From Vision to Legacy: How She Built Phoenix’s First Black Mobile Bookstore (Episode 13)

What does it look like to turn a vision into a legacy?

In this episode of the Thriving Loudly Podcast, we sit down with Petra Sherbin-Fox, founder of The Lit Twist Mobile Bookstore, the first Black woman-owned mobile bookstore in Phoenix, Arizona. Petra shares her journey from life experiences and cultural identity to building a purpose-driven business that is creating real impact in the community.

We dive into the story behind The Lit Twist, the challenges of starting from scratch, and what it takes to push past fear, take risks, and build something meaningful. This conversation is about more than entrepreneurship — it’s about representation, storytelling, community, and legacy.

✨ In this episode, we discuss:
-Petra’s journey and what brought her to Arizona
-The inspiration behind The Lit Twist Mobile Bookstore
-Building a business rooted in culture and community
-Overcoming fear, financial challenges, and uncertainty
-Leadership, team building, and balancing multiple roles
-What it means to build a legacy that impacts future generations

If you’ve ever felt called to create something bigger than yourself, this episode will remind you that your vision has power.

🤎 Support local businesses and community initiatives
🤎 Follow @thelit.twist on Instagram 
🤎 Visit their website thelittwist.com 
🤎 Share this episode with someone who needs inspiration

🎙️ Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to Thriving Loudly for more conversations on growth, purpose, identity, and building a life that actually matters.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:06

Welcome back to Thriving Loudly. I'm your host, Tranice, and I'm your host, Aisha.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Thriving Loudly is a podcast where we talk about growth, purpose, identity, and real life journey behind people who are building meaningful lives and impact.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

Yes. And today we have a very special guest joining us. It's Petra from the Lit Twist mobile bookstore. So the Lit Twist is the first Black woman-owned mobile bookstore here in Phoenix, Arizona. She is a proud Jamaican and Russian mother of three, a military wife, a marketing executive, and a community builder who is amplifying black and brown voices through literature, culture, and conversation. Through her bookstore retreats, book clubs, and speaking engagements, Petra is creating spaces that celebrate identity, wellness, creativity, and legacy.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:04

Yeah. All right. Petra, welcome to Thriving Loudly. We have a new little ringtone. Welcome to Thriving Loudly.

SPEAKER_04 1:14

Welcome to Everton.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

We are so happy to have you today. I am very happy to be here. Thank you guys for the invite. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Yeah. So tell us a little bit about your background.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Ooh. How much time do you have? Well, I mean, you got you had a great plethora of things. But I am originally from New York City, Brooklyn, Long Island. I went to college in most of my, like most of my high school upstate New York, so all around New York, but Brooklyn is my home. And I am a customer success manager from my nine to five in our marketing, digital marketing, which I absolutely love. And the owner and founder of Litwist, which is my baby, military spouse. Yes, my husband's in the Air Force. I have lots of children. I know it's only three, but like people that have three know it's like a hundred. So one of my children is in college. He's a Division I football player, student athletes. And I have two younger, it is a it was a Rye girl. Well, we made it. All right. He comes home tonight, so I can't wait for spring break. And then I have two little nine-year-old, Chancellor, and my daughter. Um she is six, and her name is Sydney. And my first one is Elijah. Okay. I love that. What brought you here? The military.

unknown 2:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Yep. So every few years uh we move. Um, and so we've been in Phoenix now for three years, and we hope to be here for an extended period of time. Um so yeah, we really love Phoenix, but um, the military initially brought us here. My husband had an opportunity to um get my son in a space where he would be more likely to play more competitive football and get a Division I uh offer. And so we came to Phoenix for that. But you have to by way of the military.

SPEAKER_03 3:05

Oh wow. So, what was that transition like moving to Arizona?

SPEAKER_00 3:09

So I will say easier than others because I've also lived in Germany. Uh, I've lived in Florida, I've lived in um South Jersey, which is close enough to home. Um, but this this particular transition wasn't as hard as the others. I think Germany was my hardest because obviously we left the country. Um, but it wasn't too, it wasn't too difficult. It was interesting because um me and two of my homegirls came here for a trip for February 22nd, 2022. So 2222, right? We came here. I was like, oh my God, I can see myself living here. If you go back on my Instagram, I actually wrote that. I'm like, oh, I can see myself living in Phoenix. And then um we had an opportunity to make a move, and my husband was like, well, it's either Vegas or Phoenix. Yes, Phoenix me please. Yeah, yeah. Um and so we came to Phoenix, and so uh it was not very difficult. I mean, there's some changes, you know, changes to routines and those kind of things. Um, but it's been relatively easy, honestly.

SPEAKER_03 4:11

I like that you brought that up because I feel like there's a lot of like a perception, especially, you know, people coming out here from the East Coast saying it's been a hard transition for them. Um what kind of key things that you've noticed made it a little bit easier for you to be out here, especially because I know the consensus is if you're coming from the East Coast, this is a kind of a culture shock for a lot of people. They're coming out here like, whoa, I didn't think, I didn't expect this. Did you does it was it because you kind of visited first and you were able to kind of see it? Or was it just your experience in, you know, already living abroad where it's like uh this is easy, this is lightweight?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Yeah, that's actually a great question. Cause I do hear that uh Phoenix doesn't have much culture. Yeah. Um and so I under I understand that when you do some research, uh Phoenix in Arizona is like one of the youngest states. I am not going to get what I get in New York City, in Brooklyn, New York. I'm not gonna get that anywhere else, right? Because we understand geographically and all of the history, like that's been around for decades, hundreds of years, right? Um, and so I when I came here, like I guess there might be a little bit of a culture situation, um, but like I create the spaces that I need. So, like if I'm looking for something nine times out of ten, I'm gonna create it. Very much like why I did the lid twist. Like I did not see something. And so I have the opportunity then to make what I what I'm looking for. You know, um, I know that's a very unique talent, right? And a skill set, and I recognize that, but like I don't really harp on the things that are missing versus saying, okay, what can I, what value can I add? Because I know that I am going to do this often. Again, I'm a military spouse, so it's a little bit different, right? Um, but I gotta make it work for me while I'm here. I'm not gonna be here depressed and mad. Like, I'm gonna make the best of it. Um and uh and instead of like saying, I guess, demographically, either there's West Valley, East Value, there's all these different pieces, there's a lot of different components to why things feel so spread out. So I don't think it's necessarily a lack of like culture. I think it's the richness of the culture might be lacking, but there's opportunity to create what you're looking for as long as you're ready, yeah, you're willing to create it.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

