We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leat Regwan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leat below.
Leat, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
When our kids were little, my husband and I would read to them every night. My husband, Sol, would make up stories that the kids wanted to hear over and over. This inspired him to start writing and self-publishing his own children’s books.
We soon realized this was just the beginning. While there was a huge market for children’s books, it was mostly dominated by traditionally published titles. We wanted to support independent publishing and create a home for indie authors to promote their children’s books. Additionally, we aimed to provide parents with a single place to find diverse and unique books for their children.
We also discovered that not every child is lucky enough to have age appropriate books at home which became our primary mission—providing books for underserved children… and that’s how MagicBeans (one word) Bookstore was created.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We are a unique brand—the only online children’s bookstore dedicated to showcasing independently published children’s books. We are so proud of that! As a niche brand, our mission is to help independent authors promote their books. When it comes to self-publishing, authors take on the responsibility of marketing their books and sharing their stories with the world. We aim to help authors and illustrators by providing a platform for these diverse, unique, and outside-the-box stories, because they deserve to be seen.
At MagicBeans, we are also very passionate about supporting literacy in our youth. We donate new and gently used books to underserved communities. Every child deserves to have age-appropriate books at home, yet as of 2024, over 61% of children in the United States do not have books to read at home. This is a startling statistic, and we are committed to changing it, even if it’s one book at a time.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
My business partner is my husband, who is an Optometrist by profession but has also found his passion for writing and become an author later in life. Sol and I met 14 years ago through a friend, and our first date was at Peet’s Coffee. I thought it was going to be just another coffee date but the universe has it’s way and well the rest as they say is history. Despite our full-time jobs and the craziness of life with kids, sports/activities, we appreciate the flexibility of running an online business that we can manage from anywhere.
This year, we welcomed Cara Brzezicki to our team. Having followed MagicBeans for a few years, she loved what we do. When we reached out to our community for help with MagicBeans, Cara’s story stood out. Her passion for our mission, combined with her creativity as an inventor, author, life coach, and mother, made her the perfect addition to our team. Together, we believe MagicBeans can become a household name in the indie world.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I had to learn is that running a business, whether online or brick-and-mortar, is challenging. Coming from a corporate background where everything is structured and planned, adjusting to an online business was tough. In the corporate world, you go to work, do your job, and get paid. But with your own business, it’s a completely different story.
Things rarely go according to plan. You can work for weeks at a time without making a penny. There’s no clocking out, no boss to pat you on the back, or give you recognition. You have to wear all the hats and constantly give yourself pep talks because the urge to quit is more often than not. Developing an entrepreneur mentality was something I had to learn and am still learning, while the employee mentality was something I’m still doing my best to unlearn.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://magicbeansbookstore.com
- Instagram: magicbeansbookstore
- Facebook: magicbeansbookstore
