Introduce Yourself: Post Your Autobiography 💁📖

[Pesso]

Hey Square Readers!

Thank you so much for joining our Square Readers Book Club!

Don’t forget to click Join Group at the top of our Book Club Group Hub.

I would love to learn more about you all, so here's a space to introduce yourselves and to meet some fellow Readers. 

So tell us a bit about yourself here in the comments. 

Tell us:

• Your name & location
• Your business name (and website)
• What you're hoping to learn and gain from Book Club
• Your favorite book (business or fun)
• A picture or two of you or your business

And of course feel free to reply to each others’ intros, especially those nearby or in the same industry as you.

Looking forward to meeting you all, and reading with you,

Pesso

[Pesso]

Thanks so much for joining and sharing, @ryanwanner ! Glad you have room for a second book club in your life, haha.

I'm rooting for you for the changes to try and attract and take advantage of a wider audience. Are there any knowledge gaps that you'd want to learn strategies for there or elsewhere in the business?

Oooh how is that book? I used to watch his show back in the day.

I love that perspective of gaining multiple perspectives! I definitely agree that there's so much to be learned from other business owners, even with the same piece of information.

Can't wait to hear your insights in our discussions, and hear what you learn-

[ryanwanner]

@Pesso  Good question about knowledge gaps. The major one for me right now is figuring out how to manage it all. Until the drive up is humming along, it's going to be me manning it. That means I have to figure out how to be in the drive up, walking the dining room floor, helping the kitchen team stay ahead of things, bake, roast coffee, and somehow keep up on office work. Once farmers market season starts that'll be added to my day too. That's not to mention keeping up here in the community!

So yeah... busy boy.

As for the Irvine book, it's been a good read! I'm only a few chapters into it right now, but the insights have been just as good as watching him on his show.

[etolipova]

Hi everyone! My name is Emily Tolipova and I am the creator behind Where’d The Wild Things Go, a passion project turned business. Like many of you I used the pandemic and sudden availability during commute time to create a series of postcards illustrating endangered species in watercolor mixed with playful typography.

This has since ballooned into a wonderland of prints, postcards, cards, and enamel pins all showcase both local and endangered species. I am still at the beginning stages of my small biz, I just started doing markets late last year but I am excited to see where this year will take me. I am based in Austin, TX!

You can see my work at www.wheredthewildthingsgo.com 

I have always loved reading but sometimes struggle to find business books that connect with my own story. Excited to learn something new!

[Pesso]

Thanks for sharing & joining, @etolipova !

I love that you were able to take a passion project like that and turn it into something more, using up newfound time and a creative outlet. Especially with something with such a great cause as awareness for endangered species!

Those are absolutely beautiful -- such amazing work! Thanks for sharing.

Congrats on the growth so far and leaning into markets. What are your business goals? What do you need to get there?

Hopefully you'd be able to connect with the books we vote for, and I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing you in the discussions for our first book!

[DoughFaceDog]

Hello everyone.  My name is Julia and I own Dough Face Dog Treats.  I'm a crazy dog mom who spoils her fur-babies and that morphed into my home-based business.  I sell preservative-free dog treats at farmers' markets and vendor events, to a number of wholesale accounts, and through my website.

www.DoughFaceDog.com

Real ingredients from a trusted source.

[Pesso]

Thanks so much for joining and sharing, @DoughFaceDog !

That sounds like a great way to start and grow a business, with fantastic products! 

How has business been? What are your goals for it?

Looking forward to seeing you in our discussions for our first book!

[ValerieChela]

Hello! I’m Valerie. In the spirit of Sinek’s Golden Circle I’ll tell you about my business by starting with my Why.

I’ve lived in Canada for about 13 years now and over the years I have become very aware of how little we all know about each other, particularly when we’re seemingly different in some way whether it’s race, gender, sexuality, ability, etc. We’re often unsure of what to say or how to behave around differences so I wanted to help people gain the tools to hold difficult and uncomfortable conversations. I started an online bookstore at tusomebooks.com where we’ve created a platform for underrepresented voices. We offer books by authors who are often marginalized and we also have events & programming including our own bookclub where we have for tough discussions.

Tusome Books has been in business since 2019 and it’s fantastic. I’m hoping to connect with other business owners and to also learn from the books we’ll be reading.

