A Bookshop of My Own: The Diary of Opening a Used Bookstore

Chapter 3: The Starting Point

Opening a used bookstore: March 2026—Chapter 3 begins. Stef finds a space. It's not what she imagined, but she's making it work. The Phoenix will open as a kids & teens bookshop—a place to get started. Plus: launching Phoenix En Plein Air, an outdoor book club using remainder stock to stay green.
(Note: Audio cuts out halfway through—I come back with a new recording and continue the conversation.)
In this episode, I'm so excited because I found a space. It's not what I thought it would be—not the big, all-ages dream store—but I'm making it work. And here's the big announcement: The Phoenix Used Bookshop will open as a kids and teens bookshop. Ages 0-16. A place to get started.
This feels right. Kids deserve access to affordable books. Families need this. And starting focused lets me prove the model, build community, and grow from there.
I'm also launching something new: Phoenix En Plein Air, an outdoor book club around Marin. We'll read and discuss books outside—because reading shouldn't be stuck indoors, and community happens in fresh air. To keep with our green mission, I'll be using remainder stock from big publishers—new books that would otherwise go to waste.
I need your help: take the survey and let me know what books you want to read and talk about. 
Current Book Count: ~13,000+ (and ready to get many of them into kids' hands)
This is the starting point. Not the end goal—but the beginning. 
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.
Links mentioned:
Phoenix En Plein Air book club survey: survey link

The Name of the Game (Vol. 1 & 2)

Opening a used bookstore: March 2026—Lease negotiations fall apart. The landlord walks. Stef faces her third rejection. Volume 1 captures the collapse; Volume 2 processes the grief, the exhaustion, and the stubborn belief that she has to let the right opportunity come to her now.
(Apologies for road noise in Vol. 1 and caution lights in Vol. 2—I recorded this while processing in real time.)
Volume 1: Lease negotiations have become unpredictable, weird, and unreasonable. I get into the nitty-gritty—the back and forth, the bizarre terms, the growing sense that this isn't going to work. And then it doesn't. The landlord walks away from the table. This is the third time I've been burned, and I'm so dissapointed.
Volume 2: I sleep on it and come back with some perspective. Suffering makes the good times better—contrast is necessary for light to shine. I get that. But I'm so tired of being resilient.
I'm also grateful for the pressure cooker that happens every time I'm about to sign a lease. The ideas I get in those moments—I wouldn't get them otherwise. The clarity, the pivots, the problem-solving—it only comes under pressure.
I have the support. I have the community. I know what I need to do, and I can do it. I just need to let it come to me now. I'm disappointed. I'm sad. But I'm still here.
Current Book Count: ~11,000+
The name of the game is resilience. Even when you're tired of playing. 
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.

The Lease Interlude

In this mini-episode I discover commercial leases can be a whole lot more complicated than I realized.
If you haven't contributed a review for the pod would you be so kind and write something about this journey and maybe even if you have always wanted to open a used bookshop of your own? Thank you.
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.

The Real Pain Points

Opening a used bookstore: Stef changes how she looks at the business—thinking like a VC-funded startup, expanding search criteria—and finds a space. This episode is about the real pain points a used bookstore solves: consumption, affordability, climate. Plus gratitude for the whole journey, hard stuff included.
In this episode, I have a breakthrough. I've been thinking small to big—find a tiny space, grow slowly, minimize risk. But what if I think like a VC-funded startup? What if I go big to small instead?
That shift changes everything. I expand my search criteria, and almost instantly, I find a space.
I walk through why this space could work, what it offers, and how it aligns with the mission. But more importantly, I talk about the real pain points this business addresses:
The consumption crisis — we buy too much, waste too much
The affordability crisis — new books are expensive, reading shouldn't be
The climate crisis — reuse is one of the most impactful climate actions we can take
The Phoenix isn't just a bookstore. It's a response to systemic problems. And that clarity feels powerful.
At the end, I reflect on gratitude—for this whole journey, even the hard parts. The rejection, the waiting, the frustration—it all led here.
Current Book Count: ~11,000+
Sometimes you have to think bigger to find what fits. 
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.
Links from this episode:
Gary Vee on why analog is the next business frontier
Korty's Fish Camp for those of you with kids
San Anselmo Food Truck on IG

