Working the Barefoot way

Barefoot Books was founded in the UK in 1993 by two working mothers, Nancy Traversy and Tessa Strickland. The company was born out of the women's shared desire to create imaginatively written and beautifully illustrated children's books that would capture the diversity and richness of the world's many traditions in a playful and accessible way. For several years, Nancy and Tessa ran Barefoot Books from their homes, allowing them to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams while being close to their children.

Now celebrating its fifteenth year in business, Barefoot has out grown its small-scale beginnings, yet it retains its grassroots philosophy. They have a vibrant, global community of independent distributors called Barefoot Stallholders who are doing just what Nancy and Tessa set out do: working from home around their families, connecting with their local communities and inviting others to 'live Barefoot'. The community of Stallholders is central to Barefoot's work as they love to work with people who embrace their vision.

You can see a video of the co-founders of Barefoot Books talking about living Barefoot and what it means to staff and stallholders...and children! CLICK HERE

We've spoken to one of Barefoots many creative and wonderful stallholders - Shelia Stansfield, to hear all about life as a storyteller and how she made the career move from the pharmaceutical industry to Barefoot....

Name - Sheila Stansfield

Location - North Wiltshire near Bath

Family - Zoë (2), Allan (husband), Charlie the Dog (5) and Zippy the Cat (14)

How did you hear about Barefoot Books?

When my daughter Zoë was 6 months old I was in a small independent shop in Bath buying her high chair, when my eyes were drawn to the book shelf at the back of the shop. I have always loved books and reading with a passion so, as usual, I started to browse the books on display. One book in particular jumped out at me - "Zoë and Her Zebra" and I bought it without even thinking twice (it even had the dieresis on the E of Zoë!). That evening I showed the book to my husband and we were immediately captivated by the beautiful illustrations and the diversity of the children's names and the animals. This was clearly no ordinary alphabet book! When we got to X we were totally flummoxed by the flying insect Xavier was chasing - hands up who has heard of a "Xoona moth"? - we had to google it to discover that you find them in Africa! Well, I was smitten, this simple board book encapsulated all the values I wanted to share with my daughter, so I turned to the back page and there were the publisher's details: Barefoot Books, Walcot Street, Bath!

What inspired you to join the company?

That very same evening I went onto the Barefoot Books website to see how I could get hold of more of these very special books for Zoë. There I came across the Stallholder business opportunity and requested more information. At that time, though, I was fighting post-natal depression and although the information looked interesting it wasn't the right time to be embarking on a new business venture.

A few months later I got an email from Barefoot Books with an update on the Stallholder opportunity. By then I had emerged from my depression and was ready to be back out in the world but I knew that whatever I did had to go hand-in-hand with first and foremost being Zoë's mum. The Stallholder opportunity simply ticked every box: flexibility, no sales targets, a chance to run my own business how I wanted to, but with the broader support of like-minded people who shared my values and last, but certainly not least, I could get lots of gorgeous Barefoot Books at a discount! There was nothing to lose so I signed up there and then. A few days later I was sitting in my living room surrounded by books from my starter pack and my husband just said "you're in heaven aren't you?" and I was! That was in September 2006 and I haven't looked back since.

You made a big career change moving from the pharmaceutical industry into books...how was the move and what prompted it?

I worked for a large, global pharmaceutical company in sales and marketing for 10 years. I guess I was on a kind of "fast track", as every year I was promoted into a different job, and I appeared to thrive under the relentless pressure and stress. But deep down I knew I wasn't being true to myself and my core values. Eventually my body took over and one day I literally went into melt down. I retreated under the duvet and didn't come out for several months. The company was very supportive of my depression and helped me return to work. I thought I had made enough changes to continue to play the corporate game - I soon released that the corporate life was not for me and decided to move away from this environment.

A whole chain of events led me towards Barefoot and I have never looked back. I am now at peace, fulfilled and happy. They say you should look back at what you really enjoyed doing as a child and one my earliest memories is playing libraries with my teddy bears!

What are the main differences between your old working life and your Barefoot Books working life?

Where do I start?! Firstly, I'm in control. I decide how to run my business and at what pace. Secondly, I work with people who are, quite simply, on the same page as me. The values that run through Barefoot Books are absolutely in line with my values - this means I can be my authentic self. Finally, what I do can only do good and bring value to the lives of children in my community and that very much includes Zoë.

You are also a story-teller, what does that involve?

