Deborah Haile is a best-selling author, CEO and founder of Tiny Global Footprints. She is a busy working mom committed to seeing the world with her son, Jonah. She loves seeing the world through his eyes and sharing stories from their travels by writing the Jonah’s Global Footprints book series. She coaches women to write and publish books. She holds a master’s degree from George Mason University in Virginia, and now lives in Miami. She is passionate about exposing children to global cultures and wants to help make travel an essential part of every childhood. She plans to publish more books based on different countries they’ve visited.
Jonah Seyum is Co-CEO of Tiny Global Footprints, world traveler, and bestselling author, Jonah Seyum is eight years old and has traveled to 11 countries. He is the first published Eritrean child author and enjoys spending time with his family. As a lover of both sports and reading, Jonah plays soccer, golf and basketball as well as loves reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He also enjoys learning new languages, playing instruments, swimming and dancing to Eritrean music.
FWM: When did your journey begin with Tiny Global Footprints?
When Jonah was really little, he and I weren’t able to spend a lot of time together because of the long hours I spent at work (I had and still have a full-time job), not to mention the time required for my graduate school program. I’d work all day and then take classes at night, just trying to keep up. Though I always felt like I was behind and not enough…never enough at work, at grad school, and as a mother. I hoped that if I just worked a little harder, things would somehow get better…but nothing seemed to help. And the harder I worked, the worse I felt until I began to burn out, the mental and emotional tax of “work harder” overwhelming.
In the chaos, I’d found a respite in travel. I loved seeing different places and it was a way to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life with work, school, and other responsibilities. After his first trip abroad to the Dominican Republic when Jonah was 17 months old and then his next trip at 20 months (this time to Dubai and Eritrea for a family trip), I could see that Jonah loved to travel too. I wondered if I was onto something…could there be the potential for travel to be a chance to spend some special time together, perhaps helping to make up for any time we’d lost?
Well — travel hit the spot I’d been searching for, creating a space for Jonah and me to share new experiences, go adventuring, and learn about ourselves and the world together. (And the family travel trend continued. Now at 8 years old, Jonah has been to 11 countries around the world!) Then from these travels and sharing with friends and family, we began to get questions about what it was like to travel the world with a young child and what Jonah thought. As we began to share more, the idea to write books came up, and we started our book series: Jonah’s Global Footprints. Then, that became a mother and son business with Tiny Global Footprints and a podcast series Global Footprints Stories, where we share the educational impact of travel in childhood and inspire other families to travel with their children!
FWM: How important is it for children to travel the world?
Very! It opens their minds and hearts (and ours, too!) to different cultures, places, ways of life, and they learn about history and geography. They also get to meet new people and experience all sorts of new things (food, languages, etc.). It helps them learn that there is no one way to be or live — there is so much diversity and so many possibilities in this beautiful world.
Traveling abroad also helps build strong, independent, intelligent, and curious children, and can create fun memories and an unbreakable family bond.
FWM: Tell us about the Jonah’s Global Footprints book series.
Our book series, Jonah’s Global Footprints, came to be as we began to get more and more questions about our travels. People would ask, “How are you able to make it happen? Isn’t traveling with a kid, especially international travel, hard? Isn’t it expensive? Where should I take my child? What places do you recommend?” and so on. To help answer these questions and give a taste of the fun of international travel with a child, Jonah and I decided to write a book about one of our trips from Jonah’s perspective. It was well received (and we had fun writing it!)…which led to more and more books as we traveled to more and more places. Our first book was based in Thailand, titled “The Search for Elephants in Thailand”. Our Second book is based in Cuba, titled “Finding my Amigo in Cuba”. We’re currently finishing up the third book in the series, based in Eritrea, Africa, titled “Filling My Pockets with Nakfa in Eritrea” with more to come.
And as a fun side note, Jonah has enjoyed writing so much he has penned two books on his own, in addition to the books in the series!
