Grant winner’s legacy-led passion for storytelling helps benefit local communities.
By: Kasee Baldwin
A little bit of coffee, a whole lot of milk and a bit of sugar – it was the early morning routine of drinking “coffee milk” with her french-speaking grandparents in her family home on Chataignier Road in Ville Platte, Louisiana. This morning ritual inspired both of K. LaFleur-Anders’ businesses: Chestnut Publishing House, and its digital-first, multimedia offshoot, Coffee Milk Media. (In case you’re unfamiliar, Châtaignier means ‘chestnut’ in French.)
“There was no sleeping in,” LaFleur-Anders says of her childhood days. “I had no choice but to get up, too, but I enjoyed it. Even though I didn’t understand what [my grandparents] were talking about in french, it was the fact that they got up and sat together and had a conversation, and they included me in that. It was my time to spend with them. [They are really] the foundation of everything.”
LaFleur-Anders, the recipient of this year’s Austin Woman Small Business Grant, says the endowment affords her the opportunity to honor her grandparent’s legacy – and not just in name.
“[I thought], if I were to win, the visibility that we gain as a business would afford me the opportunity to help more businesses, and specifically woman-owned businesses,” she says. “The more resources we add to our storytelling, the more I get to collaborate with partners in the community,” LaFleur-Anders said.
It’s that passion for storytelling that guides LaFleur-Anders’ business efforts in three main areas: education, health and wellness – especially for women – and food security, and the meaningful partnerships she creates within those domains.
“I’m a big proponent of collaborations and intentional ones,” LaFleur-Anders says. “You can lead with heart and still be strategic in your creative collaborations. I’m strategically looking for women-owned businesses to partner with, and that’s what the grant is affording me the opportunity to do.”
Chestnut Publishing began two years ago primarily as a book publishing imprint. With the introduction of Coffee Milk Media, it has grown to include comprehensive multimedia storytelling for B2B clients, in the form of ebook, newsletters, blogs, podcasts and more. These sister businesses align in their ultimate goals of promoting education and literacy, freedom of expression and helping local communities – led by their own team.
“It was really created to create all of these things in house,” LaFleur-Anders says.
With her team, she also helps in the event organization space for nonprofits, like Leaps for Literacy and Mission Accomplished.
And if that wasn’t already a tall order for a growing, marginalized-owned business, LaFleur-Anders is working to increase visibility and empathy for children with all abilities through the in-house publishing of children's books. Self-identified “first and foremost [as a] writer,” she’s even written her own book; which she hopes to publish one day.
This latest Austin Woman Small Business Grant awardee is committed to community and creating spaces for unheard stories to be told – growing roots and branches through Chestnut Publishing and Coffee Milk Media.
“Everything is about storytelling,” LaFleur-Anders says. “That’s the foundation of everything that we do.”
