About the Author   Daphne Nowell was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and now lives in Southern California. Like her mother, Esther, she was trained as an artist at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the University of Hawaii. She currently is a real estate investor and developer and entrepreneur like her late father, Henry Floyd Nowell. Because she feels she waited too long to discover the joys of entrepreneurship, she is working to inspire girls to take control of their futures and think about owning their own business. She wants girls to experience the feeling of accomplishment in using their creativity to help themselves and help the world.

About the Artist   Esther Nowell, the book’s illustrator, has lived in Honolulu all her life and is a successful award-winning artist in a variety of mediums including clay and watercolor. She teaches art classes and workshops throughout Honolulu. She attended the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the University of Hawaii. Her work can be seen in galleries throughout Oahu, including the Honolulu Academy of Arts gift shop, and at www.kailuatown.com and www.businessangelpress.com

Article – 372 words   After Daphne Nowell watched a program on her local PBS station about the difficulties in the California community colleges, she knew what she had to do. The program showed students who were working very hard to succeed but because many of them had to work full-time as well as go to school, they were struggling to get everything done. Some were single parents trying to balance education with parenting. Many community colleges had raised their prices in recent years and the cost was putting a strain on already tight budgets.   In addition to these personal issues, because the colleges were suffering from over-crowding in many cases, students were getting less and less individual attention. In some colleges, there were 1,500 students for every guidance counselor.   Daphne knew that college was a vital and enriching component of many careers, but she also knew that a college degree was not required to own a business. She decided to write a book to inspire children, especially girls, to think about owning their business.   “I wanted to give children some guidance on how they could turn what they loved to do into a business that could help people and lead to a satisfying life for them. When I was growing up, it never occurred to me that I could be a business owner. I read a lot of books about being rescued by handsome princes and taken care of forever and ever and was convinced that would happen to me. The reality is that everyone should be equipped with the skills to take care of themselves.”   “I also wanted to nurture those dreams that children have when they are young and which, all too often, get pushed aside. Because our education system is set up to give children general skills, such as reading, math, etc. many children don’t get information on achieving success in their specific fields of interest. Even when they are given classes in their specific fields, many times there is no instruction on building a career. I attended many hours of art class from kindergarten through college and never received even one piece of advice on how to actually make a living as an artist.”   “Since this is true, I want to encourage children to take an active role in their future and not wait for an adult to guide them. In my books I give specific suggestions and resources, so kids can start making a plan in their mind on achieving success doing something they love.”   This is also my way of letting as many people as possible see my mother, Esther’s, clever and exquisite art work. She has captured my concepts in a clear but humorous way.   “Juana Meets Gabriel, the Small Business Angel" author: Daphne Nowell Illustrated by: Esther Nowell ISBN 978-0-9798909-1-8 contact@businessangelpress.com

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