Nurturing the dreams of the young, with Johanna from United Letters.
“When my daughter was born, I was looking for interesting personalised children’s books. I couldn’t find anything, so I thought I’d do it myself,” says Johanna, as a matter of fact. “After writing the story and getting it illustrated, people started asking me for copies. That’s how it all started.”
The ease in her voice that betrays how much it’s taken to get her to where she is now. Since having founded United Letters in early 2017, it’s been a crazy ride for her. On top of having to bootstrap the company, she’s had to learn to keep the development team light, scale the business at pace with demand, and also learn new skills like online marketing — stuff she’s never experienced before. Now, having gained ground in the European market, her eyes are set on Asia.
“There have been a lot of studies about putting children at the center of stories. It draws them into it, and helps them understand the message. Children should believe that they can do anything they set their mind to, and it’s so much more powerful when it’s personalised.”
After having gone through the difficult task of building the platforms with developers from around the world, her next challenge is now getting the brand right, and to ensure it is globally relevant. It’s something she finds is really difficult, especially when trying to understand local culture remotely.
“It’s also the age of personalisation,” she says, pausing to think. “People want both quality and uniqueness, so why not? Personalised books are a much better way for publishers to charge different prices, and also create value for customers.”
To her, starting a business is a lot of giving in the beginning. If you’re able to give to someone through your business, you’ll eventually get it back. As long as you’re laser-focused on creating value for others, profits will follow. And with the success she’s gotten so far, it’s a point that is hard to dispute.
“For me, I want to always inspire through messages, and I find it sad that some people stop in life at a certain age, and forget their dreams. And despite the pressure that kids go through at school, I hope to inspire them to keep dreaming, to keep nurturing their dreams, so that whatever it is they want to achieve, they can do it.”
Her eyes dart towards the ceiling for a moment, pondering her words, letting its weight sink in. The hint of a smile appears. I press on and ask her what her plans are for the future.
“Ultimately, I’d like the business to be self-sustainable, so that’s my key focus. I put more hours in now to have more free time in the future; more time with family, starting new ventures, teaching yoga, and creating more stories,” she says.