That's one thing that I love about Arizona as well. And that was what I said too when I moved out here. I'm like, okay, we may not have it, but we can always create it. Yeah. And there's a lot of beauty in that. Like this is I just said this on our last episode. There's this is a white canvas, and we can just create and paint and make it how we want to. And that's really the beauty of living here in Arizona. Versus living, you know, on the East Coast and New York or where have you, where everything is pretty much already created. You know, you can't come out here and put your twist on it and just do so many things.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Even with New York, like, even if there's three or four or five different black-owned bookstores, like they all got their different juice. There's nobody that's gonna be the same. That's why there's like what 50 different brands of bread and they're all still living in their space because there's something for everyone. Right. And so, like, I think the one one of the things that I've noticed here specifically is like I do notice a little bit of like if you're native to Phoenix and you're a transplant, there's a little bit of like, well, we, you know, you guys, you transplants are coming here creating stuff. Yeah, well, there's an opportunity to create it, so I'm creating it. Like, what are you gonna do? Fight me? You know what I mean? Like, it is what it is, right? She's very easy. You know, but it's like we all could, it doesn't have to be like a crabs in the barrel mentality, right? Like it's space for all of us to win. You know, even with like when we started the book club, the bookstore, we were one of the only mobile bookstores in the valley. There are like eight or nine now.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

I saw that. I've seen that pop up.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Okay, okay, right?

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Since you since it launched.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Yeah, so there's a lot more happening. So there's two things like that's also for me, it's like, okay, there's opportunity for all of us. There's still not another one that is focusing on black women or brown women authors. None of them. So if we're all in the same space, it's fine. We all could eat because we're not all selling the same thing. You know what I mean? So I I've, you know, it's easy, and I and I won't say like it's easy because it's frustrating sometimes too, like as a business owner, when you're trying to figure these things out. When it does settle, it's like there's enough for all of us to eat.

unknown 8:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Always. Even in the big Apple, even in Houston, all these even larger areas. There's I think there's like four black women-owned bookstores in Brooklyn, which is like, I mean, it's book Brooklyn is big, but still, like four or five in one area, that's a lot.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

No, I agree, but you stand out more. That's true.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Yeah, that that's the big thing. You stand out more.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Yeah. Yeah. So what inspired you? What inspired you to start the lit twist? How did that even come about? Kind of walk us through that.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

All right. So I've always been a book girl. Like, books are my my happy place. I like to smell them, I like to be around them. Like, all of my deepest healing has happened in books. Um, and there's a bookstore in um in Manhattan, the Lower East Side called Strand Bookstore. It's one of the largest bookstores. All of us New Yorkers know. It's like 18 miles of books. And I spent yes. And like, and it was crazy because I went there this, I took my kids there this summer, which is really fun. Um, but I'm like, it's even bigger than I remember when I was a kid, because it's been a little while since I've been there, but all of my children have occupied that space. But I was there as a child with my dad. My dad was an avid reader, and he was like, again, so while I'm Russian and Jamaican, English is my second language. I didn't learn, I was speaking fluent Russian until I was in like kindergarten, and I learned English, right? And so that was a big piece of also how I show up in the world, right? And I learned English the proper way and all the things, but my dad was a big, big reader. So I spent lots of hours in a strand. Um, and I'm always like, what can I do to make spaces feel good for me? And books have always been that. Um, and so I that's like my happy place. Now the mobile option is because my husband's in the military. Like we are, I we hope to stay in Phoenix, but the reality is that we might be leaving, right? And so I need to be able to literally pack up and go and like close my trailer doors and be on the way. So um it was one of those conversations with my husband. I'm like, I really want to do something that's like passion project led. Um, I've you know, I've I was a life coach for a while. I did that. I do astrology, I do all of these really impactful things to me because like they have impacted my life and books have been like a happy place. So he was like, Why don't you do a bookstore on wheels? I'm like, no, but I you don't get the vibe. You're not gonna get the vibe in a in a in the trailer. He was like, You can make it a vibe. And I was very resistant to it. Um, but then eventually I'm like, you know what? I'll try it. Let's let's try it. What's the worst that could happen? Exactly. You know what I mean? What it doesn't work out. I'm never afraid to take a risk. So I knew it was a risk. My husband pushed me to see the light. And then now when people walk into the books, they're like, this is such a great vibe. And I'm like, so I can have a vibe in the case.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

I love that too. It's always so cute. Even when I first went to it, I was like, oh, it's cute. I love the colors, you know, because I love all the like the bright bull colors. And I really love that vibe to kind of piggyback off of this. Why was it important for you to create something centered around, you know, culture? And, you know, did you see when you've been out here in Arizona that there was kind of a missing gap for, you know, black and brown authors to kind of be highlighted? How did that really come about to kind of focus on that?

