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April Lynn Pelton is a motivational speaker, author, and the First Youth Poet Laureate of Tarrant County, that's passionate about sharing her love for reading and writing with others. Since she was two, she has had a passion for reading and developed a love for writing in elementary. During the COVID-19 quarantine, April focused more on her childhood dream of becoming a great author. April has three published books: An Enchanted Tale With A Twist, I AM I CAN I WILL, and The Grove of 100 Wishes. She is currently working on several books, with a soon-to-be-released poetry book that she has worked on with her grandfather, who is also a writer and poet. April has been blessed to have her books in The Dallas Galleria, Stonebriar Mall, The Dock Bookshop, The Arlington Public Library, and featured at several Macy's stores. In addition to working on her business, she believes in giving her best in everything she does. She's an A & B Honor Roll/AP student and Burleson Collegiate HS and is working on her Associate in Liberal Arts at Hill College. April has overcome learning and life challenges with support from her family, friends, and teachers. She believes that having a community of support can help you overcome anything. April's ultimate goal is to create enjoyable reading that allows kids to grow, learn, and develop a love of reading that will last a lifetime.
How a Writing Project Became a Book
During the COVID-19 quarantine, April's parents noticed gaps in her writing while assisting her with assignments. Her mother, a former ELAR teacher and Counselor, asked her 6th-grade English teacher if she could work with her on writing to create her first book. Her teacher agreed, allowing April to focus her attention on working towards a childhood dream. Online learning gave her the opportunity to focus on her writing. She was able to harness her creativity and gift by focusing on specific details, grammar, elaborating her thoughts, and character development. Steps used to assist April in enhancing her craft of writing, were utilized to create a workbook. The ultimate goal for the workbook is to help parents and educators teach basic ELAR concepts and SEL (Social & Emotional Learning) strategies that focus on teaching kindness and building character.
How did your child become interested in entrepreneurship?
My daughter has always loved reading and writing. She has dreamed of becoming an author for as long as I can remember. Her aunt, a business coach, explained to her that she needed a way to market her book because books won't sell themselves, and the best way to make this happen was by creating a business. She started working with her aunt to create logos, a business mission and vision, and branding. I worked with her to create a business post and posts for social media, and her father helped set up an LLC. She also worked on a business pitch for Target Evolution to be part of their youth program. She was selected as one of the vendors at the Dallas location in the Galleria, where she learned more about in-person marketing and pitching. From there, things just took off with her business.
What challenges has your child faced as a young entrepreneur?
She has seen the ups and downs of business, the roadblocks, and the challenges that can sometimes make you want to quit. There have been times when she wanted to quit, and I told her to pray about it before giving up. I'm so glad she has chosen to stick with her dreams and continues using her gift of writing. She also had to make sacrifices, such as hanging out with friends to attend events for her business. Thankfully, our family calendar has helped reduce scheduling conflicts before booking events. Through it all, she has learned a lot about managing and prioritizing things.
How do you, as a parent, support your child in their entrepreneurial endeavors?
We are very supportive and involved parents who believe in helping our children grow. Life is about learning, and we are also learning how to run a business with her. We are researching to find out how to guide her, and she is constantly researching as well. We all work together as a team to build her brand and help her to accomplish her goals. We have to schedule and attend events, help teach her how to manage funds, and market with her. It's a family affair. We are her biggest cheerleaders and fans, as all parents should be, as they root for their kids to win.
Are there specific skills or lessons your child has learned through entrepreneurship?
She has learned business development, branding, public speaking, sacrifice, and determination. She knows what it's like to win and how to accept the times when she doesn't. She has learned how to take a "NO" when marketing but to keep going until she gets a "YES." She has learned the importance of showing up to speak and encourage others, even when she's tired and depleted. She has learned how to balance business with school work, so she's staying on top of her grades. She has learned that she must constantly work on her brand to attract different audiences. She has learned never to give up, even when it gets hard, because someone needs what she has to inspire them to grow.
How do you balance your child's entrepreneurial activities with their academic and social life?
We keep everything on the calendar. Using a family calendar so that everyone knows what's going on has worked for us. As soon as we find out about upcoming opportunities, we check the calendar to ensure they fit into the schedule. She knows to stay on top of her grades because academics are also important in accomplishing her future goals. She plans to attend college, so grades are essential regarding class rank and GPA.
Have you seen any positive changes in your child's confidence or leadership skills since starting their business?
We have watched a shy young lady blossom into a bold, confident young woman. She has shown initiative in participating in activities that have stretched her past her fears and insecurities to grow and achieve significant accomplishments. She is a role model who speaks at many events, and it is impressive to see how she can capture the crowd's attention. This past year, she was named the first Youth Poet Laureate of Tarrant County and is working with a team of professors at Tarrant County College to launch additional workshops for youth for poetry and creative writing. We have seen her become more assertive, utilizing her leadership skills to share ideas and encourage others.
Do you involve April in decision-making processes related to their business?
Yes, this is essential! When running a business, children must love what they do to grow. They have to attend events, work on marketing plans, have knowledge and expertise on what they are selling, and have a passion for it to continue working at it, especially when things are slow. The reality is that you have to be actively involved for your business to grow. Because it's their vision and dream, they should actively be involved in the decision-making process with guidance. Being actively involved teaches them ownership and responsibility.
How do you address setbacks or failures with April in the context of their business?
April's business has taken many forms and paths. She has always had a goal of publishing a chapter book but has found this challenging. It requires more story development, which she's working on. She has also experienced ups and downs in sales throughout the years. There are times when sales are high and sometimes when sales are low. Through it all, we teach her to focus on using the gifts that God has placed in her. We teach her to focus on always pursuing purpose. When you seek purpose, you won't focus on the challenges that come as much because you know you are doing something bigger than yourself to encourage and inspire others.
Have you noticed any specific interests or talents in your child that align with their entrepreneurial pursuits?
I noticed April's love for writing when she was two. She loved folding and cutting paper to create books. She would draw pictures and tell the family what to write to create her own stories. She also loved going to the library to read. She always said she wanted to be a librarian and an author. She became an author at 12 and has been connected with the Arlington Public Library and Fort Worth Public Library. As a family, we have worked on helping her develop and grow her writing and poetry skills as well as her business and marketing skills.
What resources or organizations have been helpful in supporting your child's entrepreneurial journey?
April's extracurricular activities are writing and business. As parents, we try to find outlets for her to express herself and do what she enjoys. She is a part of several organizations that allow her to do this: Target Evolution, Tarrant County College, and Celebrating You. Through these organizations, she has gained knowledge and exposure to grow her business and develop and enhance her skills.
How does your child balance the financial aspects of their business, such as budgeting and reinvesting profits?
Her goal in creating her business was to share her gift of writing to inspire others and raise money for college. This is why we set up business checking and savings accounts to allow her to grow her business. She knows that 10% goes to tithing, 10% - 20% (depending on her earnings for each event) goes to her, and the remaining goes towards college savings. If she finds something that she would like to invest in to grow her business, we review finances and make decisions from there. We use this as a teaching opportunity to learn fundamental lessons about life, how money works, investing, and business.
Interview by: Sahiti Brommeready
Target Evolution Team
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