number needs to be coded on the back of the book in order for it to be sold by major distributors, such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon). Stacey thought she would have the rest of her life to sell those 3,000 copies and literally drove around from school to school and bookstore to bookstore selling books out of her car. The book was featured in the local newspaper and then TMJ4 Milwaukee Television did a story which had Paula Jones from Barnes & Noble calling and asking to carry her books. Paula helped Stacey get the all important ISBN number and get the books into the National Barnes & Noble retailer and set up numerous book signing opportunities.
Creating Life on Her Terms
Was it easy? No! Stacey had to jump over her fair share of hurdles and had many a dark day but so many people believed in what she was trying to do that she took baby steps that advanced her project to a profitable business. According to Stacey, “I bootstrapped and self funded my business from day one!”
“I love an Oprah quote that really resonated with me from one of her shows: Obstacles are really just opportunities in disguise. It is so true. Every obstacle along the way has turned out to be a blessing. I had the amazing support of my family, who I empowered into the process. I mean who better to help me write “Let’s get Ready For Second Grade” than Megan, who just finished 2nd grade and Heidi, who just finished 4th! My husband gave me a clear crystal clock in 2004 for the first Christmas celebrating Cedar Valley Publishing. He had the logo engraved along with a phrase he coined that has since become my mantra: The Dream is Clear to Believe is the Reward. I can’t tell you how many times a day I look at that clock and it makes me smile and it keeps me going because the dream is crystal clear for me. This concept has become bigger than my products – it has morphed into a movement to empower parents, kids and teachers to work together to change education starting at the core – preschool and Kindergarten!”
Stacey is fiercely passionate about helping others learn from her experiences. “One of my challenges was in trying to build my own Google footprint for my titles and my company. It took a long while before I realized that the one thing that ties us all together is my name – and I hadn’t even thought about branding that. If I was to do it all over I would have named my book ‘Kindergarten’. Had I done that I would have been using my key search word as my title without any other words to get in the way of people finding my Kindergarten book.”
With a powerful personal network that started with the playgroup Mommies, Stacey is the Founder and CEO of two publishing companies: Cedar Valley Publishing and Stacey Kannenberg Unlimited. By the way, Cedar Valley was the street Stacey used to walk along with her young daughter in a stroller so how fitting that she chose this name for her first business.
The Spanish/English edition of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! iA Prepararse Para Kindergarten! was released in February of 2009 and has already sold 3,000 copies. Overall, Stacey has all sold over 60,000 copies of her three titles.
This entrepreneurial Mom made her mark by designing a much needed resource for parents and kids. Using her transferable skills from the corporate arena and honoring her values as a Mom who wants to raise her own children, Stacey made this career move work based on her terms.
Stacey’s Advice and Action Steps:
- If you are starting a business find a niche market. No one ever thought of a national Kindergarten text book – and it took off!
- Consider a platform based on need. What is the need of your client base – do your research.
- Tap into your personal network. The Mommy and Daddy brigade is a powerful group; learn from each other.
- Seek out mentors and supporters who share your values and mission.
- Believe that one person can make a difference!
Quote:
Stacey’s favorite quote is from her husband, Mike Kannenberg: “The dream is clear to believe is the reward.”
Resources:
Cedar Valley Publishing – http://www.cedarvalleypublishing.com/
Savor the Success – http://www.savorthesuccess.com/
$10,000 a month for the best idea! http://www.ideablob.com/
Publicity opportunities at: http://www.parapublishing.com/
nice post. thanks.