The One Year Check-In

Opening a used bookstore: One year in—Stef travels to Philadelphia, visits The Last Word bookshop, connects with the owner (25 years in the business!), navigates the emotional rollercoaster of rental space hunting, and realizes word-of-mouth marketing is building momentum. The work is paying off.
In this episode, I hit the one-year mark of this journey, and it feels surreal. I travel to Philadelphia and visit my favorite used bookshop: The Last Word. And in a moment I didn't expect, I meet the owner—someone who's been running a used bookshop for 25 years. We talk shop, literally, and he offers to be an email buddy. I can't even express how much that means. To have someone who's been in the trenches willing to share knowledge? That's gold.
Back home, the rental space search saga continues with highs and lows, highs and lows. It's exhausting. But I'm holding on.
What's keeping me going? The small business owner connections I've made along the way. The support, the shared frustrations, the advice—it's a community I didn't know I needed until I was in it.
And here's something that's making me so happy: I check my email and two or three times a week now there are people reaching out to share their books with me. Strangers. Neighbors. Friends of friends. Word of mouth is building. And in the marketing world, word-of-mouth marketing is the GOLD standard. You can't buy it. You can't force it. You earn it.
All the work I've been doing—the podcast, the Little Free Library refreshes, the community presence—it's kicking in. People are starting to know The Phoenix, even though the doors aren't open yet.
Current Book Count: ~11,000+
One year in. Still standing. Still rising. 
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.
Links mentioned:
The Last Word (Philadelphia)
Sign up for a free Little Free Library refresh.

The Reframe

November 2025—A 4-minute mini episode. The landlord decides. The David and Goliath story resolves. And with holiday pressure mounting to get books out into the world, Stef faces a new question: what's the vibe? Light, bright, and airy—or cozy, candlelit, and readerly?
Current Book Count: ~11,000+
The reframe is real. 
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.

The David & Goliath Thing

Opening a used bookstore: November 2025—Stef meets with the landlord and then gets hit with breaking news: there's another bidder. Cue the David and Goliath showdown. Now all she can do is wait, hope, and trust that community matters more than raking in the dough.
In this episode, I finally meet with the potential landlord. I lay it all out—the vision, the plan, the commitment to Mill Valley, the community impact. And then: breaking news. There's another bidder. And they're bigger, safer, offering more money. Classic David and Goliath.
All I can do now is wait and hope the landlord chooses what's best for the community—not just what's easiest or most financially secure for them. I have to trust that my vision matters, that a used bookstore serving this town is worth the risk.
My books and I are ready. We have a floor plan. Shelves are ready to order. Partners are lined up. I just need someone to believe in me.
I also take a moment to express gratitude toward my commercial agent, who has been advocating for me through all of this. Without her, I wouldn't even be in the running.
And I can't help but wonder at the movie-like quality of it all. This whole journey—the failed acquisition, the pivot, the 10,000+ books, the perfect space, the competing bidder—it feels like a story someone wrote. Except it's real, and I'm living it, and I don't know how it ends yet.
Current Book Count: ~10,000+
David versus Goliath. The Phoenix versus... well, we'll see.
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.

The Weeds

Opening a used bookstore: November 2025—Stef breaks down the nuts and bolts of pursuing a commercial space: the Letter of Intent (LOI) with tiered rent, personal guarantees, required paperwork, P&L fundamentals, multiple revenue streams, and why cost of goods matters. Plus: her other business (a free parenting blog) and a sneak peek at the potential space.
In this episode, I get into the weeds—the practical, unglamorous stuff you actually need to know when leasing commercial space.
I have an LOI out on a space that's big, expensive, and has everything I need. I walk through why I structured it with tiered rent—a way to align my growth trajectory with the landlord's revenue expectations while protecting myself in Year 1 when cash flow will be tight.
I also explain what a personal guarantee is (spoiler: it's terrifying but standard), and share the paperwork you need to have ready when you're seriously pursuing a property: financials, business plan, credit reports, references, proof of funds.
The P&L (profit and loss statement) comes up again because it's the backbone of everything. I talk about why multiple revenue streams are critical to a used bookstore's survival—in-store sales, online sales, products—and how cost of goods and wholesale purchasing work in retail. The margins are thin, so every decision matters.
I also mention my other business: ParentingwithGratitude.com, a free blog for parents. I do it for the parenting community, not profit—but I'm worried the potential landlords won't love hearing that I run a business that's intentionally unprofitable. We'll see.
And for those who want to see the space I'm excited about, I have a reel that shows it click here.
Current Book Count: ~9,000+
Sometimes the unsexy work is the most important work. 
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.

