Two Minute Tweaks w/ Lisa Uhrik

There is one thing retail experts predict AI is going to change that feels like a really good thing: real, authentic, personal service is going to become one of the things we value most. In this Two Minute Tweak, Lisa shares a powerful takeaway from the Women in Retail Circle Conference. Retail leaders are pointing toward a future where authentic, personal service matters more than ever. For books...

Independent bookshops are having a moment, and according to Kristen McLean, VP of Client Insights for Circana, it may be more than a moment. It may be the beginning of a true renaissance. In this data-packed Two Minute Tweak, Lisa shares highlights from a personal conversation with Kristen following this year’s American Booksellers Association meeting. The takeaway is encouraging: consumer interes...

Lisa Uhrik and Steve Wax take a quick look at Linda-Marie Barrett’s guide, Creating a Salon: The Magic of Conversations That Matter, and the timely work of helping people gather for meaningful dialogue. For bookshops and community-minded hosts, pulling people together into conversation is brave, good, and sometimes delicate work. This episode explores how thoughtful setting, gentle structure, and...

A St. Patrick’s Day visit to Parnassus Books in Nashville, along with a conversation with Ann Patchett and managers Cat Bock and Andy Brennan, offered a profound insight into what community really means. When Parnassus’ leaders talk about community, they begin with each other. That spirit of mutual care, collaboration, and simple hospitality shapes the culture of reading they create for customers,...

In this episode, Lisa Uhrik explores the idea of treating your whole bookshop the way a publisher would view a book – with a clear storytelling theme that begins in the windows and unfolds throughout the sections, displays, and customer experience. Featuring an example from Ashley Michael and Plenty, Lisa shows how storytelling can extend beyond display into a whole-bookshop approach that evolves...

Lisa Uhrik welcomes bookshop explorer (and literacy expert) Ken Bigger, who stopped at Plenty as store #252 on his country-wide tour. Their conversation takes a turn from travel stories to a big idea: literacy isn’t a simple “have it or don’t” trait. It’s a continuum that includes traditional reading and writing, plus digital and cultural know-how, and even skills like attention, empathy, and refl...

The quiet days after the holidays are a gift. They give us a chance to step back, notice what worked during peak shopping, and make thoughtful adjustments before the year truly begins. At Plenty Bookshop, the team used the week between Christmas and New Year’s to do just that—refreshing windows, shifting displays, and making small layout changes based on real bookseller observations. Those tweaks...

Hello Quiet Carpenter, I want to thank you. While reflecting on your work, I wrote you a poem. It’s from the future – 2036 – and it’s about the way you helped turn the world around, not with noise or spectacle, but with steady care. In this short reflection, I’m thinking about the people who stay. The ones who tend places, keep company, notice what needs attention, and quietly make room for others...

Join Lisa Uhrik as she shares three simple ways to start the year well—grounded in joy, bold instincts, and small meaningful wins. From feeding the laughter to trusting your gut and fixing the tiny things that get in the way, this quick episode delivers three ideas you can act on today. 🎧 Click to listen now and start the year with joy, clarity, and momentum. It only takes two minutes!

During the busy holiday season, small stresses and short tempers can lead to harsh words with coworkers or customers. Lisa offers a quick reminder to pause, breathe, and notice when you’re running on empty. Simple micro-tactics—short breaks, a quick laugh, saying no to one extra task, or building margin between commitments—help you protect relationships and be kinder to yourself and others during...

For this special 111th episode, Lisa shares a personal story—Dave Uhrik’s 90-foot fall that became a life-changing lesson in perspective. What began as a terrifying tumble turned into a philosophy for living and working with meaning, ease, and intention. Drawing on Greg McKeown’s book Effortless , Lisa connects this dramatic moment to the power of simplifying, releasing perfectionism, and creating...

Words can do more than describe. They can stir memory, awaken the senses, and invite people closer. In this episode, Lisa Uhrik follows writer Jack Pawlik into the art of language that delights—the kind that turns a simple cappuccino into a velvety espresso topped with microfoam, crafted from organic whole milk. Lisa explores how vivid, sensory-rich writing can transform ordinary menus, signs, and...

