The Strawberry Parable

Opening a used bookstore: Stef makes it official with an LLC, launches a landing page, and announces The Phoenix Used Bookshop to her neighbors—who immediately start donating books. Plus: a Costco revelation, a serendipitous book encounter, and the Strawberry Parable. In this episode, things are getting real. The LLC is formed. The landing page is up. I make the announcement to my neighbors, and suddenly books are showing up on my doorstep. The community is already stepping in, and it feels like validation that this store is needed here. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Mill Valley Library about potential partnerships, but in the meantime, I'm having fun—balancing business admin with inventory work, and it's energizing in a way I didn't expect. I also share a store differentiator I gleaned from an unlikely source: Costco. Yes, Costco. We all love Costco, right? There's something about how products find you there—the serendipity, the discovery. I want The Phoenix to work the same way: a place where books find you, not just where you hunt for specific titles. And speaking of books finding me: I was found by Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit. Inside it was the Strawberry Parable—a Zen teaching about presence, beauty, and survival. It was the third time that month I'd encountered this parable, and I knew I had to share it with you. It's real. It's grounded. It's not about toxic positivity—it's about finding sweetness even when you're hanging on. I'm also gearing up to organize TheArtofBooks.com so I can start selling online and building another revenue stream. The inventory engine is humming, the business structure is solidifying, and the store is taking shape. Current Book Count: 2,000+ (and climbing with neighbor donations) 🐦‍🔥 Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com. Links: Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit  The Strawberry Parable