We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lindsay Schultz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lindsay below.
Lindsay , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I have loved books my entire life. Reading has been my escape sometimes. I love how books can take you on an adventure and teach you new things. I have always wanted to share my passion for reading with people. I came up with the idea of owning my own bookstore when I was about 15 years old. I have this notebook that has every idea I have ever had about my bookstore in it and someday I am gonna frame it. I remember sitting in a bookstore and thinking, “I want this”. I read so fast and so much, that I thought I could suggest books for people to read. I can share my love of books with people, discuss books with them, discover new books and new authors. There so much that books give to me that I just knew I could share that. I don’t want to just be a bookstore, I want to be a safe place for people to come and find themselves in a book.
Lindsay , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am loud and fun and tend to get extremely excited about things I am passionate about. My excitement for things can sometimes explode out of me in this verbal joy that I know can be unexpected and surprising. I got into this industry because I knew this was my purpose in life. I tend to help people who love to read find their next adventure. Sometimes, people will ask me what my favorite book is and I have so many that I just name the first one that comes to mind. I love to hear back from them later on about what they thought of the books. I am also a knitter, and artist and try new things all the time. I am most proud of the fact that I have had this dream of owning my own bookstore for decades and here I finally am. I did it. It took forever but I did it, I finally am living my dream. I want people to know that if I don’t have the book you want, I will find it for you. If you don’t know what you want to read, it will be my joy to help you find something new. I love reading and I love talking about books that people like because a lot of times, I discover new authors by way of talking to people about authors they love. Sharing a love of reading is like nothing I have ever seen with anything else.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I have always been told that to succeed in the social media world, you have to post at least 2 or 3 times a day. Sounds like a lot, but it honestly isn’t with a solid plan. I started by showing what I am reading on Goodreads.com, Instagram, and Facebook. Then I discovered Tiktok which has a subgroup Booktok. I try to focus on something every day that is important or needs to be posted about. Sometimes it is our author of the month or an event. Other times, it is a book I am reading or something that is happening in the book world.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I have had so many people tell me throughout my life that I can’t do something or they don’t see how I can make this work. The first thing I do to combat that is to surround myself with people that support me and have my back. Not to say that means they are my “Yes” people, but more so “yes but let’s figure out the best way to go about it.” If you allow people to dictate what you can and cannot do in your life, you will never accomplish your dreams. There were people that told me I wasn’t smart enough to graduate high school. I now have an MBA with a focus on Entrepreneurship. My husband has always supported me but he has always made me talk my idea through with him to see how I can make them succeed. My friends have always said “You can do this” and when I do complete a task, they respond with “That’s my girl”. Always know you can achieve what you want, but you are gonna have to work for it. Nothing amazing comes easy. Hard work is not work if you love what you do and I truly believe this.
Contact Info:
- Website: thespinebookshop.com
- Instagram: thespinebookshop
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSpineBookshop
- Youtube: @thespinebookshop