Join Lisa Uhrik as she explores three scientific truths that can help you connect better and boost sales—through the menus and signs at your bookshop’s cash wrap. Discover when customers really read your signage, and how the Golden Triangle and Serial Rule can help you highlight what matters most and sell up to 20% more. 🎧 Click the link to listen and get inspired!  

This week Lisa shares an idea from friend Cal Crosby at The King's English Bookshop in Utah. She explores a simple solution that brings quiet, purposeful messaging while also facilitating face outs in a stable front and center position on the shelves. When the world is heavy – we look for light loads and small, helpful things. This is one of them.  We encourage you to try it and share your thought...

According to expert Erik Thompson, about half of what we see is what we hear. Things like entrainment (a new term for us!) lead to strategic considerations for your music experience in the bookshop – which in turn lead to connection and sales. That interesting fact, along with the advent of AI in detecting "personal" vs. "retail" use of things like Spotify and Pandora, suggest that thinking about...

Are book returns quietly draining your resources? In this eye-opening episode, Lisa reveals how routine book returns can consume the equivalent of eight full weeks of work for one person. Use this episode to spring forward and begin your own analysis on how to transform this challenge into an opportunity to improve efficiency and profitability. Listen to previous episodes to learn or recall practi...

What if the “industry standard” isn’t the only way? In our latest podcast, Lisa’s research reveals three broad themes shaping today’s bookshops, and how knowing yours can transform everything from layout and design to inventory strategy. We’re challenging the idea that all bookshops must adhere to 3-4 inventory turns per year. Instead, we explore how your bookshop’s core focus — whether book-centr...

The secret sauce that has given Franklin Fixtures resilience in the economic "big pause" we've experienced is the same one that gives our bookshops staying power in tough times: it's all about inventory strategy. What if we sold every book we purchased? What if we got out of the business of returns? What if we held less inventory and turned it more frequently? Join Lisa in these powerful questions...

Like a good book, a good shelf talker comes from YOU. It's not a book report, but personal, good copy that makes picking that specific book up irresistible. Click and listen now as Lisa teaches and emboldens booksellers to experiment with concise, personal, and engaging copy, offering fresh perspective on how to make books come alive for readers. "Let's do something on our shelf talkers that no AI...

In this episode of 'Two Minute Tweaks,' host Lisa Uhrik unpacks what it means to be "clear" in a society that struggles to focus on a street sign. How do we make displays that are clear for the casual customer—the skimmers—who are most often the majority in our bookshops?  Join Lisa as she explores strategies inspired by a professional booksellers course, emphasizing how bookshops can capture the...

I'm wondering if you, too, find it tough to keep displays looking amazing? And tougher still to help everyone who works with displays understand how to create excellence in display.  We're exploring three easy standards for every display—an easy way to get your arms around a lot of display ideas—in three simple words: Clear, Connected, and Compelling.   Tune in now for practical tips and insights...

Welcome to the 100th episode of Two Minute Tweaks! Fun fact: Less than 6% of all podcasts make it this far!  We're hitting this centennial milestone with an inspiring visit and insight from Midtown Reader and reflections from Lisa (feeling the pressure of time since she was four.)   What do you do when you've only got 100 years to live? Create a great community through bookshops, of course! Listen...

The practice of kaizen (good change) is fundamental to success in almost every industry.  Can it work for us in our bookshops and libraries? It isn't about big, sweeping aha moments, but about a habit of finding one small thing every day.  It's easy to forget—and easy to renew your focus in two minutes. Listen now!

This episode salutes the 10th anniversary of Independent Bookstore Day, a celebration of the enduring influence of bookshops. Host Lisa Uhrik delves into the special role bookshops have played throughout history, from ancient Athens to Napoleonic France, highlighting their impact on communities and individuals. This Independent Bookstore Day, let's make sure that every person leaves with the knowl...

Our shelves are like a silent sales staff, and it packs a warm and wonderful connection when they look customers in the eye. Our studies show that a connecting angle results in 35% more touch, which translates into sales, as we are 73% more likely to buy what we touch. The eyes seem to feel the angles. Join Lisa as she explores the surprising difference angled shelves can make in your bookshop's p...