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Farmer's Hats Off to Bur Bur and Friends New Books Pair Sports and a Multiracial Cast
IDENTIFY A NEED  “When I was going to the bookstore [in 2004], there was nothing that looked like my son William [now 4], who’s biracial,” she told TDmonthly Magazine. “And there were no books on sports that used a group of kids.”Pastel teamed up with her friend Kakie Fitzsimmons, who also has a biracial son, and the women decided to fill the gap by writing books featuring a sporty biracial boy named Bur Bur and his multiracial friends. “We wanted to show families that look like ours,” Fitzsimmons said.  RESEARCH AND PROTECT IDEASBoth women came from the world of finance — Pastel was a former stockbroker and Fitzsimmons had most recently worked in marketing and training — so they first researched to determine if there was a need for their product. It took about six months of combing through library files to verify their hunch. They also spoke with child-related organizations, bookstores, librarians and mothers, Pastel said. While pitching their idea, however, the women were careful not to reveal too much. “We didn’t tell anyone our value proposition for the first two and a half years,” Fitzsimmons confided to TDmonthly. “We even made our corporate website vague because we didn’t want people to take the idea; we knew we had a niche in the market.” At the end of 2004, Pastel and Fitzsimmons made their alliance official by forming an LLC and beginning work on their product line.  PRESS ON WITH PASSIONThey made contacts in the publishing world by asking people they knew for advice. Their illustrator, Lindsay VanDeWeghe, was recommended by Pastel’s hairdresser, who’d commissioned the college student to create a drawing of her dog for her cell phone. Every step of development and publication has been self-funded. Pastel estimated they’ve spent about $100,000, with more expenses coming. With so much of their own money and time on the line, doubts sometimes arose. One of their worst moments came when a public relations firm forwarded the first book to an East Coast publisher, whose response was negative. Pastel called her life coach, who urged her to “follow her passion.” “This is our passion and it shows when we go and present our books to people,” continued Pastel. Also, the finished website helps potential backers and distributors understand their concept, she said. Success at this early stage includes a partnership with Mall of America for a three-day launch of their first three books in July, working with local NBA men’s and women’s teams for an upcoming book on basketball, and co-producing an accompanying activity book with Sun Country Airlines.  KEEP TRACK OF EVERYTHINGTheir biggest mistakes involved spending money too freely without keeping track of results. Consultants who didn’t deliver and software that was developed too soon were two major income drains. As for others who are contemplating the path of passion, Pastel stressed that follow-through is important: “Make sure you do everything that needs to be done.” “But do it right,” advised Fitzsimmons. “Otherwise, you go back and double-spend the money. There’s been a lot of perseverance and determination here. We love this. It’s our baby.” Here are some of Fitzsimmons’ and Pastel’s babies:
 Writer's Bio: ALISON MAREK is an award-winning writer, director and cartoonist whose work has been published by Fairchild Publications and DC Comics (Piranha Press), broadcast on Showtime and other cable networks, and viewed worldwide in film festivals. See her short films and print work on www.alisonmarek.com. Watch her nefarious villains in the web series www.MuggsMovers.com. Get inspired by her cartoons "Daily ARFFirmations to Unleash Your Inner Fido" at www.ARFFirmations.com. Phew! And then ... Read more articles by this author |
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