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Jeri Kay Thomas, co-founder of 2 Dandelions Bookshop: I get emotional every time I think back to the opening day of our shop, 2 Dandelions Bookshop, in 2019. It was the realization of a longtime dream to bring an independent bookshop to Brighton, Michigan, a city of just under 8,000 people. Even with those small numbers, our community is tight-knit and thriving.
My co-founder, Jeanne Blazo, and I had been working on making this dream a reality for years. We both arrived early at the shop – back then it was a 1,200-square-foot space in the basement of a building on Main Street – and got ready. What I remember is how crowded it was all day. Crowded and happy. Everyone was so supportive, streaming in and giving us hugs and well wishes.
We are about so much more than books.
The Building of a Dream
I had met Jeanne years earlier when we were both working as kindergarten teachers in Brighton and bonded over our shared love for books and independent bookstores. We would wistfully talk about opening a bookstore together some day.
Finally, in 2018, we met for coffee and I remember turning to Jeanne and saying, “Let’s get serious. Let’s just write down some ideas.”
I’ll never forget writing what we now lovingly call our first business plan on the back of a guest check that day. We talked in detail about concepts, details, possible names for our bookshop. We still have that piece of paper.
We knew teaching and knew books, but we had so much more to learn.
From there, we dove deep into any information we could find about opening a bookstore. We worked with the Small Business Administration. We hired a consultant. We visited tons of independent bookstores. We joined national associations, regional organizations. It was so exciting. We focused on the research phase for about 18 months.
We opened on Main Street in October 2019 and were there for a few years before moving to a larger space just across the street. In July 2024, we expanded to the space next door and now have about 2,800 square feet of space.
We have so many regulars – people who just love to support small businesses. It’s amazing to look at photos of our ribbon-cutting in 2019 and of the ribbon-cutting we did this summer in our expanded space. So many of the same people are in the photos. It just shows you how much support we have from this incredible community.
Local Promotion With Community in Mind
Any way to highlight small business is helpful to us and Small Business Saturday® is huge for our bottom line. In 2023, Small Business Saturday was the biggest sales day of our entire year. As a customer, I’ve been shopping on Small Business Saturday since it started. As a business owner, now the day has an even greater meaning.
A big key to our success every day – but especially on Small Business Saturday – is Kelly Blazo, Jeanne’s daughter, who's our event coordinator and so much more. She is a whiz at promoting the holiday and it has really paid off for us.
Kelly Blazo, event coordinator: We do a huge push for Small Business Saturday on social media, usually posting fun photos of people and dogs and telling customers to swing by. (I've found that photos of people and dogs do way better on social media than graphics.) Last year we did a promotion where if you spent $100 you’d get a free tote bag.
We also launched a few new pieces of 2 Dandelions merchandise on Small Business Saturday, like mugs and ornaments made by local artisans. It's the perfect day to introduce new things people can buy in your shop, even if they aren’t discounted.
"Having a holiday dedicated to honoring small businesses feels amazing." —Jeri Kay Thomas, co-founder, 2 Dandelions Bookshop
In 2023, we invited a local author to do a book signing on Small Business Saturday and that was a big hit. I helped promote it on Instagram with posts and also created a Facebook event for Small Business Saturday, something I recommend other small businesses do, too, since it can be easier for people to find you that way. It reminds customers to Shop Small®. We are planning on another signing this Small Business Saturday with the same author.
We've also created a video on social media with some other local businesses where we passed our branded bags to each other, from one person to the next, up and down our street. We all shared the video and it was great promotion for Small Business Saturday.
A Different Experience
Thomas: Having a holiday dedicated to honoring small businesses feels amazing. Small Business Saturday is a large part of our yearly planning. In a world where there are so many big box stores, it is just a different kind of experience – an experience of true connection – when you Shop Small.
Want to learn more about how to encourage your customers to Shop Small on Small Business Saturday? Visit the Small Business Saturday Resource Hub for marketing materials and business insights that can help you engage with your customers and find new ones. You can also read stories from other small businesses that have seen success with Small Business Saturday and beyond.
As told to Katie Morell, American Express Business Class freelance contributor
Photos: Courtesy of 2 Dandelions Bookshop
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