SPEAKER_00 11:37

So I don't think this is relative just to Phoenix. Yeah. Um, because even when you go to a Barnes and Nobles or a Target or a Walmart and any other, you know, areas, you might see a bit more black, you know, authors, but it's not as many. Um, but it honestly was out of frustration, like like sheer frustration. Like, why do I have to go through all of these books and not one of those authors look like me? You know, um, and I made a decision three years ago to do more leisure reading. So I've been big on like reading to learn. I think me and you might have had this conversation, right? Aisha, where I'm like, oh, I need to learn how to do be more productive and do all the cutesy things. And I'm like, all right, well, let me start reading for fun. You learned so much from that. But anyway, that was three years ago, this March was the the beginning of like my decision to do leisure reading. And so I'm trying to do leisure reading. I can't even do it because I'm trying to look at, I'm trying to see authors that look like me. You know, like that's really important to me. And so I'm like, why can't I gotta go on Amazon? Right? Like, where else am I gonna go to find it? Because going into the stores, I see like maybe 10% of what's available out there in terms of black and you know brown authors. Um, I focus on women particularly because when I did some research, uh, this is probably a few years back now, but 4% of the publishing output are black bodies. So if it's only 4% of the publishing output, we know that men are gonna be a little bit higher in that 4% than the women are gonna be. So it was very easy for me to say, okay, well, this is where I have limited space. I'm always gonna have limited space. Yeah. And how can I make this space as impactful as possible and have as much depth? So it was like, all right, black, brown women, it is. We only got space for like a maybe 500, 600 books. Yeah. So it would ended up being that easy out of the frustration level because I was ready to fight. I didn't ready to fight, man. I was like, I was a little frustrating, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Yeah. No, I definitely get that for sure. Cause yeah, anytime I'm looking for like a black owned book or just yeah, from a black author, I always have to go to Amazon. It's so hard to find. It is hard to find. I'll go to half-price books or Barnes and Noble's, and it's just like you're digging, what is it, a uh digging through a haystack, a needle in a haystack?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Yeah, like it's just even for Black History Month. Yeah. You guys mean to tell me that you guys could only put find 15 books to put on this table? Yeah, that's it. It's just one little small display. That's it. It is so it's a slap in the face. Uh-huh. And I think, especially for the black community, like there was a time where it was illegal for us to read. Like, we have to remember, like, reading is revolutionary and liberating in our culture. Yes. Right. And so when we talk about the impact when it comes to being able to read, we cannot, you know, overlook the fact that there was a time where you told us that we were not able to read. You didn't want us to have the knowledge necessary to propel our lives forward, right? And so to put to have Black History Month, first of all, it's Black History Month 365 days of the year. 330. 366 on a leap here, let's just make that clear. Yes. But with that information, right? With that information, like you mean to tell me all you guys have was 15 books? Right. Don't piss me off. Because now I'm getting pissed. You know, it's like those pieces, it's just it's a combination of like that's that's that's that's painful because our stories are so important and so impactful to our communities. It is only right that we don't have to fight over shelf space.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Yeah, I I love that. And just how long you said, how long have you been in business now?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

So the lit, so this is I mean, it is that's a lot of things that happen, right? So like the lit twist is a year old. Okay. Oh, well, a year and two months, because it was in January, it's March now, right? So like a year and a year and two months. But I did start off as a pop-up bookstore kind of a situation. I think it's actually the first time I met Aisha was at this, it was a it was a brunch event, and I had a pop-up table, but then I was only House of Soul. Do you remember that? It was a whole different name. So long. It was the first, it was maybe March when I first three years ago. Yes, it was March three years ago. So um I started off as a pop-up bookstore, and I just had the I'm like, I'm you know, I'm I'm gonna roll with the the books. Like I was doing a lot of other things, but books were just uh every my retreats, we come back to books. It always comes home to books. So it felt like that was where I was being led to to focus on. And so we started off as House of Soul, um, but that was uh something I we outgrew because it wasn't necessarily a bookstore, it was just like a thing I did, like a wellness space, a wellness collective. Um, and so we branched into the lit twist. So this this baby has been born for a year, but I mean this work is like decades old.

SPEAKER_03 16:29

I love that. Yeah, because um because starting something like this, you know, takes courage, you know, taking the leap. What fears did you have starting this? Did you have imposter syndrome? How did you overcome that to actually launch this as a business?

SPEAKER_00 16:47

I have a very interesting perspective with imposter syndrome. Can't nobody tell me I don't belong in the places that I'm in. First of all, we love we we love her attitude. We love her attitude. It's all my arc, I'm in here, okay? Like there's nothing that's telling me that I can't do it. Yeah. That's one thing. I am, I'm never an imposter to something that was given to me. God brought these ideas.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

Yes, girl.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

Right? So there's that. But there was fear because I I mean, we I once my husband, like, okay, we're so we're gonna spend a lot of money. Like a lot of money. We bootstrapped, right? So um he was like, I will say this. I always tell my husband, like, you the man. Because it's really important to have a good partner. Yes, it is because if I'm scared or I'm nervous about the amount of money I'm about to put into this, and your partner is like, well, I don't know, you're gonna be even more fearful, right? You're gonna be more reluctant to even do something because, like, well, your partner is also just as nervous. Right. Luckily, even though my husband was like, How much money did you spend? He's always like, if you're gonna do it, do it right, just spend the money. I'd rather spend the money once and doing it right than paying, you know, trying to find cutting corners and paying twice. Um, and so I was definitely like, can I do this? Can we afford to do this? We got a kid that is expensive. Our older son, between training, nutritionist, uh all the things. I'm like, how do I even afford this? Because I'm about to go on OnlyFans and stuff on feet. Like, I'm about to do all the things, okay? Like, it's about we're gonna do what we gotta do, okay? Right? So I'm like, Yeah, I feel that. Right. I'll say it's crazy right now, right? And so with that, I'm like, he's about to be in senior year of high school, like smack dab in the middle of senior year, and I'm making this decision to make something so crazy. But I'm like, you know what? I just feel like if what's the worst that could happen? It doesn't work out, okay. Like, fine. Like, yeah, it doesn't work out. Like, worst thing, like I'm like, if I want to sell this trailer, I could probably get half of my money back. And at that point, I've had the experience. I could say I did it. What's like for me, it's worse to say I wish I would have tried, versus it didn't work out. You know what I mean? So, and then my my nine to five, we had this like team engage personal development training, and it was very much like do the scary things. Just do the scary shit. If it's scary, it's scary. But like at least you can say like you leaned in and you didn't allow fear to stop you. And honestly, like I went, I was on a panel, I was a moderator, probably this is also three years ago, and I was on there, I was like, listen, if I had to give one piece of advice, it would be do it scared. Yeah. I agree. So I was just taking my own advice. Yeah. And I was just doing it scared. So I was very nervous. How is it gonna be received? I know that I am very niche down and very particular, even when it was time to find Riley, who built this brand with me from the ground up, I was like, I am standing 10 toes down on I am doing it this way. Yeah, and I'm not wavering, right? So having the right people around me to say, we could do it, we can do this. And again, like I've I'm more attached to the impact that than I am the attached to does it, does it sink or swim? How impactful is it during the time that it's alive, right? Like how, how many how many lives are we changing by doing this? Exactly, you know, and so I just I'm I'm not I'm not an imposter. Like any, I'm here. If I'm here, I'm meant to be here and I'm gonna rock with it. And the worst case scenario, if it doesn't do well, I've I'm good with that. Yeah, I'm good with it.

