Founder and CEO of Tiny Global Footprints, writing coach, and bestselling author, Deborah is a busy working mother committed to seeing the world with her son. She loves seeing the world through his eyes and sharing stories from their travels by writing “Jonah’s Global Footprints”: Book 1: The Search for Elephants in Thailand, and Book 2: Finding My Amigo in Cuba, and more to come in the series.
She holds a master’s degree from George Mason University in Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. Deborah is originally from Eritrea but grew up in Minnesota. She is passionate about teaching children about global cultures and wants to help make travel an essential part of every childhood. Deborah plans to publish more books based on the different countries she and Jonah visit.
What is Tiny Global Footprints all about?
Tiny Global Footprints is a publishing company that publishes children’s books by mom and son bestselling duo Deborah Haile and Jonah Seyum. We write about our international travels and share our experiences encouraging other families to travel with children.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
When Jonah was very little, he and I weren’t able to spend a lot of time together because of the long hours I spent at work (I had and still have a full-time job), not to mention the time required for my graduate school program. I’d work all day and then take classes at night, just trying to keep up — though I always felt like I was behind and not enough…never enough at work, at grad school, and as a mother. I hoped that if I just worked a little harder, things would somehow get better, but nothing seemed to help. And the harder I worked, the worse I felt until I began to burn out, the mental and emotional tax of “work harder” overwhelming.
In the chaos, I’d found a respite in travel — I loved seeing different places and it was a way to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life with work, school, and other responsibilities. After his first trip abroad to the Dominican Republic when Jonah was 17 months old and then his next trip at 20 months (this time to Dubai and Eritrea for a family trip), I could see that Jonah loved to travel too. I wondered if I was onto something; could there be the potential for travel to be a chance to spend some special time together, perhaps helping to make up for any time we’d lost?
Well, travel hit the spot I’d been searching for, creating a space for Jonah and me to share new experiences, go adventuring, and learn about ourselves, and the world together. (And the family travel trend continued).
Now at eight years old, Jonah has been to 10 countries around the world. Then from these travels and sharing with friends and family, we began to get questions about what it was like to travel the world with a young child and what Jonah thought.
As we began to share more of our experiences, the idea to write books came up, and we started our book series: “Jonah’s Global Footprints”. Then that became a mother and son business with Tiny Global Footprints where we aim to share the educational impact of travel in childhood and inspire other families to travel with their children!
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
There have been many times I struggled with my business (and continue to struggle! — a first big challenge has been working to balance my full-time job with being a mom and working on our mother/son business. I wish there were more hours in a day and that I had two of me! That’s been a challenge from the beginning and that I keep working on — work/life balance and time prioritization.
Another has been on the tactical end: Jonah and I were starting to write books and there was interest, though did I really want to start a formal business? I was debating opening an LLC for publishing the books (and maybe other business ventures) or just writing and publishing my books on my own.
All of the to-dos for setting up an LLC sounded intimidating and overwhelming. However, as I thought about our plans and dreams and what we wanted to accomplish longer-term, I knew it’d be better to go the formalized LLC route. So, I took a deep breath and got the paperwork and everything else that was needed together!
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
A mistake from when I was first starting out? Oh my — the entrepreneur road is bumpy for everyone, and the bumps keep coming! Let’s see. The first one was worrying about sharing that our books, something we’d made ourselves, were for sale. Friends and family had asked and expressed interest, though I know that I don’t like feeling sold to, so I wasn’t sure how that would turn out.
I was almost afraid to start sharing that they could buy the books once we started publishing the first one! It struck me as funny how much I’d worried about what others might think and then saw how delighted people were when they were able to get a copy. They would have been disappointed if we hadn’t shared about where they could purchase them!
This mistake about worrying about how to sell something we’d created has taught me a few things.
1) Fears and worries will come up in business. Sometimes you have to sit with them and see what’s really there.
2) Especially related to selling, there are people who are looking for what you’re offering and who would be disappointed to not be able to find it! Sure, there may be some people who aren’t interested, but that’s okay. There are others who will be so excited when they hear about your book (or product/service/offer). So put it out there!