My favorite book changes frequently but I have authors I return to often like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Khaled Hosseini, Katherena Vermette, Lawrence Hill, etc. I’m excited to read with you all! Cheers. 

[Pesso]

Hey @ValerieChela 

Thanks so much for joining and sharing, and starting with Why!

I love the goal of bringing people together and opening up lines of communication with folks that seem different than us, and amplifying underrepresented voices. That's huge. That book club sounds incredible!

Do you have any good business books in your collection that we'd be able to feature? I'd love to help bring some more representation here!

How has business been going? What are your goals for the business?

Thanks for sharing those authors -- I'll add them to my list!

Excited to read with you too, and to see you in the discussions for our first book, and the rest!

[Moreplease]

Hey Everyone!

My name is Cheyenne. I'm a stay-at-home mom and the owner of Feel Good Essentials based in the Bay Area. I've struggled with not feeling good for much of my life & finally changed that by implementing self-care and the natural resources I grew up around. I love creating things others can enjoy and wanted to share what I used for any and everyone who also just wanted to feel good more of the time. I now create natural aromatherapy and self-care products that others can enjoy and feel good using. 

At this time, I have completely rebranded from where I started and I'm implementing things I've learned to do it right this time. I run my business from home (solely online) and am eager to get to a point where I am bringing in consistent orders and can then expand to a warehouse. My goal is honestly to help others feel good more of the time while running a successful business. My husband has always worked so much since a kid and I would LOVE to retire him or at least take some stress off of him as a result.

What I hope to get out of this book club is more knowledge and resources for running a successful business. I'm also looking forward and already enjoying being a part of a like-minded community where we can maybe even learn from one another and network. At this time, I don't think I have a favorite book, but I love to read things themed around changing your mindset.

Checkout my website at www.ifeelgood.love

Thank you all!

[Pesso]

Hey @Moreplease 

Thanks again so much for joining and sharing here!

I love that you took a problem that you had and turned it into a business to help others. That's absolutely wonderful.

Congrats on the rebrand. What have you learned and changed in order to do things "right" this time? I'm sure that knowledge can help others starting out!

That goal of expanding to a warehouse, making enough so that your husband can retire, and just helping others are wonderful. What do you need to happen in order to get to that growth?

I love that you want to learn more from the books and from others. I'd love to have you share a bunch from your journey too!

Looking forward to having you in the discussion for our first book and beyond!

[JulieStafford]

Hello! I'm Julie and I own Rooted Body Care. I'm located just outside Houston, TX and I use as many locally sourced ingredients as possible to create a wide range of bath and body products along with canned and baked goods. I began as a business in Feb 2020, under a different name and just rebranded this year. Despite starting during the pandemic, I've still been pretty successful, by my own standards. Though growth has slowed drastically this past year, which is a bit disheartening. I'm definitely not where I'd hoped to be going in to my 4th year of business. My business is my 'full time job', but it's still not even making 'part time' kind of money. We have 3 kids, 12, 9, and 6 and they all play baseball/softball, which we also coach and my husband is on the board of directors so we are a very busy family. It's a struggle to stay on top of all our family stuff plus my business stuff as well as keeping up with chores, etc. I absolutely love what I do and the products I make and how much they can help other people like they've helped me so even though it's a struggle, I refuse to give up on it. My hope with the book club is to learn how balance it all a bit better through books we read and discussions with other people going through the same issues. I LOVE to read whenever I get the time (and even when I don't have the time and do it anyway!) so I'm very excited about this. I think it would be impossible for me to pick a favorite book. I just get so engrossed in everything I read!

(I did try to add photos, but apparently I don't know how.)

[Pesso]

Hey @JulieStafford 

Thanks so much for sharing and joining! That sounds like such an incredible business. How has that been going with the mix of bath & body products with canned & baked goods? 

What led to the rebranding, if you don't mind my asking?

Ah, I'm so sorry that things have slowed down. I can definitely understand how rough that is when you put so much into it. And when you're relying on it to sustain your life but it's not bringing in enough to do so. Do you know what might be causing the drop?

That does sound like a huge amount to try and balance, and I admire the spirit to not give up and keep putting your all in. I'm rooting for ya!

Looking forward to seeing you in the discussions for this book, and the next ones!

------

Adding pictures can definitely be tricky! There should be a little camera button at the top of the comment box, and you should be able to add there! No worries though-

[TurnerLaw]

Hello, I’m David, I’ve been a litigation attorney for over 25 years. I’m here for the book club.

