We recently connected with Victoria Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.
Victoria, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I think a purpose found me when I wasn’t looking for it. Over a decade ago I took the leap to leave the secure but strangling confines of working a traditional corporate job. My business partner and I were both frustrated with the glass ceilings in our careers and decided rather than use our knowledge and efforts to make money for a corporation, we would invest in ourselves. We started a cleaning business from nothing and have grown from employee-owners, to simply owners as the size and structure of our company changed with growth. Looking back, developing our company wasn’t easy. But six years ago, as we were able to take a few steps back from the day-to-day operation, I felt the pull to start another business. Mostly because I’d already proved to myself that I could do it. Owning a used bookstore had been a fantasy, an “imagine if” like winning the lottery or traveling the country towing my very own tiny house. In 2018, with a handful of donated books, I opened Dog Eared Books in downtown Hampton. The “downtown” of my small city covers about 4 blocks. While the start of the cleaning business seemed a daunting undertaking, it was easily made a success with time and effort. I believed the bookstore would be even easier! In reality, it has been much more challenging to grow and adapt in order to be profitable.
But I have realized that I had the purpose of this vision all wrong. I was initially excited about a second income in my dream job; I dreamed of a fantastic work environment and all the books I could read. I didn’t anticipate the hole it would fill in my life and in my town. I have gotten to know amazing people I would have never met, just by being here, surrounded by bookshelves. Because Dog Eared Books exists in downtown Hampton, people of all ages and backgrounds have a place not just to find books, but to connect with people in their community and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. We’ve held family literacy nights that raised money for our local child development center, brought books to inmates at our city jails, helped the homeless feel seen and welcomed, donated books to children’s literacy non-profits, hosted poetry groups, local authors’ book signings, and started book clubs. I know there’s more waiting on the horizon still yet to be revealed.
Dog Eared Books will never help me save for retirement. But it reminds me that although retirement is a natural part of employment, we are all here to be of use; to have a purpose. Today there are many ways to buy books, but there are fewer ways to find real connection. Physical bookshops still hold an important role in our society that can’t be filled with online orders. And apparently, it was never really about the books anyway.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
A graduate of Phoebus High School and Virginia Tech, I grew up here in Hampton, VA. I have left and come back many times, but this is home. Though my businesses are small, I’m proud to be a local employer who can offer a family-friendly schedule and living wages. Joyfully my flexible schedule allows me to be actively involved as a volunteer and serve in leadership roles in my church and several community organizations important to me; the closest to my heart, HELP, Inc. working directly with our homeless neighbors to provide food, shelter, and other basic needs. I am invested in seeing our city reach its potential and leaving it better than I found it. When I’m home, you can find me sneaking in as many pages as I can read between parenting our kids and spoiling our dogs. But basically, I’m making it up as I go along.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The journey through life isn’t linear. Looking in from the outside, the steps can look haphazard, maybe reckless. But I think some of the most damaging choices and situations in life can be caused by adhering to a map that isn’t meant for you to follow. The places I’ve been, jobs I’ve held, and choices I’ve made have often seemed confusing to people close to me. Sometimes I felt confused by myself. Though some of these major stepping stones seemed out of order or in the wrong direction, I can look back and know that each step was to bring me here. Even if my decisions looked baseless, they each had a purpose. It’s okay not to know which direction you’ll be led; get started anyway. I think the biggest regret of all would be to watch life pass by without leaping. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
There is not one book that will change your life, but reading as much as you can will change your life. Books speak to each of us differently. The greatest gift you can give yourself is the gift of reading. Just read constantly. Everything, all the time. Listening to audiobooks is still reading. If you don’t feel inspired to read, keep trying and you’ll find what speaks to you. Challenge yourself to read new genres, new authors, new cultures, and new perspectives. Seek out discussions with someone who enjoys reading books that aren’t books you’d pick. We learn nothing by spending all of our time with people just like us. Reading allows us to have experiences and feel feelings other than our own. That opens the door for understanding our neighbors. If you’re looking for understanding, read Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People, by Bob Goff. The brief stories compiled in that book will help you see yourself and each person you meet differently. Everybody, always is how we should love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dogearedbookshampton.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogearedbookshampton/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dogearedbookshampton