SPEAKER_02 20:26

I have a similar attitude as well, because I'm an entrepreneur. And I just I dive into everything. Yeah, like you have to, yeah, you know, because if you never do it, then you don't know what else is out there. And like you said, you know, I always feel like if God, if God is telling me this, if I'm getting these downloads, it's for a reason, right? I need to see this out. So I'm 100% right there with you. Yeah. So going into impact, um, how much of an impact have you made, or like what can you say has been most impactful for you since you've opened the business? Um or how do you feel like you're impacting people's lives?

SPEAKER_00 21:02

I just so there's a book um by Rick Rubin, The Creative Act. Have you guys heard of it? The Creative Act.

SPEAKER_02 21:11

Great book.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

There's also a Jay Shetty podcast interview. It's probably like three years old now. I would highly recommend you guys listen to it. But it is basically if God had, you know, this is something you love, something that you care and you you care about and you cherish, and you give it to the world, it is like basically your offering to God. Right? Like this is I I love this so much that I want to share it with you and you or just you or whoever, right? And I know that the work that we're doing is impactful because when people come into the space, they're always so wowed by the experience. And this is every everyone, every walk of life, people that are just traveling from across the the world, like I came here just because I knew that you were gonna be at this market, and this is a one of a kind thing. I'm not a positive. I might be speaking out of time. I'm not positive if we're the only black woman-owned bookstores that only carry black and brown women books, but I think we might be might be one of the only in the country, in the nation. Um, and so it because we are so niche and because we are so detailed in what we're going to be doing, I know that there's impact because the conversations tell us that. You know, people come in and are always like, wow, like you really double down. Yeah, I did. And I also know that I've walked my, I've probably talked myself out of lots of opportunities. Like I know that this is like, oh, we this isn't necessarily aligned with what our business, you know, believes or what we want to do. And I'm I'm good with that.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

But that's okay because it has to be in alignment with you, your business. Yes. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 22:45

Yeah, I like that. And I like that you brought that up. Kind of, would you mind kind of chatting about maybe opportunities that you maybe had to pass up on or you just felt like weren't in alignment with you? Because I know when you're so niche, sometimes it could feel almost boxed in to where it's like, how can I grow this and expand it to like the next level? When you're more broader, it's you know, maybe easier for those opportunities to come. How can you um can you kind of talk about that? Because I feel like sometimes maybe business owners or even creatives struggle with that, right? They they're passionate about one thing, but they know if they kind of broaden, it can maybe lead to more.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

So yeah, so I I think a lot of the times that some of the opportunities, it's not ever really said it's because of this, but I'm I know, like you don't gotta tell me, you know, certain things. It's like the writing is on the wall. It was a situation with a very large um uh corporation, very large.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 23:45

And uh they reach out to to the team. I think actually Riley was in communication and conversation with them. We had they were like, okay, we need you to increase your liability insurance to$2 million and all these things that we had to do on the background to be able to feel this conversation. And then, like at the very last second, they canceled on us. Oh, wow. And I mean the last second. Like I already increased my insurance policy. You know, my team has done everything that you guys need. We've gotten on calls with you guys, and in the last second, like we weren't able to get approval. Now, to me, we've been planning this for weeks, right? It might have been a month or two, but let's just say weeks for the sake of, I don't remember, you know, absolutely exactly the amount of time. Yeah. Um, and I, you know, I remember feeling like I'm not chasing behind you guys. You guys came to us, right? You guys wanted to work with us. We gave you guys everything that you wanted. If we like, I'm I'm I'm done here. Like, I'm not gonna keep doing this. Now I recognize that if I maybe I made another call or maybe tried to figure out what this what the blocker was, or was it something we could be doing, I could have maybe still capitalized on that opportunity. But if I if me and my team have worked so hard to get you guys what you wanted, and at the last minute there was some kind of unforeseen circumstance, I'm good. And it's so interesting because um one of the ladies that because it was like a board of people of like a black professional, you know, group in this particular organization, and she she literally came to us at one of, I think it was a Juneteenth event, and she was like, I've been looking for you guys. I am so sorry. And in that moment, I knew I wasn't crazy because you know sometimes they're like, okay, is it me? Am I the drama? You guys are um, but I'm always like, y'all not gonna disrespect me, and y'all damn sure not gonna disrespect my team. So like it's giving you guys are doing something crazy, and I was like, you know what? Let's bow out because I'm we're not doing this. Yeah, they basically wasted your time. Wasted time that we can get back, right? And uh but when she came and she said, I'm so sorry, I was like, okay, so I wasn't going crazy. But I didn't think, I mean, I didn't think I was, but I know sometimes I'm a little dramatic, sometimes I'm a little bit extra, but I'm always, I'm always like, my intuition, me and her are real cool. Like I trust her. And something in me like, eh, something's not working out. So I mean, it was disappointing, yes. But I also'm like, I'm not gonna fit, I'm not trying to force myself into spaces that don't necessarily want me there. Like, what? There's plenty of other places, or I'm gonna create my own places, exactly. You know, so it was it was definitely disappointing. Large organization, I was like, this is a great opportunity, but when the dust settles, I'm like, we're not kissing y'all ass.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

