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

Sydney-anne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I definitely took a risk in opening up Monarch Books. I mean who still buys books, right?
I had some money saved up and was looking for a new job when the opportunity arose.
I was really nervous to do it and wasn’t sure it was going to be a good decision.
I was definitely terrified.

But even though I didn’t know much about owning a business, or even selling books.
As soon as I opened , I felt the love and support from the entire community of Lebanon.
And it’s been busy since then!
So I am very glad I took the risk, and it all worked out!

Sydney-anne, 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?

Monarch Books is a family run new and used bookstore!
We try to carry lots of unique genres of books in our store. And have a great selection of children’s books!

My name is Sydney-Anne and I am the owner! I’m 18 years old and the middle child of 9!
I grew up in Lebanon and have always loved art, books, fashion, and music!
Opening up Monarch Books has been a great way to use all my different artistic hobbies!

My mom and I have been working on decorating the store these last 3 months. We’ve been thrifting furniture and growing lots of plants to put in there.
We’re definitely trying to go for a retro, boho vibe.

Eventually we are hoping to put a coffee bar in the shop, to give it a Barnes and noble feel.
It would be amazing to have a place to sip and read books!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media has definitely been a big part of my advertising.
I use instagram and Facebook to promote my shop, events, and even new products I get in.
It’s a quick way to reach all my customers.

I was lucky to have a lot of friends and family to share my social medias around, and it really helped me gain a following!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me has honestly just been word of mouth, or people passing by on the street.
Im lucky to have an amazing location downtown. I have lots of foot traffic in the shop on the days downtown has events, or is just busy in general.
This has helped me to gain lots of reoccurring customers!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: MonarchBooksotre
• Facebook: Monarch Books