Riqia Taylor is decided to amplify Black narratives. So decided, the truth is, the 28 yr outdated created Insomnia Ebook Firm – a enterprise that goes past e book gross sales to champion her trigger.
Undergraduate faculty at VCU was a transformational time for Taylor. She majored in African-American research and graduated in 2018 with fairly a set of Black literature and a love for bookstores. As soon as her larger schooling chapter closed with a grasp’s in instructional coverage and management from American College, Taylor needed to resolve what to do subsequent. So, her mom requested a easy query:
“What occurred to you desirous to open a bookstore?”
The push from mother led Taylor to make her goals a actuality within the type of Insomnia Ebook Firm. The title originates from Taylor’s previous struggles with insomnia.
“Over time, there was one thing about having the ability to go to my library or my e book assortment,” the bibliophile mentioned of navigating her battle with insomnia. “I at all times say that my books stored me firm. And so that is the title. It is type of like a double entendre.”
The web site for Insomnia Ebook Firm first went dwell in March 2024. Taylor started promoting her books at native pop-up markets just a few months later, and he or she’s been pursuing her mission – “to maintain Black tales alive by way of books, neighborhood and storytelling” – ever since.
Taylor likes to think about every facet of her mission as an “arm” of her firm. The “books” arm is easy: “Promoting books that inform Black narratives.”
Whereas that always means promoting new and used books by Black authors, it can also imply promoting books by anybody who’s telling Black tales “with integrity and credibility.”
“If it is fiction, if there’s a most important character or if the story centralizes round a Black expertise and the creator does it nicely, I’ll promote that e book,” Taylor mentioned. “If there’s a non-fiction e book that’s backed by credible analysis… I’ll promote that e book.”
Proper now, you should buy Taylor’s books on her web site and have them despatched proper to your door. She ships nationwide with flat-fee delivery prices based mostly upon the load of the books. However in case you’re native (inside 50 miles), Taylor often can get your books to you faster with costs based mostly on how shut you reside to her residence. She affords same-day supply from Tuesday to Saturday, and delivery may even be free in case you dwell inside about two miles of Taylor.
And in case you thought your books would arrive like some other bundle – suppose once more.
“Initially, it is gonna odor unimaginable once they open it,” Taylor mentioned of her shipments. “And it’s wrapped in black craft paper – once more, intentionality there – and it features a thanks card that may be a bookmark.
“Additionally they get a customized ‘Share Black Tales’ sticker from Insomnia Ebook Co., after which they get just a few different stickers that encourage them to maintain studying.”
You can also discover Insomnia Ebook Firm at native markets. The corporate’s web site and social media pages will clue you in on upcoming pop-up occasions the place you’ll be able to count on all of the stops – together with a purple carpet.
“I am not only a desk with the books on it,” she defined. “I attempt to be intentional about each single element… as a result of, once more, I haven’t got a bodily house proper now, so with delivery and with packaging and with show at pop up markets, how can I nonetheless seize that very same essence that I’ll need prospects to really feel in the event that they had been to stroll right into a constructing.”
Ultimately, Taylor does hope to have a bodily house. The purpose is to get a brick and mortar within the Richmond space by the top of 2025.
Having a constructing, together with book club sponsorships and philanthropy efforts are all part of the “neighborhood” arm of Insomnia. Proper now, the corporate sponsors three totally different e book golf equipment – wwo of which, Chapters and Cocktails and Inks and Essence, are open to the general public. Members of sponsored e book golf equipment at all times get a particular low cost on Insomnia books.
The philanthropy facet of the neighborhood arm remains to be growing, however Taylor’s efforts have already made fairly an impression. She is at all times accepting e book donations and has pledged to provide them to domestically incarcerated folks.
“Individuals are usually asking if they’ll donate books,” Taylor mentioned. “And I’ve made a dedication to not promote books which might be donated however guarantee that they’re put into the palms of incarcerated individuals.”
Final yr, Insomnia partnered with one other native enterprise referred to as Circles of Creators to arrange donation bookshelves in varied Black-owned companies all through the Richmond-metro space. Collectively, they collected about 580 books.
“It actually was a neighborhood effort,” Taylor mentioned.
Up to now, Taylor has given about 50 of the 580 books to the Richmond Juvenile Detention Heart. She plans to donate the remaining to different incarcerated folks in time, with some books going to grownup detention facilities since they aren’t age-appropriate for youthful readers.
“I am nonetheless constructing out what that program seems to be like,” Taylor mentioned, including that she’d additionally like to begin e book golf equipment for incarcerated folks. “This was our first time working with the juvenile detention middle… so we’re nonetheless constructing a relationship of the way to hold issues going constantly.”
The third and remaining arm of Insomnia is Taylor’s pursuit of “storytelling,” which incorporates each audio and visible tasks. She at present has an animated sequence within the works, however her first storytelling launch was “Bookworm” – a brief movie she assistant directed and co-produced with Eternity Media.
“I do know that with entrepreneurship, in case you do not create a lane so that you can have enjoyable, it will possibly turn out to be very daunting and taxing,” Taylor mentioned. “And so I needed to create a lane the place I might have enjoyable. And, once more, I like to create.”
Insomnia Ebook Firm is a dream come true for Taylor. However that dream is loads greater than herself.
“That is for the neighborhood,” she mentioned. “I’m not doing this to create a bookstore for me to only sit in and skim books… This can be a dream of mine to essentially serve folks.”
Understanding she will’t do it alone, Taylor has a humble request: “Be a part of me within the mission of retaining Black tales alive.”
“It is not a one-woman present,” she mentioned. “I’ve my family and friends which might be serving to me get issues kicked off the bottom and operating, however it’s actually going to be the assist of the neighborhood that retains issues rising and going. And so I simply ask for continued assist.”
There are various methods to assist Insomnia, Taylor mentioned – purchase books, unfold the phrase, observe and work together with Insomnia’s Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok pages. Or vote for Taylor as she continues her bid to turn out to be the subsequent “Entrepreneur of Impact” – a contest by way of which “one savvy entrepreneur will seem in an advertorial in Forbes, obtain a one-on-one mentoring session from Daymond John, and take residence $25,000.”
Observe this link in case you’d prefer to vote for Taylor and assist her with startup prices for her upcoming brick and mortar location.
Nominate a Henrico small enterprise to be featured within the Henrico Small Enterprise Highlight by e-mailing us here.
