Onikah Asamoa-Caesar hopped on Zoom this week to share her experience opening Fulton Street Books & Coffee with The Exchange community. 

Onikah opened the bookstore last summer. I love how comfortable she is with not knowing the future and holding plans loosely. Example:

Because of the decline of independent bookstores, Onikah reluctantly agreed to add a coffee shop to the bookstore to draw people together. Of course, none of the people who advised the coffee shop knew 2020 would drive everyone into their homes to read about racism and social justice. Onikah’s book business model exploded unexpectedly and now she finds herself questioning the coffee shop side at times.

I learned so much, but here were the top things:

Why a bookstore?

As a first grade teacher, I was struggling to get my kids interested in reading. Then one day I realized the books I was giving them denied their existence. Once I found books that featured people like them, they were so excited. At least 70 percent of the books on Fulton Street’s shelves are either written by or about people of color or marginalized communities.

On success:

Success is very personal. I come from a family that’s partially survivors of the war on drugs. These things are often cycles, so success for me is building a life with and for my daughter where there’s unconditional love all around her.

On failure:

Failure is just part of the process. Nothing happens without failing. Before we opened the bookstore, I wanted to start a body butter business. I bought all the materials and equipment and told all my friends. I went to a business fair and realized really quickly that it was a really saturated market and I couldn’t move forward with that. It felt like failure, but I learned so much and those lessons never leave you.

On planning for the future:

Planning is a myth. You will never know the whole plan!

Not having the full plan in front of you can prevent you from even starting and that is a tragedy. When we were raising funds for Fulton Street, people interrogated the vision beyond all reason. I had to tell them I don’t know everything and I’m comfortable not knowing.

Best advice you’ve ever received:

Do what you love and the money will come. Find what makes you come alive. That’s how I’ve always made my decisions and it’s worked so far.

On getting overwhelmed:

Some days it’s a lot. Entrepreneurship is hard. What allows me to stay the course is legacy. I can ask myself, “Is this a tough moment or is it a systemic issue?” Most of the time it’s a tough moment and what I’m doing truly does make me happy. 

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