Tell us about Ethicool Books.
Sure! We’re Ethicool, a children’s book publisher who create beautiful books about the world’s big issues, and encourage children to make positive change.
Our kids’ books cover many themes, including gender equality, bullying, anxiety and depression, recycling and lots more. But at the heart of every book is a strong message for every little one: a more equal and sustainable world can start with you.
As a sustainable company, we also practice what we preach, so our books are made to the highest environmental standards, including using recycled paper and soy-based ink.
What inspired you to start Ethicool Books?
A lot of events transpired at once that really changed me as a person, as well as my worldview.
Firstly, I lost my mum quite suddenly when my youngest son was very young (5 weeks old). Writing her eulogy, I really started to reflect on what kind of legacy I’d want to leave for my children, and what kind of world I wanted them to grow up in. From that reflection, I realised that fundamentally, there was a lot I wanted to change to make the world a better place, and that the next generation were going to be key to making those changes.
Secondly, right about the time I lost my mum, Australia’s worst ever bushfires were raging. It seemed more urgent than ever that we take immediate action to help our planet, Myself and my husband (Ethicool’s Co-Founder, Stuart French), started to ask ourselves: why isn’t anyone else talking to kids about these issues in an interesting way? A four year old isn’t going to visit the Climate Council’s website, but they sure might get engaged by a meaningful picture book covering the issue. From that thought came Ethicool!
Tell us about your career and background.
My ‘corporate’ career, if you could call it that, was a tragic disaster. I frog hopped between countless different jobs and companies (I was an accountant, investments analyst, recruiter, marketer, instructional designer and content writer, all in less than a decade!), but I was always desperately unhappy. I didn’t know it at the time, but entrepreneurship was really the only path for me!
I quit my corporate career forever when I was pregnant with my first son, and started a business as a freelance writer. I absolutely loved that (and still do!), but now I’ve founded Ethicool, it feels like an even more fulfilling way to use my writing skills, but also make the world a better place.
Describe a typical work day for you (if there is such a thing).
I ran a business before, so I thought that I knew the meaning of the term ‘jack of all trades.’ But now I have Ethicool, I really acknowledge that I had no idea how much of that would be required!
A typical day for me would look something like this:
- 9-9:30am: Yoga. Entrepreneurs, never forget that physical and mental health are so important!
- 9:30-11am: Respond to customer enquiries and help oversee the shipping of all of our books via our 3PL.
- 11-12:30: Social media marketing and engagement. Realistically, I’m doing this all the time, but this is how long it typically takes!
- 12:30-1:30: Lunch and a bit of time with Ethicool’s most important customers – my kids!
- 1:30-5:30: Reviewer outreach, writing for our Ethicool Journal, guest blogs, PR and generally growing our brand awareness.
There’s lots of other activities I do as well, including reviewing manuscripts for new books, commissioning illustrators, admin and finances, etc. As a small business owner, your to-do list is always a mile long, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
Has COVID-19 affected your business? How are you navigating that?
From a demand perspective, I don’t think it’s affected it too much (if anything, demand has increased), but the logistics side of our business has been a real challenge. Every day, I unfortunately receive new complaints from customers whose books have taken weeks longer than they should have to be delivered. Our supply chain has suffered a lot, too. I think all of us will be happy to see the end of COVID.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
If you’re going to make the decision to do it, “own it.” I have swapped – happily – a regular paycheck for a lot of uncertainty and risk, but in exchange for that I’m more confident than ever in my abilities and the fact that this was the right decision for me. Back when I was trying to do the corporate career thing, I realised I was lacking confidence in myself to make the change, but a mentor I had at the time told me to “own it.” I did, and I haven’t looked back.
What’s next for you, and Ethicool Books?
So much! In just a few weeks, we are kicking off our US operations so we’re really excited to see our books loved and our messages embraced by many more children!
We’re also hoping to diversify into baby/toddler board books next year, so that is so exciting too!
And for me personally? I’ve been in (locked down) Melbourne all year, so I’d honestly just like a day off where I can take my family to the beach.
