We recently connected with Jack Tolzmann and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I would say that I’m significantly happier as a business owner. There is much more responsibility, and in a sense I’m always working. Whether it be sorting out next week’s comics and orders, or the countless small tasks that never end such as cleaning, organizing, and helping customers. However, for years before this I toiled in a wretched toxic work environment where we were ludicrously understaffed, denied the basic tools to do our jobs than punished for it, and constantly placed in high stress unwinnable situations. Every time the door opened, or the phone rang, I felt only dread at the idea of the newest unpleasable customer that would accompany it. Not to mention the unstable personalities I worked under. Now, I’m actually excited to go to work. And though I still have a slight feeling of unease when I hear the door open or phone ring, it’s dissipated when I remember that I’m actually in a stable work environment that is decently run more often than not. Though as the one in charge now, I can’t just blame management for issues since I have become management.

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 name is Jack Tolzmann. I graduated with a business degree from Flagler college and a master’s in business from UNF. For over a decade the highlight of my week was when I picked up my new comic books from All Book’s & Comics, the longest running comic book store in St. Augustine Florida. During that time, I gave tours at the Oldest Store Museum than as a Manager Associate at the local Hertz Car rentals where I did the job of four employees while barely being paid the wage of one. That all changed last year when the previous business owner Vanessa decided she had been working for 35 years and if she didn’t retire that year she never would. Knowing my education and less than ideal situation, we began discussing the possibility of me taking over. So, I used all of my vacation days to shadow her over the summer to learn how she ran her business and the rest I hope to one day say is history.

My main service is maintaining subscriptions for my regulars. Every week new comics come out, and I have to ensure that I get the comics my customers want, and what they might want in the future. Some only get a single series whiles others have over fifty books on their list. With such extremes in mind, in can get very complicated very quickly. In addition to new comics, I sell comic book supplies such as bags and boards to keep comics protected, comic boxes, as well as a variety of toys, collectibles and trade paperbacks. Not to mention it seems at least once a week people bring in older comics to sell which can vary in value from a few bucks to a few hundred dollars. That being said, I still have a number of used books from the stores humble roots as just a bookshop and am dabbling in new items such as t-shirts and squishmallow stuffed animals.

I think what sets me apart from larger stores is I try to have a conversation with my regulars and newcomers. It helps that I have a broad knowledge about the comics medium and know how to talk to the hardcore and casual demographic. This also helps me predict what they might like from new books. I also do what I can to have as much variety as my shops limited space allows so I can have something for an enthusiast but can also recommend something for a parent who knows nothing about comics to find the perfect gift for their child. When I can help them find that perfect first comic or help someone that was missing just that one piece to finish their collection, there is nothing quite like it.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

I think one of my most significant recent sales has been for an independent horror series called Dark Spaces Good Deeds. It’s a five-issue miniseries about a reporter sent to St. Augustine during the 450th anniversary who stumbles upon a murder which seems supernatural in nature. One of my regulars told me about its months before it came out, giving me time to start hyping it up to my regulars. By the time it came time to preorder it, I had a fair number of guaranteed buyers, but I had an opportunity to purchase much more than I normally would in order to take advantage of an additional discount. I took the risk and ordered much more of that issues than I have of any individual comic since I first started running the shop. My thinking was if any shop could move this book, it would have to be the shop that’s actually in the city the book is set in. So, I made a post about it on my social media pages, had it prominently displayed on my counter and hoped for the best. And within a week I had completely sold out. I than sold out on the reorder, Then the one after that. I hope to replicate the success of the next issue, though the real trick will be maintaining that excitement for the rest of the series.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I always send at least one email a week to my regulars about what is coming out that week as well as any major news or happenings in the shop. I combine that with consistently providing the customer with what they want whether that be new comics on their subscriptions, the next big series, or older comics that I think they would want. Why just recently I helped a man find the last issue he needed for the Micronauts series, letting him finish a collection he had been working on for decades. I do have to call occasionally to remind them to pick up their comics, but I try to avoid that as much as possible since I know firsthand how many things can be going on in someone’s life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allbooksandcomics_staugustine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllBooksandComics
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-tolzmann-793242100/