How Wonder & Scribble Started (Spoiler: It Was Not a Business Plan)

March last year I went on an ASIST suicide intervention course. I watched people who did not work in suicide prevention become confident and capable suicide intervention first aiders in just a couple of days. Ordinary people learning how to stay with someone in crisis without freezing or trying to fix everything. It was powerful to watch.

I had one of those quiet internal moments where something clicks and you think, this really matters.

I spoke to the trainers about becoming a trainer myself. They encouraged me to apply. I applied. I was accepted.

Then I checked the cost and laughed in part-time-working, home-educating parent.

The trainer course was around £4,000 plus hotel costs. We are doing okay as a family, but not surprise-four-thousand-pounds okay. So the dream was carefully parked. Not abandoned. Just placed on a high shelf with a label that said later.

The Side Hustle Brainstorm That Went Slightly Off the Rails

I decided I would start a small side income stream to fund it.

I considered cleaning, which shows a worrying level of optimism given the state of my own house.

I considered Avon, briefly and unrealistically.

I considered travel blogging or becoming a travel agent, which turns out to require more money than I was trying to raise.

What I did have was a psychology degree, teaching experience, mental health work, and home education experience. I also have an imagination that does not come with an off switch.

Very quickly I had:

a website

a logo

a brand ethos

one product

and absolutely no chill.

Wonder & Scribble appeared in a creative burst and was held together mostly by enthusiasm and hope.

The “Is This a Terrible Idea?” Phase

I did have a wobble early on. Educational resources are not exactly a hidden niche. The market is crowded. Very crowded. I remember thinking I might have chosen the busiest possible lane.

Then I looked properly at what was actually available and who it was written for.

A lot of resources talk at the learner. Many assume a confident adult guide sitting beside the child. Many feel like worksheets wearing party hats.

I realised there was a gap for something different. Guided learning resources that speak to the child, not at them. Materials that walk the learner through gently. Resources that do not require an expert in the room to make them work. Calm structure. Clear voice. Emotional safety built in.

That was the moment it stopped being just a money idea and started being a values idea.

The Honest Bit I Still Think Sometimes

I still have moments where I wonder if this is a terrible idea.

The resource world is full of experienced, established, beautifully polished creators. Sometimes I look around and think, who exactly do I think I am?

I still worry whether what I make is good enough. Clear enough. Helpful enough.

Then I remember the parents who say, “This worked for my child.” I remember why I built the resources this way in the first place. Calm voice. Guided steps. No overwhelm. No assumption that an expert is sitting beside the learner.

So I keep going.

Not because I am certain. Because I am convinced it is worth trying.

Early Wins and Fast Lessons

I made some sales. Which was exciting for about six minutes.

Then the website fees and Canva subscription quietly ate the money.

That was my first proper business lesson. This is not a fast burn. It is a slow cooker.

I had also been very publicly excited about many ideas in many directions. I felt a bit sheepish about how loudly I had announced things while still figuring them out.

Still, I poured everything into my first poetry resource. I made it kind, usable, calm, and genuinely helpful. Not flashy. Just thoughtful and solid.

The Pause That Looked Like Stopping

We went on a family holiday in August. I came back and completely lost momentum.

Part fear.

Part rising costs.

Part Christmas approaching at speed.

Part my all-or-nothing personality deciding that if I could not do everything, I would do nothing.

Paid work had to take priority, so Wonder & Scribble was carefully placed on pause. Not thrown away. Just set aside with all the ideas safely kept.

The Quiet Restart

Then, without a big announcement or dramatic relaunch, I started again.

I finished the second resource.

Continued building a third.

Started a fourth.

Planned live sessions.

Less talking. More building. It turns out that works better.

The Serendipity Bit

Looking back, a lot of this has been serendipity rather than strategy.

I went on the suicide intervention course because I care about prevention work. That sparked the trainer goal. That goal sparked the side income idea. That idea sparked Wonder & Scribble.

If I had not sat in that training room last March, none of this would exist. No resources. No packs. No slightly chaotic creative brand with a mug that still makes me smile.

Some things are built from business plans. Others are built from moments that tap you on the shoulder and say, this matters, follow it.

Wonder & Scribble is definitely the second type.

Not a master plan. More a meaningful accident that I decided to keep.

The Dream Is Still There

Recently I saw a post asking people to share their dream for a chance at serious business support. It reminded me that my original goal is still there in the background.

I still want to become an ASIST trainer.

Not urgently. Not recklessly. Not at the expense of my family. But steadily, when the path opens.

Wonder & Scribble started as a way to fund that training. It has grown into something more meaningful along the way. The mission is still there. It is just no longer shouting. It is waiting its turn.