Nice advertising section profile of Leopold's Books

[Thomas Page]

In today's Free Press / News advertising sections...

Start a new chapter in business with shop’s 4 tips

   For information about this advertising feature call 586-977-7577.

   When public school teachers Greg Lenhoff and Sarah Winchell moved in 2008 back to Detroit from New York City, they realized that as much as they loved their city, there was one small void. “We realized that we missed having the little bookshop that carried all of the stuff that we liked to buy and decided that we should just open one, instead of waiting for someone else to do it,” Lenhoff says. “Neither of us had any business experience prior to opening the store, but we did have a deep love of books.” In August 2009, the two opened Leopold’s Books in Midtown Detroit’s historic Park Shelton. The store offers a small, curated collection of books and magazines focusing on literary fiction, independent comics, art, fashion, design and architecture. “It was never a consideration to open the store anywhere but Detroit,” Lenhoff says. “In fact, the city was the main reason that we thought about opening a store at all. The barrier to entry here is a

   Good to Know

   Leopold’s Books is located at The Park Shelton, 15 E. Kirby St., in Midtown Detroit. The store offers a curated collection of books and magazines. The store is on Facebook and Twitter and also has a blog on its website. To find out more, call 313-875-4677, email leopolds bo...@gmail.com  , or visit www.leopoldsbooks.com   lot lower than in other places, and the community that comes out to support us every day is truly inspiring.”

   Leopold’s is filling a missing niche not only for Lenhoff and Winchell, but for others in the community – book lovers who still want to turn actual pages and take their time perusing aisles of bookcases.

   “In many ways, it’s a really difficult time to be a bookseller. If you know exactly what novel you’re looking for, it’s a lot easier to click through a few pages on Amazon and it will be at your doorstep within a few days,” Lenhoff says.

   “There’s obviously no way that we can compete with that model. Nevertheless, I don’t think that online bookstores are a great place to browse, and that’s something that we really encourage in our store.”

   Encouraging browsing is only one way the business is able to survive against bigger competition.

   Lenhoff and Winchell, who are the store’s only staff members, offer four other tips for aspiring business owners:

   Share Your Passion

   Lenhoff says both he and Winchell love to read and enjoy pointing customers to a book or magazine they might not know of.

   “We hope that when you walk in, you end up walking out with something great that you never even knew existed,” he says.

   Be Flexible

   The best advice Lenhoff says he can give is to listen to customers and not have too rigid a business plan. “Something will inevitably go wrong, and it’s important to be able to fix that problem, even if it means changing something you think is critical to your plan. Being able to adapt is the only way to stay relevant,” he says.

   Spread the Love

   One of Lenhoff’s favorite things about being a business owner is having a public place to help friends and neighbors do the things that they enjoy.

   “Anytime we can tell a visitor about a friend’s business, band, or cause, we’re at our happiest,” he says.

   Be a Do-It-Yourselfer

   According to Lenhoff, the most challenging part of the job is dealing with the many things that need to be done to keep the shop’s doors open.

   “Because it’s pretty much just the two of us, with occasional help from friends, we have to be bookkeepers, janitors, new release researchers, customer service specialists, event planners, and dozens of other things,” he says.

   “It can sometimes be a struggle to keep track of everything. Fortunately, we work pretty well together.”

   Lenhoff and Winchell do more than work well together – the two are getting married this month, and the groom-to-be says it’s all part of an exciting time for the couple, the business and the city.

   “We run a bookstore designed to serve our neighbors, so the most exciting thing for us is watching our neighborhood grow,” he says, adding the number of people stopping in to ask for help finding an apartment nearby has exploded.

   “We are especially invested in helping other Detroit residents succeed,” Lenhoff says. “Whenever we can, we provide support to ideas or initiatives that we think will make our city a better place.”

Leopold’s Books offers a small, curated collection of books and magazines focusing on literary fiction, independent comics, art, fashion, design and architecture. Greg Lenhoff and Sarah Winchell opened the Midtown Detroit business after moving back to the city from New York and realizing they missed having a neighborhood independent bookstore.