Only Human: Meet Toyin Onabowu
- What happens when your business grows faster than you can keep up with but your values won’t let you compromise?
- A surge in new opportunities have pushed Toyin to rethink the future of her publishing business
- We find out how integrity rather than income is shaping every decision in this next chapter of her life
“If integrity is at the heart of who I am and what I do, then I have no conflict. If I follow through on that, then the income will come. Income is important, but integrity defines me.”
Like many solopreneurs, Toyin Onabowu has reached a familiar crossroads: how to grow her business without losing herself.
With more work coming in to her company The Heritage Publishers than she can manage alone, she’s weighing big decisions like how to resource, how to structure, and which projects to say yes to.
It’s prompted a period of soul-searching and some, as she jokes, “deep and surprisingly profound conversations” with her “personal assistant ChatGPT.” This has led to something of an epiphany. She’s realised that integrity, not income, is her true measure of success.
If she is doing what feels right and what feels good, then she’s already winning.
And as her business grows beyond its original niche, Toyin is now learning to sew this golden thread of integrity into her every move because her decisions matter now more than ever.
A love story that started with books
Toyin’s love affair with books began long before The Heritage Publishers launched in 2021. Growing up in Nigeria, she devoured novels and dreamed of stories that could transport readers to other worlds.
“Reading has always been part of me,” she says. “I was always that kid with a book up to their nose and later I managed to tick off all the Mills and Boons romance books! So, it’s no coincidence I’m doing this now.”
Building a career in the 1990s, Toyin focused her time on roles at workplace advice specialists ACAS and later began freelance editing. But her passion for helping writers to truly shine became an itch she had to scratch.
The spark that started Heritage
During her work as an editor, Toyin heard the same frustrations time and again from aspiring authors who were struggling to get their books onto platforms like Amazon.
“I thought, let’s remove that barrier and get these books out there. I realised I could take somebody from coaching all the way through to showing up on the pages of Amazon.”
Today, Heritage offers professional editing, book coaching, design, and publishing services – helping authors transform manuscripts into polished, market‑ready books.
“The role of the editor and publisher is to make sure that book shows up in its best possible form,” Toyin says. “That’s what I love.”
From Christian roots to new horizons
When Toyin launched the business, her focus was on helping Christian authors bring their stories to life as an extension of her own faith and values.
Since moving her operations to the North East BIC coworking space in Sunderland, opportunity has come knocking. Enquiries have increased from a wide range of authors, with two books arriving directly because of her location and networking.
Toyin reviewed, edited and published the work of 13-year-old Wearside fiction writer Kenuli Lehansa, whose debut novel won praise from Prince William and The King. And a biography written by local journalist Mike McLennan, has twice sold out in Waterstones.
This momentum has not only excited Toyin about her broadening portfolio but also sharpened her commitment to choosing projects that align with her values.
Integrity as the guiding light
As Heritage grows, Toyin now faces the challenge of how to scale up without losing sight of her values. “I have to recognise that I can’t publish everything and that’s where my values act as a helpful compass,” she says.
“Whatever I’m working on sort of passes through me during the editing process. It’s quite intense and personal so I have to be selective with where I spend my energy and time.”
It’s not just about the projects she takes. It’s also about the way she decides.
“I’m at a point in my life where I’m realising I’ve been doing things instinctively. Now I need to decide what I want to do and do it more intentionally.”
That intentionality is shaping practical choices: which authors to support, when to hire, and how to manage her workload to protect her own spirituality and wellbeing.
The editor’s eye (and eight hats)
As both editor and publisher, Toyin approaches every book with deep care.
Her hands-on approach means she often acts as “eight people in one,” managing editorial coaching, developmental edits, proofreading, typesetting, and coordinating cover design and production. It’s a labour of love but one that’s becoming harder to sustain as demand grows.
“I can’t wear my eight hats for much longer,” she admits. “I need to grow but I want to do it in a way that aligns with my integrity.”
Faith, choirs and the balance of time
When it comes to allocating time and energy to truly enriching commitments, Toyin’s beloved community gospel choir Bethany Gospel Voices is a worthy recipient.
“I just love my work running the choir,” she says. “It brings me so much joy and is so valuable to me.”
Her aim is to have Heritage Publishers running full time with support from a small, values‑aligned team, so the business can flourish while she continues to enjoy her choir work without compromising on integrity or quality.
And then there’s the dream that keeps her motivated: “My ultimate dream is to see some of our books on the shelves in Tesco so people going on holiday could pick it up along with their bananas! Then I’d know I’d really made it mainstream.”
What’s next: scaling with intention
For Toyin, scaling up isn’t just about adding capacity or increasing outputs. It’s about building a business that honours her values. That means hiring thoughtfully, systemising the editorial journey, and staying selective so every project receives the same depth of care.
“If integrity is at the heart of who I am and what I do, then there is no conflict,” she says. “If I follow through on that, then the income will come, as will satisfaction. Income is important, but integrity defines me. “
Want to connect with Toyin?
Visit The Heritage Publishers website for more information about its services, connect with Toyin via LinkedIn, or say hello when you see her in the coworking space at the BIC.