When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down her senior care business, Stephanie Reed didn’t expect her next venture to start in her daughter’s nursery. She and her husband, Muammar, had been collecting diverse children’s books for their daughter and quickly realized how difficult it was to find books that reflected her multicultural background. That frustration turned into a side project that evolved into MiJa Books—a now-thriving business centered around school book fairs.
Since 2020, the Reeds have pivoted their business multiple times, sold more than 60,000 books, and are on track to hit nearly $1 million in revenue this year. Along the way, they’ve learned when to say no, how to scale without overhiring, and why automation and batching are their not-so-secret weapons. Here’s how they built a business by staying curious, adapting quickly, and fixing what didn’t work.
Letting your customer journey shape your business model
MiJa Books didn’t begin with a road map—it began with a need. Stephanie was already collecting books before her daughter was born, and the couple quickly realized the lack of multicultural stories was more than just a personal frustration. “We struggled to find books that had characters that looked like her,” Stephanie said. That challenge led them to post book reviews online and slowly grow a community around diverse books.
Their business model shifted more than once. From book blog to ecommerce store to pop-up shop, each version was born out of necessity and learning. The biggest breakthrough came inside their short-lived brick-and-mortar store when a parent asked if they’d consider doing a school book fair. “We made more in those two hours [at the book fair] than we did in an entire week at the store,” Stephanie says.
That single moment sparked a new business model. Instead of focusing on one-off sales, they leaned into school book fairs—which now account for more than 95% of their revenue.
Not mistaking visibility for viability
Encouraged by early holiday sales at a mall pop-up, the Reeds signed on for a full-year lease to open a retail store. But the momentum didn’t last. “That was our biggest mistake,” Muammar says. “Probably a six-figure mistake.” With an average order value of just $25 to $30, the retail location couldn’t cover costs after the holidays ended.
Still, the store wasn’t a total loss. It led to features in The Los Angeles Times and on KTLA, NBC4, and Spectrum News. Stephanie calls the shop “essentially a huge billboard that we paid for,” adding that the resulting exposure gave them credibility they continue to leverage.
That experience helped them reframe physical retail as a marketing expense—not a profit driver. Today, they return to the same mall during the holiday season, but only for short stints when traffic is highest and the focus is on lead generation for more book fairs.
Automating and batching to scale like a team twice the size
As their book fair business grew, so did the workload. Stephanie initially handled everything herself—including manual outreach, deliveries in her Honda HR-V, and packing hundreds of SKUs in a garage. Eventually, they leaned into automation and content batching to help scale without burning out.
They’ve now integrated Zapier and Mailchimp with their Shopify store to run their giveaway and email workflows, ensuring every lead gets immediate and consistent follow-up. “Or we would need to hire a bunch of people to have all of those touchpoints,” Muammar says. The automation helps them maintain quality and consistency as they grow.
Muammar also batches content for marketing and reuses it across channels with help from AI. Their video studio lets them film more than 70 clips in one session, all planned around hooks, social proof, and CTAs. “If you plan it out before shooting, shooting content is easier,” he added.
Embracing the messiness of growth
As more schools started booking fairs, MiJa Books quickly outgrew its early setup. Stephanie remembers the scramble to keep up: “We were breaking systems.” It didn’t take long to realize they needed a warehouse and a delivery system that could scale.
But even with those upgrades, they hit new challenges. “Last March we broke it again,” Muammar says. A surge in demand pushed their space and staffing to the limit, and they had to cancel some fairs. Instead of panicking, they saw it for what it was: a sign of growth. “That’s what growth is. Something is going to break operationally, and then you need to fix that operational break in order to keep growing,” he says.
Their ability to stay calm in those moments and see breakdowns as opportunities to rebuild stronger has been key to their momentum. And while systems, batching, and automation help things run smoother, the heart of MiJa Books is still its mission: getting diverse books into the hands of more kids. Each book fair isn’t just a sale—it’s a step toward more representation in classrooms and homes. That purpose, more than any playbook, is what keeps them moving forward.
The story of MiJa Books shows how successful businesses grow by staying flexible, listening closely, and building systems that match the moment. Stephanie and Muammar wrote their own playbook for amplifying multicultural authors and stories and their journey is a reminder that when something breaks, it might be your signal that you’re growing—and it’s time to level up.
For more on how Stephanie and Muammar turned a personal frustration into a fast-growing company, catch their full interview on Shopify Masters.
