Meet Kira Parris-Moore | Author/Publisher/Licensed Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kira Parris-Moore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kira, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have always wanted to start my own business. For 10+years, I tried to think of business ideas but never could come up with anything. I so badly wanted to be on Shark Tank and pitch my business to the team. Well, years went by in Corporate America and my dream slowly faded. I started to feel that the ‘rat race’ was going to be my life and that I would eventually have to conform to climb the corporate ladder. But I have always been a rebel and this was just not my destiny. Eventually through inspiration from my oldest son who has autism, the idea to write books on developmental disabilities and mental health came about. I went from wanting to just be an author to wanting to be a publisher. I impressed myself on how much I have been able to accomplish in the little time I have been in business which is since May of 2019. I can’t wait to see what happens in the coming year…

What should our readers know about your business?
BOOKS2Inspire LLC is an independent publishing company that seeks to increase awareness of various developmental disabilities and mental health disorders through children’s books. We believe that the written word can spark change and influence the lives of many by giving them hope and encouragement. We also believe that reading books can be a form of “therapy” and help people cope with emotional problems, mental illness, or changes in their lives.

Books2inspire has created the first mental health education series created by a licensed counselor. The purpose of us creating this series is because of the dire need of mental health education in the school system and beyond. Children are experiencing big emotions and need a safe outlet where they can develop more awareness of their emotions and receive the tools on how to manage these emotions. Our books offer this and more! We also give parents the resources to start conversations about these complex issues with their children and hopefully avoid costly therapy for their kids later.

There have been some challenges we have had to overcome starting in the book industry. One of them being competition. There are so many children’s books being published every day on Amazon that it is hard to compete. We have had to learn how to market our books which is something we do not have a background in but recognize the need to master this in order to be successful and sell lots of books. The other thing is capital. Capital for a small black owned business is not easy to come by and publishing books are not cheap. The take home pay that you get from books after everyone gets their cut pales in comparison to what you thought you would make. You really have to love what you do to stay in this business. We do lots of vendor events which helps make up for minimal royalties but that can be taxing at times when you are balancing being a work and home life. However, we recognize that this is needed to get our name out in our community so we can be more recognizable as a brand. Branding is so key and we are learning that more and more each day. We want to ensure that our publishing house is leading in what we set out to do which is inspire hope to those who experience or know someone who experiences challenges with mental heath or a developmental disability.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I wish I could say I have a lot of time on my hands but I don’t lol. I might just take my friend to a book event and have them help me vend. My time is valuable and limited and committed to growing my brand and future seed companies that I would like to see come to fruition.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family is the reason I do what I do. I am working on legacy building and creating a better future for my children. Without my husband’s loving support, I might have quit this business a long time ago. Plus my inner circle of friends have really shown me love in this endeavor as a new business owner. I am so pleased with how everyone has come around to me taking this leap of faith.

Website: books2inspire.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/books2nspire

Twitter: https://twitter.com/InspireBooks2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/books2inspire

Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/books2inspire

Image Credits
JR Photography: https://jrphotographync.com/