It wasn't really a good opportunity, right? Because everything happens for real. 100%. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

It was, I mean, it was a great looking opportunity, exactly, but it wasn't aligned, and it definitely wasn't gonna make, it wasn't gonna allow us to stay in alignment with our core values. That part, yeah. I'm not, I'm not sacrificing my values and foundations to to make a connection. And I would suggest, I would tell that to any business owner. Like if you have to sacrifice part of your core values, your moral compass, your foundational values, like you gotta really sit back and think about could you live your with yourself with that decision? Because you're gonna sell your soul for what a couple of dollars, never that. Yeah, that would never be me.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

Yep, I like that. I like that. Yes, yeah, agree with that. Um, how did you begin building a team around your vision?

SPEAKER_00 27:24

It's a we're small but mighty team, right? Right, Riley? We're small but mighty team. Um, actually, so one of my very close girlfriends, like family, had connected me with Riley, who is our brand manager when I sat down. Again, I was very specific. Like, I'm sure she's probably like, you're very, very specific. Because I was like, this is what I want to do, this is how I want to do it. This is about this is how I'm gonna do it. And I'm like, what you think? Are you on board or are you on offboard? And she was like, I can see this, like I can see this. Um, and then our project manager, she's actually uh uh a Phoenix native. Um and she also was very drilled down on. She understands the vision, she understands me. I'm a little bit, I don't want to say hard to work with, I'm very particular. Um so it does take a kind of uh personality that understands, like I'm all over the place sometimes. I got things thinking, um, and I'm moving and shaking, and I'm kind of, you know, detailed with certain stuff, and uh it's it's a a thing, right? And so um we we worked out some just making sure we understood what the what the foundation is, what's the goal, and what are the things that like what are non-negotiables? And I came to a table with that, and and it's the three of us, and we work very well together. I love it. And we understand each other, and they like I, you know, and now that they understand me too, like it takes a little bit of time to kind of cultivate, like, how does she work? How does she receive things? And how do how do the people around me receive things and coming, you know, bring that all together? And uh it's it was it's been fun. I like that. Awesome.

SPEAKER_03 28:57

And then um, how did you invest into your team? You know, because I know a lot of entrepreneurs who are starting out, they're trying to figure out how to build a team, how to finance their team, how to do all those things. Those are just you know, just valid questions as a business owner. Like, how did that all come come to be? Because also you had to, you know, finance the the mobile, you know, bookstore, all these, you know, expenses. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

So um it's it's expensive, right? Because I my I it's always important for me for my team to know that like I'm I'm riding with you guys. So like the initial startup costs were a lot, but to like my husband's point, he was like, if we're gonna do it, do it right. So trademarking, I guess it's a couple thousand dollars. If you want to protect your brand, you gotta do it. Yeah, the lit twist is not my original name. The original name of the bookstore was gonna be the lit vibe that I was very attached to, guys. Very attached. And then my trademark attorney was like, that's not gonna get trademarked. I was like, wait, what? Oh, excuse me, huh? So I had to go back to the drawing board after like crying about it. Um, so but those are things that if I did not talk to an attorney, hire an attorney, have a person on, I would have been using a name and get a cease and desist letter. Right. But that would have crushed me. That would have crushed entire all the work that we've done. Right. Um, and then you know, also being honest with the people that you're connecting with. Like, listen, guys, this is what we got to work with. Because I never want to, I'm not asking you for a discount. I want I want to pay, which, you know, I want to pay the rates, but I also have to be very honest about like, hey guys, we're a startup, we you know, we try we're rubbing pennies together right now. And we also ran into a lot of unforeseen circumstances during like the summertime. Like I didn't know what to expect for the summertime. I didn't know that my AC was gonna break the first day it was really hot, and we were not gonna be able to move and shake how we needed to. Then my husband got deployed for two months, and I can't drive the trailer without him yet. So there's that, right? And there's like a bunch of pieces. Um, but I do think that, you know, from a startup space and who we connect with and the teams, having really honest conversations about what you can and what you can't do. Um, so it allows you to cultivate a team that understands um and and just continuing to have those conversations because things happen in life and and you have to make adjustments. Um, but you always want to make sure that you're having the conversation with your team because it is important for me for them to always know how deeply grateful I am and that I'm like once we get over this hump, like we're gonna be we're all gonna figure this out. Yeah. But it comes with, and I mean, it's a hard conversation to have, right? And I know a lot of people are like, I don't want to have these conversations, but if you're in a space where you're trying to figure something out and you are, you know, starting up something, the only way that you'll be able to bro to grow that in a way that's I don't want to say good, but in a way that's like really collaborative is by having those hard conversations.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

No, I 100% agree. I think you have to be honest and transparent with your team. Yep. Keep them in the vision, keep them in the loop. 100%. So um when it comes to culture for the lit twist, how did you what type of culture are you creating for the lit twist?

