22/04/2025
I remember the exact day I realised I had built a 6-figure businessâŚ
from selling second-hand books.
Yep. What the actual F?!
When I took over a dusty, smelly, ugly little bookshop by the beach, I remember saying,
âAs long as I make enough to cover the rent, Iâll be happy.â
I had no idea what was coming.
We were mid-pandemic.
Iâd just resigned from a toxic job to homeschool my girls.
The world was wild. Everything felt uncertain.
But that first week in the shop?
Boom.
Customers. Sales. Community.
I thought, âWow. What a dream first week. Surely itâll slow down.â
It didnât.
It kept growing. And growing. And growing.
And now, when I look back at why it worked ~ really worked ~ I can boil it down to the 3 Câs Iâve held onto ever since:
đĄ CLARITY
I had a vision ~ bigger than just books.
Art. Coffee. Records. Gifts. Community.
A space for people to feel something. That vision evolved into a second shop, a creative hub, a sanctuary.
đ CONNECTION
I didnât just sell stuff, I built community.
Multiple ones, all woven together, with my business as the beating heart.
đ¸ CASH FLOW
I treated every customer like gold, whether they bought a $4 book or a $600 record.
And I never relied on one income stream.
5 was my magic number:
Books. Records. Art. Coffee. Gifts.
Each one with its own audience, its own purpose, and its own revenue.
Did I do it all perfectly? Hell no.
I built something beautiful, but I also built it without the boundaries, the balance, or the self-awareness I needed.
I didnât know my spicy brain well enough back then to spot the burnout coming.
And when it hit⌠it hit hard.
But this story? It still fuels me.
Because it proves whatâs possible when you lead with clarity, connection, and creativity and when you build a business that feels like you.
So if youâre sitting there thinking your dream is too weird, too small, too niche?
This is your sign.
If I can build a multi 6-figure business out of dusty paperbacks and caffeine-fuelled community vibesâŚ
You can build anything.
xx