[Helen]

Welcome David @TurnerLaw! 

[Pesso]

Thanks so much for joining, @TurnerLaw !

What are you hoping to learn and get out of joining the book club?

I'd also love to hear more about your business and your goals!

[Granny1]

Hi,

My name is Claudia Cupe from Granny's Doggie Treats LLC in Enfield Ct. You can check me out at http://www.ethical.com/granny-s-doggie-treats-llc within that site you can check out my Etsy shop. 

• I make homemade gourmet dog treats, they are natural and a healthier choice for your furry loved ones. My business is fairly new its only ten months old it will be a year June 22nd. My goal is to help educate parents on choosing homemade food and treats for their dogs because it would help with having more energy and weight loss and overall health. I enjoy reading so I would like to gain more knowledge from some of the seasonal business owners and network and meet some new friends. I don't really have a favorite book but if it fun to read, its all good.Claudia owner of GDTlogo my daughter made of Wellybelly

[Pesso]

Hey @Granny1 !

Thanks so much for sharing and joining!

Congrats on getting so close to 1 year -- that's a huge milestone and you should be super proud of yourself! I love the business idea and I'm so glad that you've been making it work. You're carving yourself a great niche in a big market, and the goal of educating your customers is wonderful too. 

How has it been going so far? What do you want to do with the business moving forward?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book we're reading so far, and I can't wait to see you in our discussions.

[Granny1]

Thank you

[ZedAndEssAdmin]

Hello all!
My name is Meaghan. I co-own Zed & Ess Tailors.( www.zedandess.com ) We are in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. We offer alterations and repairs to most everyday items, as well as some formal. My partner and I worked for the previous owner before purchasing in Sept. 2021. (Her for 10 years, me for 4 years). We have started expanding to have a small boutique area of items for sale which we have made. We have been putting emphasis on our online presence which is really making a difference in our clientele and business! We are still new in terms of business ownership, but our company has been around since 1982 and we are both very experienced sewists.
Our current goals are to grow our business to have more income (half) come from our boutique area as well as grow our take home payouts to a reliable salary. We do have one part time employee who handles most of our customer service and computer related tasks. She knew I was wanting to read more business books and expand my business ownership/entrepreneur knowledge this year when she saw the email regarding this book club. We both knew it was meant to be!
I am also looking forward to making connections with others!
I am excited to hear from other business owners, especially those with lots of experience and gain more knowledge in regards to owning a business and being profitable.
I'm not sure if I can manage to pick just one favourite book. I do love Jodi Picoult books! I have two young boys and have been consuming more audiobooks than paperbacks lately. I recently listened to We were dreamers by Simu Liu and loved it!

[Pesso]

Hey @ZedAndEssAdmin -

Thanks so much for joining and sharing! That sounds like an incredible way to come into a business -- first as employees to work and learn, and then to take over once you know it's something that works and you love. Those expansions are incredible! I love that you grew it to add in a new element to the business, and bringing things online is so important these days -- great work!

Expanding your income in order to make things more sustainable for both of you is a fantastic goal. What do you need to happen in order to get there?

I'm so glad that they found this and forwarded it along, and that you were able to join -- thank you so much!

Looking forward to this community we're building together and to have you in our discussions.

I haven't read any Jodi Picoult but I've heard good things and my mom loves them! Oooh, I did see that Simu came out with a book, and I'll definitely have to add it to my list. Thanks for the recs!

Great to meet you, and see you here-

[techniqsupport]

Hello, everyone!

My name is Megan Gentile. I own and run Techniq Support in Western Massachusetts. I began in April 2018 while finishing up my last semester and a half of college. While it is still currently a side business to my full-time job, I hope to make the shift to full-time within the next year or so. My business provides residential and small-business IT support and website consulting. My goal is to change the way users perceive technological issues by offering a simplistic solution for long-term use.

Although I love reading, unfortunately I don't make enough time for it with working two jobs. I'm hoping this book club will provide me with the push I need to carve out some me time while learning a thing or two! Also, I've never been part of a book club before, so I'm excited to simply be a part of it. I enjoy non-fiction books (mainly psychology, self-help, business, health, and science) and hardly ever choose to read fiction. A book I recently finished and really enjoyed was Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Daniel G. Amen.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of myself working, but here's my LinkedIn if you'd like to connect!