SPEAKER_00 32:34

So I always tell my team, like I want people to feel warm when they interact with us. So any interaction, I want them to feel like you know we care deeply. Um, and because every single interaction, every single sale, it matters. Like it it deeply matters to the overall success of the store. When you're buying things from like Amazon and these large retailers, whether you buy one book, two books, whatever, uh two-paces or any of the little pieces, it it on the grand scheme of things, it's not as impactful because they have this whole system and they have the resources. But for small businesses, every single sale, every single interaction is important. We will not be able to grow and scale and to be impactful if when people interact with us, whether it's via email, whether it's via DM, whether it's very, you know, via in-person, they don't feel warmth and that that appreciation. And so when it comes to culture, we're blacky black, black. But with that, we're also warm, we're also welcoming, we're also here to, hey, if you're not a reader, let me give you some recommendations. Hey, if you are someone who is truly wanting to be an ally, let me give you some recommendations. You know, um and I think we have a lot of questions like that. And I think that with real, you know, in-depth conversations, a lot of you know, healing and growth happens. And so you know that you're gonna get blackness because we black and we love the black culture, but you're also gonna get warmth, you're also gonna get the level of appreciation because every single person who patron patronizes the lit twist and has patronized lip twist has been deeply impactful over our last year's growth and the growth that we, you know, that our growth trajectory.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

I love that. Yes. That's awesome. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:22

Um, what have you learned about leadership through this journey? Because, you know, being an entrepreneur and you know, trying to manage, you know, your team and you know, be a leader, being the face, the face of your brand right now, how do you how do you manage all that? And how what have you learned through your leadership journey?

SPEAKER_00 34:42

So it's funny because I'm I'm I'm being leadership stretched. You know?

unknown 34:49

Hold on.

SPEAKER_00 34:50

Um, so I think, you know, so my like nine to five in my career, I did operations for a long time. I've led large teams, up to 75 people. And so I do have a style of leadership that's very heartfelt and heart-led. Um and uh and I lead from the front, right? So like if there, we we made some, we had to make some, we did some cancellations last year. I'll give you guys an example. We had some cancellations in terms of like some events. Um, we had books in brunch that we were doing for a while. And uh let me just tell you, uh, it's a lot of work, right? It's a lot of work to put an event together, it's a lot of work to put a market together. And then if we don't have as many vendors or we don't have as many like people or the weather, like if they're saying it's gonna be a hurricane and you gotta make an executive decision, my goal is always to make sure that, like, hey, the lit twist is gonna be fine, right? Like, but for the vendors that are coming out, is it worth your time? Are we gonna be able to bring the results that we're looking for? And so we've had to make some adjustments and we've had to say, hey, we got we actually have to make, hey, we gotta pause this. And we had one particular person that was really upset. Um, she got sent an email, and you know, uh La Monique, our project manager was like, Hey, do you want me to? I'm like, eh, no. Because I don't want you to take the brunt of someone's frustration because they're gonna be pissed, they're gonna curse you out. And uh, it wasn't your decision, it was mine. I made a decision, so I'm I'm gonna take the heat, right? So um I I called her and she was like, Yeah, I think it's ridiculous that you guys did this, and I think it you, you know, she said a few things. And I heard her out because I understand, you know, it it may have seemed to her that I wasn't being caring or compassionate to the vendors because I made a decision uh like very close to last minute, but I had to give her some perspective, you know, you don't understand. And sometimes I'm like, uh I could explain to everyone, or I could just make a decision and just say, hey, you know, you guys gotta trust that my intention is in the right place. Not everybody doesn't know that. So it's important for me to explain, hey, like I'm not gonna make a decision that's not gonna be for the betterment of the vendors. Because if I came with the lit twist, no matter what, people are gonna come out for me, right? Because they know it's our market, they're gonna come out. But have we put our best foot forward in making sure that everyone eats during this market? Do we have the logistics in plan in place to make it easier for everybody? Do we have all of these other things in place and have we done our absolute best to bring the best to the table? And if if it's a logistical thing, or if there's you know a venue thing, or if there's other issues in the background, that's still on me. So I'm gonna take it. We I had to make the decision. Now, you know, we kind of came out on the other side of that, but I'm not putting my my team in the heat. Yeah. Ultimately, if you make a decision, I made a decision. You're not everyone is gonna like it. Right. But my intentions are always in the place of do, am I doing or have I done everything I possibly can to mitigate any of these risks? And if I've done that and it's still not looking too great, I gotta make an executive decision. So I I gotta be okay with being a bad guy.

unknown 38:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

But I'm also doing it from the most caring and compassionate and loving space. Yeah. But not everybody's gonna understand that.

SPEAKER_02 38:16

Yeah, that's so true. That is true. And I mean, that's the part of being a leader. Yeah, you have to make those executive decisions, and everybody's not gonna always agree with it. 100%. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:25

