The Books for Little Hearts CEO on investing $50,000 before her daughter’s first book, landing in Palm Beach County schools, and funding the next young author while working full time.
Dr. Mimi Smith is the founder, CEO, and publisher of Books for Little Hearts, a children’s publishing company and young authorship platform built on the belief that children deserve to create the stories other children read. The company began after her nine-year-old daughter wrote her first book, and within seven months it had published three titles, earned literary honors, and placed two books on the approved purchase list of The School District of Palm Beach County. Among the women in business recognized during National Women’s Small Business Month, Dr. Mimi Smith has built all of it while working a full-time job and raising the company’s two founding authors.
Dr. Mimi Smith’s $50,000 Decision
She knew her level of commitment before the first conversation about publishing had even ended. “It wasn’t one of those ‘oops I had spent $50K,’ it was ‘ok, here’s $50K, now let’s build,’” she says. Earning the trust of teachers, families, schools, and librarians required real infrastructure, so Dr. Mimi Smith assembled a small team of editors, illustrators, and book designers and invested in inventory, merchandise, school partnerships, and opportunities to bring the young authors’ work to wider audiences.
“If I didn’t stick my neck out for what I believed in, then I shouldn’t expect anyone else to.”
Dr. Mimi Smith
She also began developing an intellectual property portfolio, secured Amazon Brand Registry approval, and launched an Amazon Brand Store to establish Books for Little Hearts as a recognizable publishing house. The milestones followed quickly. One of the company’s first three titles received two literary awards and became a 2026 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards finalist, and requests for author visits now arrive from schools across Palm Beach County.
Dr. Mimi Smith is candid that confidence never meant certainty, especially with no sales history to lean on in the beginning. “I think there’s a misconception that confidence in business means knowing something will succeed,” she says. “I wasn’t investing nearly $50,000 because I knew Books for Little Hearts would become successful. I was investing because I believed the idea deserved a legitimate opportunity to grow.”
When Schools Came Calling
The company’s school partnerships began without a single cold call. After the first book was published, schools reached out on their own, inviting the young authors to take part in events before any formal partnership existed. Dr. Mimi Smith chose to invest in those relationships, seeing a chance to support the business, the students, and the teachers who show up for them every day. “I think one of the biggest drivers of our growth has been the interest we’ve received from people who recognize the value of children seeing other children become published authors,” she says.
She also wanted Books for Little Hearts to open doors beyond her own family, which led to the Annual Young Author Publishing Program. Each year, the company selects one young author with a completed manuscript and fully funds the publishing process at no cost to the family, and the inaugural 2027 recipient has already been chosen. “Not every family has those resources, and I don’t believe a child’s opportunity to share a story should depend entirely on their parents’ ability to finance it,” she says. She has long believed that “an investment doesn’t necessarily have to return in the same form in which it was made to have been valuable.”
Leading Without Handing Over the Weight
Raising two founding authors has reshaped how Dr. Mimi Smith defines leadership. “When we think of someone in leadership, we think of someone with all the answers, or at least most of them,” she says. “But raising two beautiful girls who are indeed the founding authors has taught me that it’s about knowing when to step aside and allowing someone else to discover what they’re capable of.” She keeps their childhood at the center, with school, friendships, and activities that live outside the company. “I can be ambitious about the company without expecting them to carry that ambition on their shoulders.”
As parents began emailing and messaging her for guidance, she realized one funded author each year could not meet the need, so she wrote a five-book series that walks families through a child’s publishing journey, drawn from her own experience. She does it all alongside a full-time job, and her advice to mothers, fathers, and guardians is to understand the difference between supporting a child’s dream and building a company around it. “Do it when you’re tired, do it when you’re happy, do it when you’re unsure, do it when you’re sad, just push through and do it,” she says.
“Your children can inspire the business without being responsible for its success. That responsibility belongs to you as the founder.”
Dr. Mimi Smith
About Books for Little Hearts
Founded by Dr. Mimi Smith, Books for Little Hearts is a children’s publishing company and young authorship platform. Its titles include The Voice in the Heart, Did You Find the Place Beyond the Rainbow?, and Wonderful Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow. Visit the official website and follow along on Instagram.
