One Entrepreneur's Journey: Stacey Kannenberg of Cedar Valley Publishing
Oct 19 in Smart Thinking 
This is part of a series called "One Entrepreneur's Journey," where I'm talking with solo entrepreneurs about their successes (and failures) along the path of entrepreneurship.
In this interview, I'm talking with Stacey Kannenberg of Cedar Valley Publishing. Stacey is the co-author of the award-winning books, Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! and Let's Get Ready for First Grade!, as well as a visionary entrepreneur.
In addition to her ongoing work within the education system, she's also working to launch a "community makeover" program to help communities become self-sustaining and decrease local unemployment rates, as well as a "mom's media company" with other moms and mom entrepreneurs.
We hope to get the opportunity to catch back up with Stacey to hear more about her latest ventures really soon. Until then, here's our first conversation, and as you'll see, one person really does have the power to change the world.
So, I guess the first thing we can talk about is your business, what it is exactly that you do and how you got your start?
About five years ago, I started Cedar Valley Publishing. I fell into it, really. I was looking for a book to help my own kids get ready for school, couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, was really frustrated, because I kept hearing all of the reports that kids were coming to school not ready to learn, but when I went out to try to find that magic book, and all I really wanted was the Goodnight Moon of kindergarten that had everything in it that was curriculum-related that you read like a book and that you just read over and over, I couldn't find it.
So, one day I was walking with a friend, and I was mentioning, "Gosh, I wish I could find this book!" and in the same breath, I said, "Oprah is having this Big Dream show. I wish I had an idea." She went, "Hello?!" So, I decided to write the Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten book, and literally, it's because of Oprah. Oprah had a series of shows. After I decided this is what I was going to do, she had a show on mom millionaires, and I was like, "Wow! If they could do it, so could I." Then she had a show on self-publishing that kind of told me how to do it.
How did you go from there, having this great idea, to actually taking action on it?
When I decided to have kids, I left corporate America, and I knew someday I was going to have a business. I just didn't know what it was, so I was looking for that magic business that I was going to run from home around my kids. The criteria was that I needed something I could do from home, something that would involve my family, and something that I could be passionate about.
The minute it popped out of her mouth, "Oh, you should write this book!", it clicked for me. I had already been to the book stores. I had already been online, scouring to find this magic book that just so happened to have the curriculum in it. We already had a book on the alphabet. We already had a book on numbers. We already had a book on shapes. I wanted it to be all-in-one, kind of like a text book. When I realized I couldn't find what I was looking for and how frustrated I was, I went to my play groups. I was a very big, active member of a play group in my area, and I belonged to a couple of others in different areas in our city, so I'm a huge networking type of person. So, I was just talking with my play group moms, and many of them had kids in the kindergarten system, and some of them were in first or second grade, and we started talking about it.
So, one of the first things I did was build that network. I found pre-school teachers. I found parents from within my pre-school. I talked to teachers all across the country. I talked to kids. I went to the source and said, "Look, we've got a problem, and the problem is, we're not communicating, and until you give parents the tool to help them get their own kids ready for school, you're not going to have kids coming to school ready to learn, because there's a disconnect."
So, the first thing I did was realize there was a need. I built that network, and building up that network was the smartest thing I ever did, because then when I was ready to launch, I had people who were already interested in what I was doing. I had a built-in network of people who wanted to buy and support the book.
How long do you think it took you from the time you decided, "Okay, this is what I want to do." and researching the idea of creating this book to the point when you said, "Okay, I've got my network built. I've got the support I need. I've researched this. It's time to get started putting this together."?
In 2002, Oprah was advertising for her contest, and I knew right there that I wanted to do it. In 2003, we were writing. Then in 2004, we launched the book. I built that network. It's amazing. Just picking up the phone, with a phone and a computer, I literally launched this company. I had a little check mark, "Who do we know from Ohio? Who do we know from Missouri?" And, what I tell people is, it's almost the people you don't know very well that seem to get so excited and are the ones to help you the most. It's someone standing in line at the gas station that gets so excited about what you're doing, and you exchange numbers, and she connects you with fifteen teachers.
Within your friend network, you might not find that same support, because they're like, "You want to what?! You're not a teacher. What do you mean you're going to sell this book to schools? They're not going to buy it." You have to go to people who get excited, people who have that same positive energy that you do.
One thing I've learned along the way is that obstacles will be put in your way, and it's not going to be easy, but the more hurdles you're willing to take, the more it does become easy, and now I'm at that point where things just seem to fall in my lap, and it's from all the hard work that I've been doing for the last five years.
What's the most important lesson you've learned as a solo entrepreneur?
I'll give you a quote that my husband put on a clock that he bought for me in 2004 when we launched Cedar Valley Publishing. He made up this phrase, which has now become my mantra: The dream is clear. To believe is the reward. My take-away is that I believe I can change the world, and I believe that I will.
Reader Comments (2)
Wow, Stacey Kannenberg truly is amazing! She is an inspiration to all mom entrepreneurs and I'm so grateful to have met her. She truly lives by what she preaches and I can't wait to see her on Oprah. This was a great article--I really enjoyed it.
I agree, Josephine. I think you are all amazing, and I've been truly inspired by each and every interview! Thanks for commenting!