Yeah, like I said, it was an uncomfortable conversation. She was a little pissed, but we work through and she's like, I understand now. And I'm like, yeah, you know, and sometimes why don't you explain that? I'm like, uh, to have to explain all of these things sometimes will be will feel a bit nuanced, right? Because sometimes people are gonna say, well, all of that, we still don't give a damn. You know what I mean? With all of that, I still don't care what you're saying, right? And so, like, I mean, I don't, I don't have this idea that I don't have to explain myself to anybody, but I also don't have to explain myself, right? I have to, I you, if you guys know me, and if Patreon is making a cancellation and it's three days before an event, you know that she's tried everything in her power to make sure it was gonna be successful. And uh, the ultimate decision maker was it wasn't gonna work out. It wasn't going to be the experience I want for the vendors or for the shoppers or the patrons. And then for that, we gotta we gotta we gotta pivot. And there's been a lot of pivoting that we had to do over the last year of recognizing, hey, are we doing things that are continuing to be in alignment with our team's capacity with growth? And uh, you know, when you scale and you scale too quickly, things end up breaking in the process, right? So I had to almost like slow it down a little bit because the lit twist is still my happy place. Yeah. And in order for me to keep in my happy place, we have to still operate in a space that, okay, we know that we're scaling, but we can't scale too fast because we can't keep up with it. I'm still a mom. Yeah, I still have to travel for a football season and I'm going every single game. Okay. Right? So my team kind of knows, like, okay, we know that these we I can't. Yeah. Right. And eventually the goal is to maybe have a space where we have people that could do it for us, but we also gotta drive the trailer. You also have to have commercial insurance. There's a lot of logistics to that, right? Right now, when you when people see us and they see me and my kids setting up, it's a whole, it's a family affair. And we have made lots of sacrifices to be able to do this. But for me, it's like I want to see my kids watch me experience these things too. But when you, you know, when the dust tells remember, it's a small team and it's a family-owned business. And with that, I'm still human. I still gotta raise these kids, I still gotta work, I still gotta take care of my men, right? All these things. Exactly. And then I still gotta travel for my my college kids. So, like with all of that, like take care of yourself. And take care of myself. Don't forget that. Take care of yourself, yeah. I'm quick to book a trip. I'm quick to book a trip. Okay, even if it's uh up the block. I'm out of here. All these kids, y'all gotta wait. But so when you, you know, when you have all of that in perspective and we know that we're growing, um, sometimes it's like, okay, let's slow down for a second because we're gonna overcommit. And Riley wants us to commit to a lot of things. I love Riley, she's my girl. Um, we gotta, and I'm like, I get it, Riley. And I'm I'm rolling because you you see things differently, and I'm always gonna, you know, I trust the team I have, but also like, hey, we gotta, let's, we gotta make some adjustments and pivots because I also want it to be easier for them as well. Right.

SPEAKER_03 41:21

Oh, I get that. So when did you get to the point where it started to scale quickly? Because you know, I think business owners, like maybe they have a viral moment or things are just like out of the blue, pop off, and you're getting all these opportunities, people are knocking on your door, it's everything that you dreamed of, and you're like, whoa, this is a lot. How do I do all this? How do I make the decision? How did you come to that decision? Obviously, you know, you prioritize your family and your own mental health and your well-being. But when all that was happening, what was going through your head when it really started to pop off for you and like just scale? And you're like, oh my gosh, this is what I dreamed of.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

I don't mean to be funny, but uh uh I used to you the reason. Literally, you're you're literally bar like the reason. So like we went viral like right before the launch, right? And then it was like thing after thing after thing after thing after thing. And we, I mean, we went we went crazy till about June of last year. So from launch up until like June, we were all just like trying to figure out all the things, right? And so what we did for this year um was be a little bit more strategic about where we, you know, where we pop up and where we show up. Where do we see most, you know, where do we see um actual sales and success and actual like you know conversations and those pieces? Where were some events that didn't necessarily yield the results? If we're traveling all the way to Mesa and then we get there and it's like logistically, because again, we're a trailer, we're not a table. So there's a lot of moving pieces. Um so like last year, we literally went from like from January, like February 1st to all the way to Juneteenth. Wow. And it was like event, event, event, event, event, event. So that was a lot. Um this year things a little bit different because again, now it seems to be, and I'm trying to figure this out why and how, but that's a story for a different day. But it seems to be like now some markets are like, hey, we only want one bookstore there. And I'm like, well, y'all have three people that are selling pet treats. So give me a break. Okay, like give me a break. Yeah, um, so there is a little bit of that happening, and I'm like talking to the other books. I was like, is there a problem? Like, not enough, like not to be funny, but like, is there a problem with us both being there? And they're like, no. But I think if some of the markets have made it like, hey, we don't want to have two bookstores there, but I'm like, that's not that doesn't make any sense. Maybe size space wise, if you don't have enough space, that makes sense. But if you have more than enough space, there's absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be two bookstores. Yeah. Um, especially. Because there's a fantasy bookstore. There's a romance bookstore. There's a mystery bookstore. Right. There's all these other bookstores that are doing all different things. We don't have the same books.

SPEAKER_02 44:12

Right.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

You know? So this year it's been more of like how, you know, we we saw we do things in the West Valley, the East Valley, Phoenix, and we're like a little bit more strategic on where we're going. We don't necessarily go to every single event that we're, you know, invited to just because again, logistically, yeah. Um, there might have been like last year, maybe a little bit of FOMO, like, oh, if we don't go, then you know, are people gonna know about us? Whereas now it's like people know about us and we have to be strategic with how we put this together. So we have been doing that this year and we'll continue that into next year.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

I like that because um, you know, there kind of gets to a point, especially when you're booked and busy, where you have to be selective and only say yes to the stuff that you're in alignment with. Right. And I'm, you know, I can completely get where you're coming from because it's so easy just to be like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. But are these opportunities serving you for like the higher purpose? Right. Yeah, right. That's something I've been learning too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:09

I mean, yeah, I think it's one of those things that we all kind of have to figure out, right? Like, hey, do we, how do we want to do this? And do we, do we want to? I'm always like, do I want to do this? Do I want to be in this in this particular place? How was the vibe before? How were the market how did the market organizers treat us? Um, there have been times we were placed next to a dumpster. Like I would not work with them again. Why would you put a why would you put anybody next to a dumpster? Do y'all want me to crash out? I don't want me to go crazy. So like you you you kind of see what the how the experiences are and you make the adjustments to that. And yeah, like it's always very important for me to be intentional about the uh the spaces we occupy and uh we'll continue to grow and we'll continue to see other opportunities and continue to explore them. Um, because you know, everybody, there's always something new happening in the valley too. Yeah, it's always something new happening. So, and then we have a few things in the pipeline for us that are going to bring very cool events to the valley that are going to allow us to incorporate all the bookstores, which for me is like we should all be able to come together and do all the things. I love that. That's so cool. Keep me posted for that. I will. I can't be posted, girl. We have some things to get because the thing for me is like if there's ever like an idea that there's competition, I like to like let's just let's just put this all out there. We could all be together. And so I'm I'm always intentional about like let's all let's play in a sandbox school because I want to see you win and I want to see other, you know, everybody kind of eat and book lovers will pull up to book loving events, you know.

