Meet Terra Dunham, founder of Book + Bottle
A HUGE thank you to Gina DeFord of Babe Crafted for this beautiful interview. If you’re in need of an entrepreneurial girl gang, please do yourself a favor and check them out! - terra
Meet Terra Dunham of Book + Bottle!
Get ready for a boost of inspiration, babe! Dive into the story of Terra Dunham, the Founder of everyone’s favorite bookstore and wine bar, Book + Bottle. Terra was living in Denver when she decided to move back to her hometown of St. Pete, FL and open a shop to celebrate her two biggest loves: books and wine.
Nothing has stopped this woman from realizing this dream– not lengthy permitting processes. Not Covid. Not even the false idea that you have to know everything about your business before you hit that ‘launch’ button. Terra is driven, enthusiastic, and a huge supporter of all things community. Book + Bottle is a special place… everything from the locally made pastries in the case to the fabulously curated wine list is beautiful and feels like it was made just for you.
Get to know the amazing babe behind the Book + Bottle brand and cheers to saying ‘YES!’ to your dreams. Enjoy getting to know Terra!
Tell us about yourself and what you do!
I am a St. Pete native and die-hard book and wine lover who decided to live out my dream and run my own business– a book and bottle shop here in downtown St. Pete!
How did your business begin?
My business began with the thought that the only difference between other entrepreneurs and myself was that they just did it. So, when the idea for Book + Bottle came to me, I just buckled down and did it. I did a ton of research and planning and talked to everyone I possibly could, and then just put one step in front of the other in getting the checklist done. Ironically, we opened "on time" which meant the day St. Pete originally shut down for Covid in March 2020. So that part was a bit of a rough start, but it's only gone up since then!
What's 1 challenge you've faced and how has it effected your business? What did you do to overcome it?
I'll skip the whole covid challenge because I'm tired of talking about it, but another challenge we've faced is me working IN versus ON the business. At first I worked ALL the time at the shop and was constantly feeling pulled between the strategy that needed to happen and the customers right in front of me. We save money from labor if I'm working in the shop, but then my mental health plummets from spending ALL my time working. There's so much to do to grow a young business like B+B that's not done behind the bar, so I was spending a full day working retail and then any other waking minute doing the accounting/marketing/strategy/etc.
That quickly became unsustainable, so it was essential to get a great team who could work the shop sometimes so I didn't have to be there. Building an incredible team that I trust has allowed me to shift my work to now being almost entirely remote. I've been exclusively strategy-focused for the last few months. Proving that this was possible was a huge success, and now I feel comfortable taking the middle way and balancing my work in the shop with the administration and strategy at home.
What's 1 success you've had since you’ve created your business? How do you feel when you look back on it?
One major success was the start of our wine club– “The 17 Club.” I resisted so hard at first– I thought, everyone has a wine club, why would people need ours? It's so complicated– let's focus on our main business. However, after many discussions and (positive) pressure from my colleague and friend Heidi, we decided to give it a try. We launched on our 1st anniversary, March 17th in 2021, hence “The 17 Club" name.
I have been overwhelmed with the reception and success of our wine club. Book + Bottle definitely has a point of view about wine, and our club helped us express these values that it turns out our customers share! Seeing the success has helped me appreciate that we're not doing what everyone else is doing, we ARE doing something special, and we're so fortunate to have a community who wants to get on board with that vision.
I also have to say that this is why you have to listen to people you trust. Without Heidi's encouragement, I probably wouldn't have started the club, which would have been a terrible thing to have missed out on.
What's the best piece of advice you could give someone looking to start a business?
You have to really, really like what you're doing. Man, owning a small business is HARD work, and the thing that keeps me going on those hard days is that I love what I do– I have a passion for books and wine that has kept me going through the hard times.
What's a pivot you've made in your business?
I always wanted to see coffee as a part of the business. Personally, I love an espresso after a meal, or honestly, whenever I'm not drinking wine! Our coffee program was going really well– our coffee is truly amazing - and we thought we should lean into that. Last summer we started opening early, at 8AM, to try to build on our existing coffee business. It didn't work, and now we're back to basically a 10AM, mid-morning opening. We still do incredible coffee, but we've pivoted away from trying to be the early morning coffee spot in the neighborhood.
We realized that we can't be everything to everyone without sacrificing too much. Coffee isn't in our name and we had to make the decision that the books + bottles needed to trump other directions the business could go. By opening a bit later we were better able to focus our team on the real essence of the business: books + wine.
When are you at your happiest?
I love when I'm able to be at my shop experiencing what my customers experience. It's still rare, but if I'm able to have a glass of wine with a friend or read for fun while I'm at work, I can see that all the hard work has paid off.
What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?
When things get difficult, I have to tell myself that it's not just about me. I have to keep going for the team, for the customers, and for the community. And, also, we made it through Covid, so this too shall pass ◡̈
Whats 1 personal goal you've set for yourself this year?
This year I set the personal goal of making sure to pay myself each pay period. In the past, I would if I could/if there was money, and this year I'm proving to myself that I'm worth it.
What's 1 business goal you've set for yourself to accomplish this year?
This year our biggest business goal is to make a bigger profit and pay back chunks of our loans. We want to get ahead of our finances earlier than most businesses do so we can have more options in the future.
What's the first thing you do on a Monday morning and why?
Something other than work - ha!! Mondays are the only day we're closed and historically that was the only day I could safely sleep in without having to worry about the shop!
Where can you be found + what will you typically be up to on a Friday night?
Honestly... at home! Somehow Friday night is a time when I try not to plan anything so I can catch up on cooking and reading or just totally relax!
Finish These Sentences:
My go to karaoke song is... “Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders.
My signature drink is… Champagne or sparkling wine. I truly think there is no occasion where bubbles aren’t the perfect choice. They make me happy and pair perfectly with food or hanging with friends. Right now I’m loving this Croatian Pet Nat from Pomalo that’s just easy seaside drinking. For a nice occasion, my go-to true Champagne is Champagne Lelarge-Pugeot, Les Charmes de Vrigny!
My favorite quote is... "It takes a village." This helps me stay humble and realize how interconnected we all are.