The Social Impact

Opening a used bookstore: October 2025—Stef experiments with a tiered rent LOI (Letters of Intent) to align landlords with her mission, battles frustration over the pace of progress, learns an expensive Canadian shipping lesson on The Art of Books platform, and gets an email that validates why she's documenting this journey—because mattering matters.
In this episode, recorded in October 2025, I'm trying something new with the rental search: I sent out a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a tiered rent structure. Instead of working against landlords, I'm testing whether I can persuade them to work with me—to see the bookstore as a community asset worth supporting with flexible terms. We'll see if it works.
But honestly? I'm frustrated. I want to be in the learning-on-the-ground phase—making mistakes in the store, figuring things out with customers, problem-solving in real time. Instead, I'm still stuck in the waiting phase, and it's not happening the way I hoped.
I also made a mistake with 'The Art of Books' platform that I need to share so others don't repeat it: I messed up Canadian shipping. It cost me, and I learned the hard way. If you're using the platform, pay close attention to international shipping settings—it matters more than you think.
But here's the win that turned my whole week around: I got an email from a woman in Washington state who's opening a used bookstore and loves the podcast. She told me it's helping her. And suddenly, I felt like I matter—like I'm contributing to something bigger than just my own store. This is community mattering in effect.
It also dovetails perfectly with my best friend's research on accomplishment and mattering. We've been talking about how mattering isn't just about being needed—it's about adding value and feeling valued. That email was both. It reminded me why I'm doing this, and why documenting the journey matters as much as the destination.
Current Book Count: ~9,000+
Sometimes the biggest impact isn't the one you planned. 
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.
Links:
The Art of Books platform for bookstore owners: theartofbooks.com
Sign up for a free Little Free Library refresh: phoenixusedbookshop.com

The Little Red Wagons

Opening a used bookstore: September 2025—Stef navigates rental heartbreak, battles online listing systems, rides the wave of trending Little Free Library refreshes, makes a huge children's book haul, and prepares to manage books at the Santa Rosa Reuse Fair. Plus: why she needs little red wagons, and some tea about the store from Chapter 1...
In this episode, the rental drama continues. Every week I'm planning, envisioning, falling in love with a space—and then losing it. The heartbreak is real, and it's wearing on me.
The tech struggle is also ongoing. I'm using 'The Art of Books' as my online listing platform (link for other bookstore owners: theartofbooks.com), but the learning curve is steep and progress feels slow.
On the bright side? Little Free Library refreshes are on fire. Like, #trending levels of demand. People are reaching out, the service is resonating, and it feels like the community-building piece of this business is already working.
I also make a massive haul of children's books while attending a Positive Psychology conference in Sacramento—worlds collide in the simplest way, yay!
And I have a request for listeners: I need little red wagons. I've decided they'll make the perfect $1 book bins outside the shop—easy to move, fun to look at, and a pop of color that says "come dig through me."
I'm also gearing up for the huge Santa Rosa Reuse Fair, where the Reuse Alliance diverts tons of waste from landfills by collecting items in the morning and curating a warehouse for people to "shop" for free in the afternoon. I'm in charge of the books—and I get to bring any remaining books home. It's a perfect mix of values and inventory needs.
And stick around to the end, because I share a little juicy gossip (or ☕, if you prefer) about the store from Chapter 1. You'll want to hear this. 
Current Book Count: ~9,000+
Red wagons, reuse fairs, and a little bit of drama. 🐦‍🔥
🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.
Links mentioned:
The Art of Books platform for bookstore owners: theartofbooks.com
Sign up for a free Little Free Library refresh: phoenixusedbookshop.com
Reuse Alliance: https://www.reusealliance.org/