Hey Michele, nice to meet you! Tell us about your emerging business.
Bright Futures EDG is a platform that introduces financial literacy to kids while building confidence and empowering them to think big. This includes the recent publication of a children’s book.
This is such a thoughtful mission. What was the inspiration that led you to create this brand?
I spent many years studying and training in medicine to become a doctor, but never received any financial education. I was almost 40 before realizing that I was financially illiterate!
This prompted an educational journey of learning, which allowed my husband and I to be more intentional about how we managed our money and finances.
However, I definitely wish I had learned this sooner. We have young kids and knew we wanted our kids to learn these concepts as early as possible so that we could help set them up for
financial success earlier in life. But there wasn’t much for the younger age group and this is a topic that is not traditionally taught in school. I ended up publishing Reach For The Stars, a children’s picture book, to introduce basic financial concepts geared towards younger aged kids (3-8 yrs). It is also meant to empower bold and confident thinking and encourage entrepreneurship. Having financial literacy is so vital in today’s world and yet, it is not taught in the traditional school curriculum. Parents can help their children learn these concepts early to help ensure that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate their own financial future. This can ultimately lead to a higher chance of financial stability, which is crucial for personal and societal well-being. Beyond this, I truly believe having financial literacy has more benefits aside from just managing money. It can encourage confident thinking, promote good decision making and develop a sense of leadership and social responsibility.
"Having financial literacy is so vital in today’s world and yet, it is not taught in the traditional school curriculum. Parents can help their children learn these concepts early to help ensure that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate their own financial future." - Michele, Bright Futures EDG
Bright Futures EDG was established to be a platform to get this information to as many children as possible and to expose them to financial concepts early using fun, goal oriented and educational activity sheets. I hope to continue developing this platform to include content that will best serve this audience as I am also a parent who is on the same journey of trying to teach my kids these important life skills.
What was the biggest challenge to producing your first children's book?
I had 2 major challenges to overcome. One was shifting my mindset to see myself as an author. And the second was learning about the world of book publishing. I had followed the narrow path of medicine for so long and it became my whole identity. I never thought to look outside of the box and I realized that there were certain parts of myself that I had shut off. I thought - I’m not creative, I’m not good with money, I’m not good with businesses. Getting past my own limiting beliefs allowed me to tap into these other sides of myself and learn about the things I didn’t think I was capable of doing. This included writing a book and being an entrepreneur!
Entering the world of book publishing and being an author was a whole new world for me. I learned that there are so many different ways to go about getting a book published and what works for one author, may not be the right decision for another. Ultimately, I found that I had to decide for myself what my goals were and what was important to me in the process. Finding other authors who had gone through the same experience was extremely helpful.
Connect with Michele!
Do you create products involving children's gifts, education or publishing? Say hello at info@brightfuturesedg.com
Congrats on your big launch! Bright Futures EDG has a lot more going on beyond the picture book. So what are you most excited to work on over the next 1-2 years?
Our mission is to introduce and expose young children to the basics of financial literacy, starting as early as possible. I am excited to use this platform to serve this purpose and to see the direction in which it can grow to better serve this audience. I
hope information learned here will be a stepping stone in providing knowledge & tools to help children make sound financial decisions throughout their lives and to set them up for overall success. By introducing and building on these concepts, we can help them build a stronger future for themselves and their communities. I’m excited to see this unfold and also excited to share additional books and content related to this topic in the future. I look forward to going on this journey together and helping to raise a younger generation of more financially savvy children.
Support Bright Futures EDG and follow their journey on social media:
Instagram - @brightfuturesedg
Facebook - Bright Futures EDG
Website - brightfuturesedg.com