In this episode, Chris talks with creative team, Beth Stafford and Jeremy Slagle. Together they've written, illustrated and published two successful children's books that shine a light on the importance of teaching empathy to both parents and their kids.

These two solopreneurs share how their truly collaborative spirit works, the perks and perils of social media and the unintended benefits of pursuing that side project you can't stop thinking about.

Both Beth and Jeremy are graphic designers, with Jeremy working largely in branding. Their motivation for writing children’s books came naturally and with no specific intentions; they do it just to do it.

The two were introduced through Beth’s husband, who originally, was creating the illustrations for Beth’s first children’s books. Their paths would later cross again, when Beth asked Jeremy if he would like to illustrate the book. Emphatically, he said yes.

The two searched the web for the best practices to curate the promotional messaging of the book. They raised funds entirely on Kickstarter to get their first book, Chin Up, Chinchilla, out on bookshelves and in the hands of parents and kids.

They were able to raise money for their first book rather quickly thanks to a mixture of both word of mouth and social media marketing. They met with child psychologists and took notes from other children’s authors to refine the story before publishing.

So why write about empathy? For Beth, she was curious to know what she could teach her daughter that she found was incredibly important as an adult. When she noticed how easily empathy came to her daughter, she knew that was vital not just for her, but for everyone to practice and apply to their daily lives.

If you're a parent, teacher or curious about publishing then you are in for a wonderful treat. Even if you're none of those things, give this one a listen, because there's always something to learn.

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