SPEAKER_02 46:49

So I know you're doing a lot. How do you balance it all? Being a mother, being you said you work at nine to five, you have the lip twists. I mean, how are you managing it all?

SPEAKER_00 47:01

So I'm gonna be honest, I don't believe in balance. I don't think it's ever like a balance. Like I don't I don't believe in that. What I do aim to have is harmony in my life. So having things kind of just flow and you know together. My nine to five is very, very supportive of the lit twist. That's great. So like I said, I'm like, hey, I gotta, I gotta do something. I have we have a huge event in Atlanta this year. I told my boss, and she was like, Well, you just gotta just take off, and it's the last couple days of the month. It's Memorial Day weekend or whatever, and we're good. Um, but I do find ways to try to bring everything together. Um, that way I don't have to pick and choose. Like again, like being a mom and being a wife. Like sometimes it's a whole all of us all hands on deck to go to these events and set up and break down. Um, my older son will be here to probably between tonight and tomorrow. So I'm gonna make him come and help me because I and it's also a way for us to bond. Bond. And they also see like my mom is not only is she my mom, but she's also chasing her dreams. And so I I always encourage people to seek less of balance and more of harmony. I like that.

SPEAKER_03 48:10

Yeah, because I feel like even when I was growing my you know, creator business, my job was supportive too. So if I had an event, if there was something that was happening, they were very supportive. Because it's it's like you said, it's hard to find full balance, right? Because there's always maybe a new opportunity that comes up that you're like, oh my gosh, this is gonna be great for my business. And it's like you never want to be in a position where it's this or that, right? You want to find it, like you were saying, find a way to kind of mesh it all together so you don't feel as overwhelmed. Because even though I'm booked and busy, like it's there's still a little bit of harmony in the chaos of it. Yeah, exactly. I mean, it seems chaotic on paper, but I swear there's a little bit of harmony in there. Yeah, that's what I love, like what you said. It just makes so much sense. That's the sweet spot. I feel that, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:55

Yeah, you gotta find a way, otherwise, you're gonna constantly feel like you're you know robbing Peter to pay Paul. You know what I mean? Taking out of one pot to put into another when you just try to find ways to put, bring it all together. Now, I will say this. There's some days that I'm terrible at finding harmony. Sure. We all are like there's some days where it's looking like there is no harmony. The harmony has been lost, right? Um, but again, I think it's also the part of having uh a partner that is supportive. You know, because that's like I mean, that's one of the top-tier life skill, like lessons. If you're gonna have a partner, have a have a real, have a real partner. Don't just have a partner for a sake of having a partner. But um, have a partner who's going to care about what your dreams are in the capacity that they can, right? Because not everybody's gonna show up at every event and do all the things, but like in the background, if they are cheering you on and saying, hey, what is it that you need from me? Because there's nights that I'm up until 11 o'clock. First of all, I don't like to be up at 11 o'clock. I am not a morning person or a night person. I like my bed by nine. And you know, I like to be in bed and get and get my sleep. But when you have somebody who's like, listen, what can I do to take, you know, help you with that load? Yeah, um, it's life-changing.

SPEAKER_02 50:07

Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 50:08

We know how that is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:09

So what's what's coming up next for the lit twist?

SPEAKER_03 50:12

Yeah, what do you envision? What's the long-term goals? What's the plan?

SPEAKER_00 50:15

Yeah. I don't know. I I you know, it I think that what we have now is really cool, right? Um, I do see, you know, there's there's a I guess it really depends on what happens. Are we gonna be staying in Phoenix? Are we gonna be going and leaving? So we should know by like the end of the year what's the trajectory of what we're gonna be doing. That's gonna give us an opportunity to figure out from there. But um, we have events, we're gonna be doing an event, we're going to Black Romance Book Festival in Atlanta. So that's gonna be really fun. And our author is Tia Williams, which I love her. If y'all haven't heard me talk about my favorite book, it's a love song for Ricky Wilds by Tia Williams. Um, so I'm really excited to be having to have her as our author for what uh one of our authors for our author assignment. Um, we're we're exploring some options and some events in LA, um, which will probably be good for the summertime, get us out of the heat and into like more of like a I mean, I guess it's hot there too, but not as humid. I don't know. Um, but there's an event out there that we're looking at. Um we have some other bookie things that we have going on too. So we're looking to also try, not only do we have the bookstore and creating community there, but also putting on events that are going to further allow for more connections, meaningful connections, meaningful conversations. Not only, I mean, you come for the books, but stay for the vibes, you know what I mean? And have be able to find community. Yeah, because that's I mean, that's ultimately the goal. Like you for me, I I need community wherever I go. And because I move so often, I often find myself creating it.

SPEAKER_02 51:51

I love that. Yeah, that's amazing. All right, so we are going to wrap it up. Um, we're gonna wrap up with some key takeaways. Vision often starts with recognizing a gap in your community. Uh fear is a part of building something meaningful, and community-driven businesses have the power to shift culture.

SPEAKER_03 52:12

Yes, and if Petra's story inspired you, support local bookstores and community initiatives. Follow the Litwist Mobile Bookstore. Everything will be uh linked in the show notes, and explore new books and voices that expand your perspective. And if this conversation resonated with you, share this episode with someone who loves books, culture, and entrepreneurship. Yes, and where can they find you?

SPEAKER_00 52:40

Yeah, they can find me on Instagram at at thelit.twist.com. Okay. Um, and all of our information is there.

SPEAKER_02 52:52

Okay, well, awesome. So we're gonna end with a quote your vision may start small, but when it's rooted in purpose, it has the power to transform communities.

SPEAKER_03 53:03

Yes, we love that. So if you like this episode, make sure to follow us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube at Thriving Loudly. And then you can also find us on all of the streaming platforms. And with that being said, we will see you in our next video. Bye.