Why I Constantly Obsess over Storybooks as an Entrepreneur
Stories have been around for centuries. In fact, they are the oldest form of communication, and first form of communication that children can thoroughly understand, experience, and reflect upon.
Stories play a vital role in the growth and development of children. According to the Writers Bureau, “The books they read and the characters they get to know can become like friends. It’s also good for children to understand that books are a useful source of information and that good reading skills are important for success in their future lives. Reading also helps children with their confidence levels, coping with feelings and language and learning.”
Unfortunately I recognized a serious issue that has culminated over the last few years: kids would rather pick up their parents’ devices to waste time on useless applications that provide no meaningful value instead of picking up a book that, like mentioned above, can assist in the development of stronger confidence levels, cope with feelings, and assist in language and learning. This problem has grown steadily in recent years with the abundant growth of technology and rapid accessibility of it. If we want to help kids become effective communicators and grow to become producers and not just consumers, then we need to adapt to work with our ever-changing future. We need to start while children are young and focus on the first interactions they have with storytelling content.
This is why I constantly obsess over storybooks… I believe that they are truly an integral key in the growth of child. It’s time to innovate the world’s oldest form of communication. At The Storybook Factory, we are going to do just that, by meeting them on the devices they use most.
We recently received funding to make this all happen. With the launch of our new site, we can clearly outline our intentions and plan to make this happen. As an entrepreneur, I constantly look at those more successful than me and try to implement their certain practices that have proven to work in the past.
For example when Steve Jobs was hired back to Apple in the late 90’s after the acquisition of NeXT Computers, his first task was to clean Apple and get it back on track. He put his focus on what he called “the four quadrant product grid”. It was four product areas that met the needs of both customer types; consumer and professional: Consumer-Portable, Consumer-Desktop, Professional-Portable, and Professional-Desktop. This kept the company focused on perfecting those areas before venturing into anything else.
At The Storybook Factory we are going to focus on four key areas as well. We have partnered with teachers and other literacy advocates to spotlight the four areas they find most crucial: discovering content, creating content, sharing content, and growing your knowledge.
You can check out our four services here:
Or by going to our website to learn more: www.thestorybookfactory.com
These four services are what we feel are most important to getting the reading-education industry back on track. We have an incredible team of developers, teachers, and advisors to make this all happen. This is a huge, bold step for us. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be quick. Over the next few months we will rolling out these four services and implementing them in after-school programs, classrooms, and at home. Together, with your help, we can achieve our mission to consistently provide kids with the opportunity to be inspired by storybooks and give them the tools and resources to become incredible storytellers.
All you have to do today is visit our website and see for yourself.
-Bradford Wolf, CEO of The Storybook Factory
