Feature: Amanda’s Reading Corner
It was just the other day that I finally met the founder of Amanda’s Reading Corner, Amanda Holmberg, in person after corresponding with her for the last few months, coincidentally on something completely different, a Facebook page she had created when seeing the need for it, called ‘Things to do in the Soo’.
You see, Amanda noticed that I am a very community involved, very aware person who aims to share community events and happenings with others — and had been sharing a lot to the page. She reached out and asked if I would like to be an admin for the page and the rest, as they say, is history.
We had been communicating online for the purposes of the site so it was a bit of a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, when she reached out to inquire about advertising her home based business called Amanda’s Reading Corner on Sault Business Matters.
I had been following her page for awhile and was aware of the business from seeing her at various vendor shows. But in all honesty, I really wasn’t sure what it was all about.
One of the first things I noticed about Amanda is that like me, she absolutely loves to support local businesses, so it is fitting that she finds herself advertising on Sault Business Matters, a site that aims to highlight and support all of the fabulous local businesses that we have here in Sault Ste. Marie.
Anyway, on this particular day, we decided to meet downtown at one of the great cafes we have, again supporting local business! She brought her adorable daughter Alena with her and I couldn’t help but notice that even at three and a half years old, she already has a strong vocabulary and when you learn more about what Amanda and why she started Amanda’s Reading Corner, you will know why!
It was in January of 2017 that Amanda found herself on maternity leave and as new moms often do, to get out of the house, she decided to take some ‘baby and me’ type classes at the local library.
It was at these classes that she was introduced to a wonderful series of books by Usborne Books, in particular, she was impressed with their popular “That’s Not My” series of books often used at the library with fun, engaging titles like “That’s Not My Cow”, “That’s Not My Elephant” etc.
Being an avid reader from when she was a child, she just loved the textures, the quality of the writing, the animation, the variety of titles and wanted to get more of these wonderful books so that she could read to her daughter at home. However, she learned that for the most part, other than a few selections that are available at some major retailers, they were only available through Usborne consultants who work directly for the publisher Usborne Books.
It was also at this time that Amanda left her spouse and she is quite open and frank about her struggles with depression and anxiety. She realized that she needed something to do that was strictly for her and that she also loved.
As luck would have it, someone that was currently a consultant for Usborne books was advertising a discount for starter kits and looking for people to join her team. Having some knowledge and genuine appreciation for the quality of the books she decided to take a chance and give it a go.
After all, as Amanda revealed to me, “what’s the worst that could happen, if I quit, my children will still be left with the best library in the city!”
Usborne Books has an amazing collection of some 2,000 titles and the ages covered go all the way to high school. At first she reached out to friends and would promote the business at vendor markets but she is quite honest in saying that she had some doubts and was skeptical about how successful she could be at this type of business.
However, the greatest thing about it was that it could be so family friendly and she could take her baby with her. She often would be selling to others with children and her daughter could play with other kids and explore the books while the grownups could explore the titles etc. She also brought her young daughter to vendor events and it worked so well and the bonus was that she wasn’t missing valuable time with her baby and her non aggressive selling style worked.
She tells Sault Business Matters that in that first year of being an Usborne consultant operating as Amanda’s Reading Corner, she attended 30 vendor events and hosted 20 private parties, all while being able to bond with her daughter and make some extra money.
It really became something that gave her purpose and she saw first hand the difference these books made in children’s lives based on the positive feedback she would get from her customers. They noticed that their children were now excited to see what books arrived.
She has built a steady clientele, hosts online parties, which have allowed her to meet and keep in touch in meaningful ways with families from across Canada, and she has even traveled to do events in other cities such as Sudbury, Toronto, and Wawa. It has given her the opportunity to really expand her social circle all while promoting reading and literacy. How amazing is that?
Amanda confesses that she herself was a bookworm as a child. Growing up on a farm, she would rather grab a book and go read under a tree than do what a lot of other kids did and with this business she has fostered a love of reading to her own children. (She has Alena, three years of age, and three stepsons with her current partner ranging in age from six to 13).
It has been so rewarding to be able to build a clientele and build her own amazing library of books, all while having her daughter alongside the journey. The books themselves are all published in the United Kingdom which means they all have the Canadian spellings which is fantastic so it is colour not color!
Usborne Books was founded by owner Peter Usborne in 1973 when his wife became pregnant. He still owns the company and is a very hands on owner.
Amanda just returned from a conference in Quebec that Peter Usborne attended and all consultants had a 20/1 ratio meeting with him so that he could gather valuable feedback and true life experiences from his sales team across Canada. The company really aims to know what works and what doesn’t and has even developed an app called teach your monster to read which focuses on things like phonetics. The small fee charged supports various charities but it is available for free on computers.
The one thing you will quickly notice about Amanda is that she isn’t doing this just to push sales but because she genuinely has a desire to promote the gift of reading and act as a resource for people. The content she shares on her social media pages is engaging and comes from a genuine place. It is very conversational in nature, and had lots of fun activities that test your brain.
I am a personal fan of her seek and find activities, the fun facts she shares, her personal recommendations, and family friendly content. If anyone is interested in finding out more about what the benefits of being a consultant are, Amanda is happy to meet to see if it would be something that suits their lifestyle, what their goals would be. It is worth noting that the starter kit is relatively inexpensive and comes with $200 in books.
Consultants like Amanda have access to the entire collection, entire series, lots of great perks, and discounts. When asked what her favourite books were from her childhood, she is quick to answer the Harry Potter series which she says she instantly fell in love with while her favourite in the Usborne collection is a book called timelines of world history which she explains sparked her interest enough to learn more about historical figures.
Some things you can access from Amanda’s Reading Corner on Facebook are access to her YouTube videos where she does two types of videos, a read along series, where she reads some of her favourite books or others what she calls “a glance through” where she goes through the features of new releases etc.
There is also a large collection of books available in French which is great as they can be difficult to find and these are published in France so they use Parisian French which is great for for our children who learn that in schools.
Amanda wants to make it clear that this venture has become less about making sale quotas and more about helping to foster a love of reading and educating in children and adults alike. She has gotten to a place by being a responsive, non aggressive sales consultant who is happy to steer people in the right direction where she has actually been able to set up an Amanda’s Reading Corner office in her home.
In a nutshell, visit Amanda’s Reading Corner on Facebook to find out more on the books themselves, home shows, how she can help school libraries grow through book fairs and read-athons, host fundraising events at community events, vendor events, shows, exhibits, or shop directly through her.
You can access Amanda’s page through the link on Sault Business Matters.
