Two Minute Tweaks w/ Lisa Uhrik

Taking storytelling in display to a new level, you're invited to try telling a personal story of one (perhaps not so famous) person with a display that breathes with authenticity.  It's a small idea that can have a big impact as we connect people with their books.  (song credit to Sarah Ramirez, "The Story") 

This week we continue talking about storytelling in display, with the easiest and most accessible of the strategies: use of simple themes. Unexpected collections, color flow, and fun pairings can make themes easy to create and maintain as books and merchandise leap from the shelves. It's a simple idea that could make a big difference today.

This week we return to the topic of merchandising; specifically, storytelling in display and the use of themes. As we've learned, themes are an easy and good way to display, as we're using the shelves and tables to talk to the individuals who are interacting with them. Listen as Lisa takes this practice to a new level – the shared quest. This theme is something the viewer is involved in with other...

This tweak is about reaching out, learning with and from each other, with a challenge for you, dear listener, at the end. Listen as Lisa tells about her recent experience following up on a "one day" promise to visit a newly-made bookstore owner friend (thanks to SIBA) should she ever be in town, and her journey learning with and from them.

Starting with a personal cake analogy, Lisa dives into the question of how does your store "taste"? Some days it's the best flavor in the world, some days, well, not so much. As store owners and managers, we want to always be on the mark for our customers, so how do we keep that consistency? Join Lisa as she begins a multi-week lesson on merchandising, consistency and – if you have them – using Fr...

Greeting and connecting with customers – it's an art.  In today's episode, Lisa, with the help of colleague Tasha, a social worker, teaches how to communicate with customers that they're not just in a store but in a place where we are seen and belong. 

This week Lisa builds on last week's tweak, where she talked about honoring the effort our customers make in coming to our stores. Listen now as she unveils 3 gifts we give as independent bookstores that can't be replicated in a formula: Welcome, Thoughtful Curation and Ourselves. 

This week Lisa talks about honoring and helping people who take the time to come in leave with a special treasure. Each customer gets up, gets ready, puts their kiddos in the car, drives to the store, navigates the parking lot — it's a real effort born of hope to visit a store in person. How do we honor their effort and make sure they leave with something tangible? Click to listen now to the first...

This week we bring you a Tuesday Tweak on a Thursday... just in time for the New Year! Lisa reached out to three booksellers and asked what they believe is our best use of time in the space after the holidays and before the New Year. Their answers surprised Lisa – click to listen now.   We wish you joy, insights and clarity as you reflect on the New Year this week.   A special thank you to Donna P...

A bit of a different tweak this week. With a fun way to reflect and say Thank You, Lisa counts all the gifts your inspirations have given her over the past 12 months. We hope you tune in to hear your inspiring contribution. 

Now that I have a small store, I'm noticing things – simple things – that I hadn't thought about too much before now. While we've created a warm, cozy store, we've not focused on customer signage – that special art of communicating without talking.   Listen to the podcast now as Lisa talks about helping customers focus & find by upping your store's signage game.

We bought this book to sell at our store – a big, sixty-five dollar David Bowie coffee table book. While I’m a fan of the artist, I’m not sure why we bought it, as it doesn’t fit with our plan or focus. An hour before opening on Small Business Saturday, I saw it lurking in the shadows at the very bottom of a bookcase – not exactly prime real estate for a $65 book. Listen now as I detail how I elev...

We sure do love pyramids in our displays, don't we? They're a fundamental display technique that borrows from antiquity. In this episode, Lisa discusses different types of display fixtures/tables, ways you can make pyramid displays in your store using what you have, the two types of pyramids and how to choose that special item on top. Click to listen now.

Don't let giftwrap leave you frustrated and confounded! Organize your space and learn how to wrap it up right: looks-wise + budget-wise + space-wise. Click now to listen to Lisa's perfectly timed podcast.

Baskets for the win this holiday shopping season! And what better place to get them than indy bookstores? Using her own experience plus brainstorming ideas from Jill Hendrix's Masterminds course, Lisa breaks down best practices for putting together baskets for all ages and interests, using a fun rhyme to keep your basket-making ideas & themes on track. 

This week Lisa challenges you with a quick, simple test to see if your book displays are working. Are you able to recall 9 to 11 book titles ... or just 3 to 5? The answer may surprise you! Click to listen now!

As we ready our stores for the holidays, try color flow on for size. Color can be fun … and it has a way of easing the mind and leading the eye when it flows.  Listen as Lisa shares what occurred when color flow was applied in her bookstore, Plenty on Spring, this past weekend.

How do we reflect in our merchandising that our customers can experience the "staple" that they count on? This week Lisa discusses how to name your staples and be the constant source for them. 

"I've never been able to see so many books before!" exclaimed one customer who recently visited Plenty. The interesting part? We stock only about 1/4 of the amount of books that the big box bookstore he frequented stocks – so what makes our store different? Listen to this week's episode as Lisa shares her recipe for getting customers to see all the books in your store. 

Lisa discusses how she safely and quickly was able to move books out of the way for Plenty's first in-store author event and reflects on the importance of being able to safely reconfigure stores for events.   Are your fixtures working well for quick reconfigurations? Are you able to move them fully loaded without hurting the books, risking the staff, the customers or yourself? 

This week, Lisa discusses how we extend aspirational stories and little luxuries that our customers cherish as gifts and as personal treats. She provides examples of these types of luxuries and how to merchandise them in vignettes that work.

Today Lisa discusses being responsive and creative in the moment with your displays – whether you feel prepared with books or not.  Listen as Lisa describes how she was able to create a Queen-themed full display with only a solitary book about the Queen. Using the 3 rules discussed in this episode, you'll be equipped to use what you have on-hand to create engaging displays. 

Today Lisa discusses creating a Thank You Space. She reflects on the amazement people have when they walk in the door to her new bookstore – and what we can all do to appreciate and retain that sense of wonder and hug in a store.

This week Lisa talks about a merchandising language that help us have a must-be-there kind of store… humor! Nothing lightens the load or relaxes us like a little fun. Click to listen to this week's lighthearted tweak.

We're in the final days before our store's soft opening ... and everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. In these tense times it's easy to get terse and cross with each other. I am so thankful to be working with our store manager, Ashley, who also understands that things are always harder than they seem and works equally hard to protect our relationship and our sweet store atmosphere.