Starting a new business can be daunting but can also bring surprise joys like watching the exchange between a child and an author conversing in Arabic in Amarillo, Texas! When Lauren Pronger, owner of Chapterhouse Books, first conceived the idea of a bookstore becoming a hub of community, learning and reading for people who were not being served by other area libraries or bookstores, that interaction was what Lauren hoped the venture would inspire. From books written in languages like Vietnamese or Swahili, to local art and bookmarks from LGBT+ creators, Lauren's eclectic bookstore provides a place for people to mingle and find something special that represents them.

 

Gina Woodward at America’s SBDC at West Texas A&M University assisted Lauren with market research and a plan to test market and build clientele so that the business could grow successfully. Lauren went from selling at pop-up events to fulfilling her dream of owning a brick-and-mortar location.

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If Lauren's last name sounds familiar, you're not dreaming. Her late father, PJ Pronger, previously served as the director of the SBDC where he supported the dreams of hundreds of entrepreneurs and was one of Gina's most valued mentors. "I can't think of a better way to honor and thank PJ than getting to work alongside Lauren and watch her turn her dream into a successful reality," said Gina.

 

To learn more about Chapterhouse Books, call (806) 341-9702 or visit their website.

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Get to know Lauren and hear her advice for other small business owners in her Q&A!

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1. When did you start your business? I officially launched our website in April 2022 and operated primarily as a pop-up until we moved into our brick & mortar 6th Street location in June 2024.
    

2. Why did you decide to start your business? I've always been a big reader and I couldn't find the kinds of books I wanted to read here in Amarillo. I also knew that the bookstores we had were not currently serving all the communities here so I wanted to make available the types of books that I wanted and that would more accurately represent the entirety of Amarillo.
   
   This was a three-fold idea. First, I wanted everyone in Amarillo to be able to find a book that represented them, particularly those who are not often represented here despite sometimes being here for generations like our Black, Vietnamese, and Spanish-speaking communities.
   
   Second, our city is incredibly segregated physically and culturally; despite actually being quite diverse, most white Amarilloans have no idea that we're one of the largest refugee resettlement sites in the country and have over 40 languages spoken in our city. Seeing the cultures and languages of our own neighbors represented on a bookshelf, especially when placed next to a "mainstream" book like James Patterson or Kristin Hannah, helps to break that illusion of homogeneity in our city and provides an opportunity for us to break out of our mental bubbles and learn more about the people in our community. The idea is to make sure anyone who comes into our store can find a book that represents themselves as well as books that represent their neighbors. I firmly believe that reading books from other perspectives helps us put ourselves in those shoes and better understand people with those lived experiences, that reading diversely makes us better people, but specifically, better neighbors and community members. Books are a low-risk way for people to expose themselves to new ideas and my hope is that providing books from these perspectives will help create bridges between the various Amarillo populations.
   
   Third, I believe that providing this more accurate representation of Amarillo and our broader area will make the rest of the world see us more favorably. I've heard countless times from tourists and visitors that they had no idea a store like mine was possible in Amarillo; that these perspectives existed here, that these communities existed here, that it was even legal to sell books with queer and racialized characters or authors in Texas. Whether these travelers come from Lubbock, Colorado, or Europe, they're always pleasantly surprised to find we exist and leave feeling a little bit better about our city and state.
    

3. What is your favorite memory in the business? I have two. A general memory is every parent who sees our selection and is just ecstatic to finally find books that represent their child or that's in the language they speak at home. There are a few particular instances of those moments that stick out. The second is a virtual author event we had in August: we were celebrating the launch of what is now the 2024 National Book Award winner for children's literature: Kareem Between by Syrian American author Shifa Saltagi Safadi. We collaborated with The PLACE, a community center with a refugee focus, and they brought a bunch of kids to the event to talk to the author, hear a reading from the book, and each get their own copy of the book for free (we'd previously run a fundraiser for our collaboration with The PLACE that allows us to stock a free bookshelf in their building and run events like this). The best part of this event was seeing the interaction between a recently arrived Syrian girl and the author, both speaking in Arabic - the girl was so happy to finally be able to talk to someone in her language and kept pointing out the Syrian flag on the cover of the book. 
    

4. What is the most rewarding part of running a small business? Almost every job I've ever had, I've gotten frustrated with the prioritization of profit or arbitrary rules over morals and ethics. Starting my own business means that I can balance those more effectively. Chapterhouse is really here for the community - I started it to provide access to books for the community and we moved into a physical space to become more of a community center where we can hold events and become a third space. 
    

5. What is the hardest part of running a small business? Always working! I'm my own boss so I can take breaks as I need them, but I'm also never off the clock. It's tough to balance meeting all the business needs with necessary downtime so I don't burn out, especially as I'm currently the only employee. Some of my friends joke that I'm running a for-profit business with a non-profit schedule.
    

6. Biggest challenge in the business? Finances. Books are a tough sell, especially with the current wage stagnation. Not everyone can afford to drop $30 on a book, and we can't control the prices either. Balancing our community needs with keeping the business running financially is tough, especially since we can't control the price of our products.
    

7. What makes your business different from your competition? We really are a "people first" business and we focus on the people in our community who are often ignored by other businesses. We don't shy away from our beliefs, and we try to be active in our community on a material and practical level. Everyone who comes into our space immediately feels that. We also don't have any direct competitors locally because we're the only indie bookstore in town selling new books. The other bookstores only sell used, and their selection and customer base differ pretty vastly from ours. We also tend to carry things that even corporate stores like Barnes & Noble don't have locally.
    

8. Best tip for others in business? Just do it. Speaking as a risk-averse person, there are ways to start small or test ideas that are cost effective and low risk, just be creative! I started with $200 and a bunch of donations from family and friends. My dad used to say that the people who succeed in business are those who take action - win or lose, moving in any direction is better than stagnating, and speaking from personal experience, taking action almost always leads to a positive result, even if you're making it up as you go. Also, accept help when offered and don't shy away from asking for it!
    

9. What’s something you wish someone had told you or that you wish you had learned earlier? That I didn't have to be an expert. I think we all have this idea that everyone else (especially successful people) has everything figured out and knows exactly what they're doing 100% of the time so if we don't know how to move forward, we just don't. We think we're not qualified or we're going to do it "wrong" so we avoid doing it entirely. One thing I've learned from activism that has translated wonderfully to the business is that doing anything, even if you don't know how or you make mistakes, is better than doing nothing at all. While there are a few instances like taxes that should ideally be free of mistakes, almost all mistakes just teach you how to do it better next time. I didn't know anything about the book industry before I started this business, I just liked to read books as a consumer, and there were many times where I felt like I was floundering in the dark because I didn't know the etiquette, the expectations, or the "how it's done" of this industry. But I did it anyway by just asking questions and figuring it out one step at a time, and it's worked out so far!
    

10. How did America's SBDC at West Texas A&M University assist you? The SBDC helped with the inception of the business by fine tuning ideas and determining the viability of our concept. They also helped us with making sure all of our initial paperwork was filed in the creation of the business so that everything was done properly from the start. We've also met a couple more times to make sure we're on the right financial track. All of the above is invaluable to someone unfamiliar with the business world as I would have been lost in various government websites otherwise.
     

11. The “just for fun” question - What is the “best” scar you earned as a kid and how did you earn it? I don't have any real scars, but I did tear a tendon in my left ankle when I was a kid! Sadly, there's no great story behind it, I just stepped off some playground equipment wrong and landed on the outside edge of my left foot. There's no visual difference now, but it sounds like the "snap, crackle, and pop" commercial every time I make ankle circles!