FWM: Jonah, where is your favorite place to visit?
My favorite countries are Eritrea, Cuba, and South Africa! They all have cool cultures; amazing food and I love learning new languages. I also love the weather, the music and all the fun activities we do when visiting new places.
FWM: What is your mission for these books?
Travel can be an amazing experience — and adds so much to childhood! Traveling together gives us the opportunity to bond like no other and for Jonah to learn the world around us. I love seeing the world through his eyes as we learn about history, geography, and new cultures. Which is why we want to continue sharing our story, and inspiring other families to do the same.
FWM: You are a successful coach who helps women to write and publish their own books. Tell us about your experience and how you are helping women today.
In addition to writing books with Jonah and sharing about our travel experiences, I coach other women on the book publishing process. This, too, began because I got questions once we started to publish books. People would note they’d been wanting to write a book and weren’t sure where to start, or they’d written a manuscript but didn’t know what to do next. From learning a lot as I navigated getting our books published, I understood how confusing the process could be, as well as how hugely impactful getting a book out into the world is for both author and readers! I wanted to help others share their stories, too.
So, I began to help other women with their books, from getting through writer’s block, all the way to hitting publish and how to sell and market their books. It’s amazing to see someone’s book go from an idea to a reality, and to be able to help them make it happen.
FWM: What have you learned over the years?
I’ve learned a lot for sure!
A first big lesson (both as a business owner and parent): prioritize self-care, however that looks for you. If you love to travel, make the time for an afternoon, day, or weekend away, whether solo or with your family and/or friends. It may seem hard to juggle in the moment, though you’ll be amazed how much better you will feel coming back with a rested and refreshed brain! And it doesn’t have to be a long trip/break. What’s important is that it is something different, that you get yourself away from the daily grind. Everyone around you will benefit too when you prioritize self-care.
Second: remember that the road will be bumpy and to cut yourself some slack. Things won’t always work out (like when flights get canceled or a book’s formatting is taking longer than expected or the content you’re trying to write just isn’t coming so easily). Take a deep breath, give yourself (and those around you) some grace, and do what you can. Remember that you’ll never get it all done (there will always be more to do, because life continues!) – and that’s okay. When you feel the “I must get this done or I’m not enough/a failure/…” start to play in your mind, take a deep breath (and maybe a quick nap!). Whatever you are able to get done today WILL be enough – and you are enough. And you can start again tomorrow.
Third: As a parent, our kids will always amaze us with what they can and want to do — if we allow them space to grow, learn, and explore. Thinking back to when Jonah was little, I wouldn’t have imagined he’d write his own books (and be the youngest best-selling published Eritrean author!) or begin giving talks and tips to other kids (and adults) on how to write a book and publish a book. I try to give him space and support to pursue things that interest him. His enthusiasm and growth have been amazing to see, as has the special bond we continue to develop through traveling and writing together. It’s hard at times though so rewarding at the end.
FWM: Any advice for other parents who may want to start a business with their young children with the entrepreneurial spirit?
Take it slow and follow your children’s lead. See what you both are interested in. Ask a lot of questions. Gently offer ideas. Try things out. Explore. Not everything will lead to a business venture…and that’s okay! If you keep your mind open, you’ll learn a lot along the way, and most likely find a new way to look at things or another route to try.
Embrace flexibility and messiness. The business may go in directions you didn’t foresee, or your children may have different ideas about what they’d like to do. And that’s okay! Sometimes the best ideas are the ones that seem to come out of nowhere + take some time to show how they fit into the bigger business picture.
FWM: What’s next for you?
More travel, more writing, more publishing books, and more coaching. Also, growing our podcast “Global Footprints Stories” as we’ll have new seasons coming out this year!
I won’t kid you – it’s difficult to juggle a business with a full-time demanding job (as well as being a mom and just human-ing in general!). However, I know our business and our books have a purpose. So, we’re going to keep creating and hopefully inspiring others to create and adventure, too.
