She is a zoologist, as well as a busy wife and mother but Misty Hamid wife and mother but Misty Hamid is also an entrepreneur.
Recalling her first forays into what she admitted was initially a frightening experience, Hamid said: “I didn’t know anything about writing books, I am a mother of two boys, working in a different field. I am not an author, this is not my background.”
Searching for inspiration, she browsed Facebook to find out what was available and came up with the idea for an alphabet book featuring tropical fruits. That came about when the older of her sons was two years old.
“I kept seeing books which had “A” for apple, I went to the book stores, I checked online, but I didn’t see anything local and that is when the idea came about. That’s when I started thinking about what do I look for in a book on fruits for our children,” she said.
“I started to do some sketches, writing down my ideas and started formulating the layout I was looking for. That’s when it started to grow.
“I am not really artistic, but I really wanted to do illustrations because I find children are very attracted to colourful, vivid illustrations. One of my friends introduced me to an illustrator and then I started to work with him on those sketches.”
Hamid, who has a double major in Zoology and Botany, and a masters in environmental management, wanted the book to be interactive and attractive, so she chose fruits of different shapes was careful not to have two consecutive pages of the same colour.
“I chose fruits which people thought were vegetables. There were misconceptions I tried to clear up. I chose ochro and eggplant.”
Hamid said there was a point where she did not know the next step to take. Eventually, she joined Cariri’s Idea Advisory Services (IAS) where she was given guidance on intellectual property and other requirements.
“They told me about trademark and copyright. Cariri also connected me to other entrepreneurs, so I was able to liaise with them and hear from them how they developed their products and got them to market.
“Cariri also linked me to various ministries that provided the feedback needed to ensure the information was sound. That’s how I began to grow and develop,” she said.
The result was a book that helps children recognise local fruits and vegetables.
“Fruits are a seasonal thing, so you don’t see fruits across the board. When you go to the market you recognise fruits such as a caimate. So much fruits we have here, but we are running to the foreign stuff and its here. So many health benefits we have out of it too,” she said
Hamid signed a non-disclosure agreement with Cariri are private and not to be discussed at any forum, as well as a copyright assignment agreement for all rights to the illustrations to be assigned to her.
However, getting all the legal paperwork in place was not sufficient. The next step was to register her business, Kidavo Creations and trademark the logo. The trademark was officially registered in March.
BOOK IN STORES AND ONLINE
Hamid has sent a copy of the book to the chief education officer in the Ministry of Education and it has been assigned to curriculum officers for review.
“We were guided always by the ministry in developing this book,” she said.
The book is available at Mohammed’s Bookstore and will soon be available at other book stores. It is also on Cariri’s online platform, BHCommerceTT.
There are plans to expand into colouring books and alphabet charts and Hamid hopes to do tours of primary schools and pre-schools and deepen the company’s footprint throughout the region.
SUPPORT FROM CARIRI
The Ideas Advisory Service (IAS) offers the following support:
• Helps entrepreneur develop their value proposition
• Tests the idea before further investment is made by the entrepreneur
• Defines the business, customers and segments
• Assesses and validates the entrepreneur’s business model
• Co-ordinates innovation
Services from the Intellectual Property Clinic:
• Once a month consultations
• Information on protection of intellectual property
