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| Jacobsen's Books; the perfect little local bookstore. |
Natasha Lakos
Alexandra Franzen
And to add to their august company, Tina Jacobsen of Jacobsen's Books & More in Hillsboro, Oregon!
1. What is the name of your business and what do
you tell other people you do?
Jacobsen’s Books & More. I own a bookstore!
2. How long have you been self-employed? What convinced you to become an entrepreneur?
I
purchased an online book company in February 2009 and in April I quit my full
time job to focus on my family and business.
Then in May 2010 I opened Jacobsen’s Books.
I was
raised in a family business and have strong business values and have been told
that I am a workaholic. I have always
worked in management positions and like to be able to make my own decisions.
Owning my own business is just natural.
3. Entrepreneurs rarely stay in one place. How many careers have you had?
That
is interesting, by the age of 20 I had already had 11 different jobs (I left
all on my own and for a better position).
I started with the family business which I continued to work through
most of high school. The day after my 15th
birthday I started working in fast food and have held jobs in retail, at a
fabric store and day care. I worked in many
restaurants as cooks, server and manager, and eventually an office job as a
customer service manager in a printing facility.
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| Check out the family behind this powerhouse lady! |
4. What are some of the aspects of your current job that people don’t see? \
I
love this question because a lot of people think that working in a bookstore
means that you get to sit around and read all day, unfortunately that is not
the case. Contrary to popular belief I
have not read every book in the store, in fact I probably have less reading
time than most people. Everything that
happens in the business I do myself.
Ordering books, shelving, paying bills, bookkeeping, marketing, events,
cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming the floor, helping customers, social media,
building website etc. As much as I would
love to hire out some of these positions it is a bookstore and unfortunately
it’s a hard to survive!
5. Who and what inspires you on those inevitable rough days?
My
community of regular customers and my desire to succeed.
6. Name a few of your current projects.
Summers
are busy! We are sponsoring the Find
Waldo Hillsboro event in which 25 businesses in Hillsboro have a Waldo
Hidden. We also have a summer reading
program and some game events to compliment it.
I also have Local Authors during the Farmer’s Market every
Saturday.
7. What are your recommendations for women who are interested in pursuing self-employment?
I say
you have to do it for passion, not for money.
Some make it huge, some just barely make it and for a lot it is more of
a hobby. It is awesome to follow your
dreams but you have to be sure that you have the means to do so J Educate
yourself and look to the leaders in whatever you want to do for advice. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
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| Jacobsen's Books & More supports local writers. Come on down and buy some books. :) |
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