Well, put very simply, I get paid to tell stories! I call myself The Barefoot Storyteller (yes, I do tell the stories in my bare feet) My stories are all based on folktales from around the world, found within the covers of Barefoot books. Because Barefoot's philosophy is really grounded in the art of storytelling these tales lend themselves perfectly to being told orally. The oral tradition of storytelling has really seen an immense revival in recent years and I have found the response to my work simply amazing. In this fast-paced world of technology and television, children still respond to someone just looking them in the eye and engaging them in a story. I tell the tale and their imagination does the rest.

Did you have to go on any specialist training to become a story-teller?

I haven't but I would like to (when I get the time!). I have seen some well-established, very experienced storytellers who have been a real inspiration to me: Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden's rendition of The Adventures of Odysseus, at the Bath Children's Literature Festival last year was unforgettable.

But at the end of the day, we are all storytellers. That's what we do every day when we talk to the people around us - tell stories. And as my husband said "well, 10 years of sales and marketing, that was storytelling wasn't it?"

Is your job rewarding?

Yes, absolutely!

Has it been easy getting your business established and what has been the biggest hurdle to you've had to overcome in terms of business success?

There have been ups and downs, it wouldn't be business if there wasn't. But the potential out there for Barefoot Books is so vast and the response to our beautiful, timeless books so positive then if not "easy", I would certainly say "straightforward"! Time is probably my biggest challenge! As every working mum knows you never have enough of it. However, I now have a great team of Stallholders working with me locally and, through my website, across the UK. As I said, the potential out there is vast, so even though I now have 5 Stallholders on my team within a 15 mile radius of where I live, there is still more than enough business to go round. People phone me now to attend their events (especially in the busy winter season) and I am able to pass on a lot of bookings to my team members. Also, I can support my team with storytelling while they sell Barefoot Books alongside and this combination works well.

Did you have a good support network around you when you started out with Barefoot Books - in terms of childcare?

Well, we only have one grandparent who is 84 and she lives in North London - so not readily available for babysitting! When I first started I had a very supportive childminder who would take Zoë for a couple of mornings a week but then she had health problems and we had to rethink. Now, Zoë goes to our local village Playgroup one morning a week and the rest of the time she's with me. She comes to a lot of my storytelling events and quite frequently upstages me! Also, now she's a little bit older, I do "play swaps" with other Stallholders. So, I'll have my friend's daughter for a morning one week and she will reciprocate the next. This arrangement has been a revelation to me! The children absolutely love it, 2 toddlers are often easier than one, and it's free!

How do you separate working time and family time?

That's a difficult question because Barefoot Books and storytelling are absolutely integral to my life and Zoë is so involved in what I do - after all she is part of my target market! We do have certain times that are sacrosanct when the phone doesn't get answered - family dinner time is one of those. Saturday's are generally "Daddy Days" as I could be at a book event or off storytelling or just catching up around the home. We try as much as possible to keep Sunday's for the family but we aren't completely rigid about this. It will always be a balancing act and sometimes you wobble a bit and almost lose your balance, but Zoë is my best time keeper, she lets me know when it's time to stop working!

What has been the biggest benefit of you being self-employed to your family?

I'm happy and content and if mum's OK then generally the family's OK!

What is the best bit of business advice you've been given?

When I first met Tessa Strickland the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Barefoot Books she commented that "nothing in life is a contained experience". Everything you experience has the potential to lead to something further. You never know who you're going to meet, who you're going to talk to and what future business opportunities that will lead to. I keep that phrase in mind at those times when things aren't going so well - maybe it's pouring with rain and I'm at an outdoor event and sales are slow; but then I meet someone, we get talking and they phone me up a week later with a big order or a storytelling booking: that's what it is all about - connecting with people and the business follows.

Any other comments/advice you think would be useful to Mums thinking of starting in business?

Firstly, always have a vision of what you are trying to achieve and keep what you do aligned with that vision. Mine is to ensure that every child in my community can have access to a Barefoot book be it at home, at school, in a library, playgroup, nursery or toddler group. I know that this will enrich their lives.

Secondly, always stay true to yourself and your values. In my experience, if you compromise on this it will catch up with you somehow. Stay authentic!

If you want to run your own home-based business as a Barefoot Stallholder, we'd love to hear from you! Find out more here!

Click here to find out more about living Barefoot and our beautiful products

Visit - www.barefootbooks.com