Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Koch.
Hi Leah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2016, my sister Bea and I were both finishing educational opportunities and trying to figure out what to do next. We wanted to go into business together and decided to focus on our passion, romance novels. We raised the funds we needed for our business on Kickstarter in order to bypass traditional funding models. We raised 91k and opened The Ripped Bodice on March 4, 2016.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Hell no! The first two years we didn’t have any employees so it was just the two of us working every shift and that was very difficult and draining. Then, just when we’d gotten the most employees we’d ever had… pandemic hits!
The pandemic was incredibly difficult for us as we rely on a lot of in-person events and community building. We immediately had to pivot to an online only model, zero staff and customers in the store, it was a very hard time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Ripped Bodice was the first romance-focused independent bookstore in the United States. We love celebrating romance novels and the incredibly vast range of stories that are available in the romance genre.
While we have a vibrant online community, we do have a very special in-person experience that is unlike most other bookstores. Most romance readers have a hard time finding booksellers who are knowledgeable about their genre and that’s all we have! We love helping readers find their next book based on past favorites, or vibes, or some obscure subgenre!
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I think luck is super important. It doesn’t discount anyone’s hard work but it’s an important factor. Good luck has been finding the right space at the right time in the right neighborhood. Back luck are things like the pandemic which we obviously have no control over.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.therippedbodicela.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therippedbodice/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therippedbodiceLA
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRippedBodice
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@therippedbodice
Image Credits
Madeline Derujinsky
