Thanks to a little guidance from Windham Adult Education, Jane McGrady of Falmouth and Kristina Sobel of Saco have made their small business dream come to life.
Located on Forest Avenue entering Portland, the two sisters are now busy helping locals find their own sense of spirituality through Touchstone Bookstore and More.
“The store’s coming along,” McGrady says. “What surprises people first of all is the number of books we have.”
In the bookstore’s name lies the sisters’ passion. A touchstone, McGrady says, is “a person, place or thing that reminds you of who you truly are.” And the sisters consider every book in the store as a potential touchstone to guide people on their spiritual paths.
“The energy in here feels more like a learning atmosphere,” Sobel says. “Right now, we’re at the point where we want to let people know we are here.”
Rows of books feature titles on the power of prayer, yoga, meditation, ancient divination, energy healing as well as popular books by modern spiritual writers like Wayne Dyer.
There is also a “Kid’s Section” with stories that a five-year-old would understand, the sisters say, but that hold a timeless message that transcends age.
Different books resonate for different people, McGrady says, but most books focus on a simple truth: that the path to personal spirituality is not outside, it’s within every person.
“It just evolves from being guided,” McGrady said. “You read one book and it leads you to another.”
Touchstone Bookstore also offers weekly meditation sessions, inspirational lectures, spiritual energy and “healing touch” workshops, and massages by appointment.
McGrady and Sobel may have never started this small business venture had they not read the book “This Time I Dance” by Tama J. Kieves about a Harvard lawyer who quit her legal career to become an inspirational writer.
Prior to reading the book, McGrady had thought on and off about starting her own spiritual bookstore. She had worked at the Unity Church bookstore in Windham and Illuminations bookstore in Westford, Mass. But the book finally gave her the courage to pursue her dream.
“That’s the book that gave us the faith to trust ourselves,” McGrady said. “To just do it and stop talking about it.”
McGrady convinced her sister to move to Maine and embark in this small business endeavor. But before they could open the doors, the sisters sought help through the entrepreneurial program run by Windham Adult Education.
There, through a series of lectures by small business experts and owners, they learned the practical knowledge needed to start up a small business. Through the program, they devised a business plan, learned how to establish an LLC, promote their business and keep track of finances.
After looking at tiny retail spaces in Portland’s Old Port, the sisters decided on a piece of property on the outskirts of the city with plenty of room for books and extra space for spiritual exercises.
McGrady and Sobel are another success story in the short history of Windham Adult Education’s entrepreneurial program that is now in its second year.
Last spring, former student Scot Seltzer began his advertising business, Blue Plate Special Promotions. He designs placemats and take-out menus for local restaurants, paid for by advertisers in exchange for ad space on those products.
Windham Adult Education continues its classes this spring with another class focused on how to start a small business.
“It’s more of the down-and-dirty nuts and bolts that entrepreneurs need to go through to get the doors open,” says Eva Giles, workforce coordinator for Windham Adult Education.
In the fall, Windham Adult Education offers a class that helps people test their small business ideas before pursuing the creation of a small business. And, in the future, Windham Adult Education plans to have an advanced class for small business owners, Giles said.
Though Touchstone Bookstore only opened last December, the sisters have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of people walking through their doors.
And the sisters’ story has made “This Time I Dance” a bestseller at the bookstore.
Though Touchstone Bookstore is one of many spiritual bookstores in Portland, the sisters don’t see these other businesses as competition. Anybody who helps people on their path to spirituality is benefiting the common good, they say.
To learn more about Touchstone Bookstore and More, call 878-3866 or go online to www.touchstonebookstore.com. To learn more about Windham Adult Education’s entrepreneurial classes, call 892-1819.
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