We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Candace Walker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Candace, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
Since I opened during COVID there were supply chain issues that I never even thought to consider. I ordered a commercial dishwasher three times, before I had any success and finding a plumber that was licensed and didn’t want to charge me $600 just to come out and look was difficult. I had a hard deadline due to startup capital and also, I wanted the opening to honor my deceased mother on a specific day special to her. It was a headache, but it all ended up working out how it was supposed to.
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.
My career is in forensics and during the pandemic my creativity, that I denied having, was able to flourish. My voice acting career along with opening The Vibrary both started during that time. I call The Vibrary my “pandemic baby” because it is something birthed from just an idea and now I am responsible for feeding and clothing it. lol It came to fruition in my mind when I was sitting still and not stressed. I’ve always loved reading and used to get admonished for reading under my covers when I was supposed to be asleep. I was not a morning person, so my mother was not having any attitude because I stayed up too late. I also was drinking more wine during the time and thought the two were a great combination. I then did some informal market research and found that some of the local residents confirmed the thought of having a wine space with small bites. The space is a comfortable, relaxing space that welcomes everyone that has good vibes. It’s a space where people can decompress and take a vacation from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, while reading a good book, drinking delicious wine, or both. It’s also a space where you can come alone and still feel comfortable. I’m most proud of the connections that have been made in the space. Because we give out genuine energy and customer service is important to me, those things carry through the interactions we have with our patrons.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The most effective strategy has been treating people right and remembering that people have so many other places that they can spend their money. Being intentional about treating others how I would like to be treated has helped with the many referrals we have gotten from patrons. Word of mouth has been the best way to grow. It allows us to course correct in real time before we are overwhelmed with people where it may feel like they didn’t get good customer service. We’re slowly growing, but enjoy when people just stop in because they like the name or how the space looks through the windows. The area has a decent amount of tourists so we get a lot of first timers and out of towners, but meeting new people is always delightfully interesting.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn doing everything on my own. Having a full time job, teaching, being a voice actor, and running The Vibrary quickly became overwhelming. I realized I can do all the things, I just can’t do them all at the same time or do them well at the same time. Growing up an only child and losing my mother during my formative years as a young adult, made me hyper-independent. This journey has taught me that I have a great support system and that people will help if I ask. I’ve gotten over feeling shameful for asking for help, especially since I have always gone out of my way to help others.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thevibrary.co
- Instagram: TheVibraryAtl
- Facebook: The Vibrary Atl