We recently connected with Ann Vogl and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ann thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

I bought the inventory and fixtures of an existing bookstore, but I wanted to make it my own and change the name. I was warned that this wasn’t a good idea, but I did it anyway. And I am glad because dragons are truly magical creatures. And they have brought me some unexpected promotion.

One morning in spring, I was talking to a customer and she looked out the front window and said what is going on out front. There were dragons in front of the store getting their picture taken. I excused myself from the customer and grabbed my phone. I asked if I could get my picture taken with the dragons, who were in a play across the street – a stage version of the book “Dragons Love Tacos.” It was so much fun.

Then they asked if they could come inside the bookstore. “Oh, Yes!” They took a video coming into the store and looking around; the Eau Claire Children’s Theater shared it widely. It was so fun and unexpected.

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.

Dragon Tale Books continues the decades-long tradition of an independent bookstore in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Locally owned and operated by Ann Vogl, a former librarian and accountant, she’s long dreamed of running a bookstore. In 2022, her dream came true when she purchased the inventory and furnishings of Bookends On Main.

Dragon Tale Books’ mission is to serve lifelong readers, support local creatives, provide community learning opportunities, and make the world a better place by being inclusive and respectful of the world around us in our book selections and events, all within an engaging and whimsical environment.

We hope you’ll join us for our many hosted events, art exhibits, and family activities – or just stop in to find a great book from our vast collection of new and used books, which has been curated for all ages and interests.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

There has been a bookstore in downtown Menomonie for over 20 years. The previous owner bought it from someone else and ran it similarly. Thus, the previous owner wanted to retire and expected me to buy the name, sign, inventory and fixtures. But I had other ideas and so did the new landlord.

Thus one piece of advice; if there is a new landlord, the current owner’s rent was most likely going to change and quite drastically, so figure out the rent before negotiating with the business owner. The purchase had much more negotiating than expected and I was almost stuck with inventory and fixtures, but no space I could rent and afford.

A current owner will always want more for things than they are worth, so negotiate and stand firm with what you think it’s worth.

In the case of a bookstore or small retail business in a small rural community, it made more sense to purchase an existing business. The previous owner had a loyal customer base, shelves and inventory to start with. She was so helpful through the transition. The cost of all new fixtures and inventory would have been a lot more than I could afford. Perhaps in other industries starting from scratch is easier, but it was less risky buying an existing bookstore.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I don’t know if you’d call it marketing, but more promotion. I heard about a program to promote small businesses called Waldo Local and I approached our downtown businesses and people were interested. I applied, but we were not selected, but I thought perhaps we could do something similar. And of course it should involve dragons.

I went to a Downtown Menomonie board meeting and pitched my idea and Barbara from C&J’s Candy Store and Scoop Shoppe agreed to help put it together. We had 31 businesses participate in Downtown Dragons. Each business hid a paper dragon with a number on it. Customers got a sheet with the business names and they had to go into each store, find the dragon and write down the number. Then when they found 25 they could turn in their sheet to win prizes. It was a way to get people downtown for the month of August.

We had good feedback, but the best was all the press coverage we received. We were on two TV stations, the radio and Volume One in Eau Claire. Pretty exciting and unexpected for this idea.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dragontalebooks.store/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dragontalebooks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dragontalebooks/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/dragontalebooks/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dragontalebooks6186
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dragon-tale-books-menomonie