Press Releases

Boston Business Journal - September 14, 2001
by Kimberly Nelson Hatfield

WILMINGTON-Many entrepreneurs can pinpoint the moment they realized that they would do something more and start a business. For Margaret Moran, president and founder of communications company KidsTerrain Inc., it was an unfortunate event.

"What really catapulted us into this whole thing was when a 6-year-old killed another 6-year-old classmate in Flint, Mich. I knew at that moment that my life was going to change. It just resonated with me."

Several months later, in July 2000, Moran, along with partner and chief financial officer, Ellen Gilmartin, secured $160,000 in personal and private investment money and launched KidsTerrain. Their business is fueled by a passion to make a difference in the lives of children. "If we could impact one kid at a time then we will be very successful," says Moran.

KidsTerrain, based in Wilmington, helps children and parents talk about difficult issues and build kids' self-esteem. The company provides communications tools, including reading materials, music and a web site. This fall, KidsTerrain debuts its first illustrated book "The Magic in Me" and its first musical CD.

It's good business to listen to children, says Gilmartin. "I think we have a tendency to not really talk to or listen to children. That's why I believe in this particular company."

Both Gilmartin and Moran have extensive experience in health care and human services and strong foundations in business management. Moran is a registered nurse and has held senior-level positions at leading health care service providers, insurers and managed-care organizations. Gilmartin is also a nurse and a controller for several small businesses.

Moran transformed her vision of helping children communicate into reality by talking to others. "I presented my ideas to a highly respected group of colleagues and friends and asked them to critique my ideas of a child-and-parent company. And what really came out of that was the direction for the company."

Their first order of business was the creation of a board of directors. "When you start out, you don't have any money. So, you go after people who have experience in different areas that can really help you," says Moran. Through their board, Moran and Gilmartin added expertise in communications, legal affairs, operations, entrepreneurship and children's health.

Moran and Gilmartin also created two advisory committees-a clinical advisory group and a parent advisory group. The advisory committees help KidsTerrain understand its audience and create better products. "We talked to a lot of people and had a lot of meetings," says Gilmartin. "We discussed different products and how these products could tie into listening and talking to kids."

The two partners wrote a substantial business plan. It was an invaluable step, says Moran. "To write a business plan is a lot of work, but I knew that we had to do it," she says. "It guided us in being able to think of things that we didn't think about in the beginning. It gave us an opportunity to keep ourselves very focused. This is a company that really meets a market need and also a social need. But in fact, we really need to pay attention to the business part. The question everyone asks is, "How are you going to make money? How is going to happen for you?"

KidsTerrain plans to bring in revenue through online and retail sales, private labeling and sponsorships of its products. Its site launched in June and has pulled in a quarter-of-a-million hits with responses from all over the world, including Hong Kong, El Salvador, Japan and England.

Moran is hopeful that the business will grow to $250,000 by the end of 2002 and $600,000 by the end of 2003.

Part of their projected growth will come from KidsTerrain's book publishing division, New Voices Publishing. "We made a major decision during the developmental stage to develop New Voices Publishing, not only to publish our own products, but to also have new authors who meet our mission and vision."

However, the company is entering the children's book publishing industry during a period of rough terrain. The industry is consolidating, leaving a few large players. That could create opportunity for small publishers, says Karen Jenkins Holt, managing editor of the Book Publishing Report.

"Children's publishing has undergone an amazing amount of consolidation," she says. "What's happening with consolidation is that fewer books are being published by these large companies. They will publish fewer books as one company than they would have as several companies before consolidation."

On the other hand, the market for children's books, estimated at nearly $2.9 billion in the United States, is growing, according to the report "Book Industry Trends." A large part of this growth is credited to J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Holt refers to it as the "Harry Potter halo effect"-interest in Harry Potter books has generated a greater interest in children's books in general.

The growing demand for children's books and the potential gap created by industry consolidation could help small publishers flourish. But Holt says it may not be easy being the new kid on the block in the publishing industry. "It is getting harder for small companies in any segment to compete. It used to be that small companies were the norm and it's just no longer the case."

Moran admits that there will be bumps in the road. "You never realize how much time something is going to take, and you never know exactly how much money everything is going to take. Even being an experienced businessperson, you don't always know what the outcome is going to be."

"There will be ups and downs," says Gilmartin. She advises "to continue believing in what you are doing." Moran agrees. "You will find that if you have the passion and you have the belief in what you are doing, everything else will come into place," she said.