How are things going today? What are you learning now? Why is that important?
Today, things are going well. I won’t kid you — it’s difficult to juggle a business with a full-time demanding job (as well as being a mom and human — ing in general). However, I know our business and our books have a purpose. I’ve seen firsthand the impact of world travel on a child — the educational piece of visiting new places and experiencing different cultures including his own Eritrean culture.
I love seeing the world through his eyes as we learn about history, geography, languages, and so much more. Jonah talks about his travels and is always excited about our next trip. He’s also enjoying writing and has written his own book (Basketball or Soccer?), as well as has started to share tips, ideas, and suggestions to other kids (and adults!) interested in writing a book. His enthusiasm and growth have been amazing to see, as has the special bond we continue to develop through traveling and writing together. It’s hard at times, though so rewarding at the end.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
One big thing about Tiny Global Footprints is that it’s a mother and son company (we’re co-CEOs!) and that it started when Jonah was only six years old! A second really neat thing is that between the two books we’ve written together (The Search for Elephants in Thailand and Finding My Amigo in Cuba) and then the one he wrote by himself (Basketball or Soccer?) Jonah is now the youngest best-selling Eritrean published author ever. It’s great to watch his growth.
On the story end, Jonah has started doing a “Monday Tips with Jonah” series on Instagram where he is teaching other children and families about travel, being an author and how to write and publish a book, how to learn a new language (he’s currently working on Spanish), and more. The feedback we’ve been getting from his lives and posts has been amazing and heartwarming. We’re hearing that it is inspiring other families to expose their children to being creative and opening their minds to entrepreneurship!
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
- Keep going when it gets hard — I’ve felt (and still feel) discouraged many times but going back to my purpose always helps me keep going.
- Don’t compare yourself and/or your business to anyone else. This is something that I’ve struggled with, especially around social media and followers! However, I am working to keep reminding myself that I don’t really know where anyone else’s business is or how it’s doing (nor is it any of my business). What’s important is to keep my eyes on my own business and show up for it.
- There will always be things you will need to figure out. I can’t tell you the number of times something new has come up as an entrepreneur where I was like “What is that? I don’t know how to do that!” — whether with things about my website and figuring out how to log in and make changes or coming up with a content calendar or figuring out what platforms are best for us to use. There is always something new to learn!
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Following up on #3. There will always be new things to learn and I’m not going to be an expert in every tool, platform, and aspect of entrepreneurship. I do what I can, and when I am in over my head (or realize I don’t have the time). That means it’s time to ask for help from someone who specializes in that part of being in business. I’ve gotten help with my website, PR and marketing, social media, and more. It’s okay to ask for help!
- Embrace flexibility and messiness. The business may go in directions you didn’t foresee or maybe your partner (like my co-CEO wanting to write his own non-travel-related books) may have different ideas about what they’d like to do. And that’s okay! Sometimes the best ideas are the ones that seem to come out of nowhere and take some time to show how they fit into the bigger business picture. 🙂
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
As a founder, there will be highs and lows — guaranteed. One thing that has been very helpful for Jonah and me has actually been our Instagram feed as it’s been a journal or diary. While some days I’ve wanted to pull my hair out while figuring out what to post, it’s been amazing to look back through our photos and posts and see everything that’s happened over the past year! When I’ve felt down, seeing the pictures have reminded me of past challenges, as well as the wonderful times that came right around the corner, which has helped me remember that it’s a messy journey and to keep showing up.
I’d also recommend keeping a “testimonial” or “fan feedback” folder, doc, or file for the days when things feel hard, and you want to quit. When you receive a note or email or review that touches your heart and makes you smile, stick it in the folder, doc, or file. Then, when a hard day comes (which will happen), pull out the folder and read through it. Seeing the words, I’ve received always helps me remember my purpose and why I’m building this business!
How can readers get in touch with you?
They can visit our site: tinyglobalfootprints.com and follow us on Instagram @tinyglobalfootprints_
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