Meet LaTanya Brooks | Educator, Author and Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with LaTanya Brooks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi LaTanya, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Although it is a good idea to brainstorm and develop a plan of action, I do not agree 100% that a completed business plan always has to be the first step to starting a business. When I wrote my first book, I had no plans on publishing or starting a business. I wrote a book to post onto TpT (Teachers Pay Teachers), a website where teachers share their work to sell to other teachers. After a little persuasion, I decided to go the publishing route. While my book was going through the publishing process, I started to join groups of like-minded individuals that could share best practices on publishing and becoming a successful author. Shortly after, I decided to create a brand for my book and to build on it with more STEM related books. I decided that Grow With STEM would not only be the name of my book series, it would be the registered name I would use when attending book festivals and other events. From there, the company, Grow With STEM was born. Of course, with the name, comes a logo. Any person who uses a logo for branding has to protect that piece of intellectual property. Yes you guessed it, I had to obtain a trademark for my logo. Not long after that, I realized that I needed to market my books. It was like a domino effect. Before long, I decided to expand my services. I currently own a parent company with four subsidiaries. Now that I’m expanding, I decided, “Whoa I need to slow down and create a business plan.” –especially since now I am seeking corporate funding and grants. I am a “spread your wings and fly by the seat of my pants” type of person. That is just my personality. However, this may not work for everyone. Some people crave order and love to create a “work in progress” plan to follow from the very beginning.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

As a child, when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, never did I say that I wanted to be a teacher. Teaching is something that chose me. I decided to teach as I was attending college to receive a Master’s in Business Administration. I had every intention of leaving the field once I graduated with my degree. As I thought about it, I realized that teaching encompassed all the things that I love. I love children, helping others realize their potential and teaching people new things. Silly me, and why was I thinking about leaving the profession? Helping others is, both, rewarding and gratifying. Although slipping into the role of a teacher seemed pretty natural to me, the biggest challenge is the red tape and constraints that often come with teaching in the public school system. Many times, I felt that I wanted to teach on my own terms, and that was not my reality. However, teaching in a school system is not without advantages. The trainings, relationships and connections you make are invaluable. After years of teaching, the entrepreneur in me felt suffocated and was burning to get out–especially those times I was denied the access to teach what I wanted. Now that I am juggling a teaching career with my businesses as a side gig, that inner entrepreneur dragon is being fed and has subsided some. Although I plan to leave the public school system one day, looking back, I don’t think I would change a thing. The resources, lessons, and stability that the profession continues to offer is appreciated. Who knows? It may be close to time to let that inner dragon fly and go wherever it takes me. For now, I am creating online business courses. The courses will be available through my business, Intellect 4 Success by visiting www.edgeuspire.com.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
City Pass and visit places- such as Astroville Air-Conditioned Underground Tunnel Tour of Downtown Houston, the Houston Mural Tour and the Sightseeing Cart Tour of Texas. Top Golf and iFly are also fun places that we could also visit. Finally, before departing, I would have them come to my land in Huntsville, Texas (Soon to be AirBnB) where we could experience yurt glamping while enjoying nature.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

The amazing students at Baker Montessori in Houston ISD are my inspiration. They’ve inspired some of the stories that I’ve written. For example, the character Adam in “Adam Baum: The Autistic Engineer” is inspired by two former students of mine, Sebastian Garcia and Javier Hernandez. I often ask students for feedback or comments before I publish a book, and they are not shy about bringing it. I take their suggestions into consideration, whether it is the color of my character’s outfit or some content or a character that I should add. I realize that I am a mentor and role model, and when they see that I am not limiting myself, I hope it sends a message to them to pursue their dreams. There are a few close friends and family members that have always believed in me, even when I started to doubt myself, they always reminded me of just how “badass” I am (um hm, their words, not mine) My family and work family are also a source of strength and encouragement. Not to mention, I have the most amazing principal Mrs. Shameika Salvador, who is very proud of me, offering support in any way that she can. When she told me that she had a scrapbook of all my articles and endeavors, it was a kind gesture of how much faith she has in me. I am fortunate to have such a strong support system.

Website: www.growwithstem.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childrenbooks_growwithstem/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/latanyabrooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/growwithstem

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.latanya.brooks https://www.instagram.com/childrenbooks_growwithstem/