Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marshal Peralta. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marshal, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The short answer is that I like to read and I like meeting new people lol. The longer answer is that I saw a need for a community space in the witchy community. There are plenty of Metaphysical stores that offer amazing workshops and classes, but I noticed there wasn’t a feeling that you could go in, sit down, and hang out. My spouse and I sat down and thought about how we could create that space. What we decided was to have a bookstore/metaphysical supply store and cafe. We want a space where we can have the workshops and classes, but also a space where people can grab a coffee, read, do a reading, and just be in a magical space. There is feeling you get when you walk into a Metaphysical store that can be very positive and soothing. Right now we are solely online and looking to open a brick-and-mortar sooner than later. We are building our catalog of books and will also offer candles, herbs, and other metaphysical stuff soon. Two of our goals is to work with independent authors and put them at the forefront of our store and also to give customer the best prices we can on mainstream books.

As I mentioned before, I’m an avid reader. I’m on the book side of different social media platforms and I see alot of people wanting to buy niche books that are only available on Amazon or are hard to get. I also see authors wanting to do events or get their books in stores. I want to be that store. I want to carry to niche extreme horror or dark romances. I think people would much rather support independent stores and independent authors than bigger chains.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

One of my first jobs was at a bookstore and my last job was a bookstore. I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. I learned a lot about the industry at my time there. I worked as a Business Development Specialist and worked closely with teacher, small businesses, and with our event coordinator. At my store, Enchanted Evermore, I plan to continue my work with authors, teachers and other small businesses. I plan to carry independent authors and offer them space in my store to host book signings, talks, and workshops. We will open our space to anyone who wants to host a workshop, game night, trivia or event. Our aim is to make things accessible to anyone. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community, our space will also be a safe space for all.

We currently offer 20% all books (excluding independent authors), 30% off for teachers and bookclubs, and we also offer a “Read with Me’ discount of 30% off certain books for a limited time. We have some small business collaborations coming up that will be posted on our social media. We are currently on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. We post our upcoming pop ups on all our social media. If you want us to carry your book, have a pop up, or are a teacher or bookclub please reach out.

How did you build your audience on social media?

One key to building your brand on social media is to find your audience. We have the most followers on Tiktok and it’s because of Booktok. Not only were we building our audience, we were learning from them as well. I have created lists based of their recommendations. If you sell handmade stuff, it would make no sense to be following accounts that promote cycling. Engaging with your followers is key too. If someone leaves a comment, respond. Also go on their pages, when you can, and engage with their posts too.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell on Shopify. After trying other sites, I felt like it was the best. It offers services such as being able to sent up subscriptions for your customers and its own Point of Sale system. It’s very user friendly and easy to figure out. Since it’s a well established e-commerce site I was able to find books about how to navigate it. Shopify also offers an App that allows you to track your inventory and collect payments. You can collect payments via credit card, TAP, venmo, paypal. and an pay later option known as Shop. Shopify offers different monthly payment options and doesn’t charge for the amount of inventory you have.

The downside to using Shopify is that they don’t offer their own loyalty program. If you want your customers to earn points for money spent, you have to buy an add on service that has a monthly fee. The fee would only be worth it if you’re making a certain amount of sales per month.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.enchantedevermore.online
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enchanted_evermorellc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enchantedEver
• Other: TIktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@enchanted_evermorellc

Image Credits
All photos were taken my me, Marshal Peralta