About this episode

Jacqueline Puesta shares her journey of opening Milton's first independent bookstore in a decade, discussing market validation and community engagement.

What does it actually take to open a brick-and-mortar store in a small town — as a young first-time business owner, competing against Amazon and Indigo, in a market you had to validate yourself? 📚 Jacqueline Puesta, owner of Wildwood Bookstore & Market, did exactly that. She started with a mobile bookshop, tested the market at Milton events, pitched her dream to a landlord with a full business and design plan, and opened Milton's first independent bookstore in a decade — all in six weeks.In this episode, Steve sits down with Jacqueline to unpack the real story behind Wildwood: the market research, the landlord pitch, the community-first approach, and what makes an independent bookstore worth choosing over the big guys.✅ How Jackie validated demand before signing a lease✅ Pitching a startup to a landlord — what she brought to the table✅ Why curation and personal connection beat algorithms every time✅ Opening in November and surviving the slowest retail months✅ Building a downtown community through a business passport crawl✅ What's next for Wildwood — authors, events, and a bigger footprint************************0:00 – Intro1:18 – Meet Jacqueline Puesta & Wildwood…

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