Built on Passion and Compassion: What Every Business Owner Can Learn from Underbrush Books
If you’ve ever wondered whether a retail business—especially a bookstore—could thrive in a world dominated by Amazon and same-day shipping, Courtney Smith has an answer for you. And it’s not about inventory, foot traffic, or even margins.
It’s about trust.
In this episode of the TrustBuilt Podcast, I had the privilege of sitting down with Courtney, co-founder of Underbrush Books and Dandy Roll in Rogers, Arkansas. From launching a business nine months out of college to sustaining a growing bookstore during a pandemic, Courtney's story is a masterclass in building a business around people, not just products.
What We Can All Learn from a Bookstore
Courtney didn’t just open a bookstore—she created a third space, a safe haven where people feel seen and welcomed, regardless of whether they buy something or not.
That mindset? It’s rooted in compassion, and it’s what too many business owners overlook in the chase for profit.
It’s also what builds loyalty that no algorithm can match.
Some key takeaways from our conversation:
✅ Start with a problem worth solving.
Courtney didn’t enter retail to sell things—she stepped into entrepreneurship to fix things. Whether it was making local art more accessible through Dandy Roll or helping people fall back in love with reading through Underbrush, every move was grounded in community need.
✅ Build the kind of space people want to return to.
One customer told Courtney they sent their child to her bookstore after school because it was the one place they felt safe. That’s not an accident. That’s intentional, trust-built culture at work.
✅ Niche down to scale up.
Underbrush found its stride by specializing in genre fiction like sci-fi and fantasy books, which their team loved to recommend. That passion translated into better customer experiences and stronger loyalty. If you’re trying to be everything to everyone, you might be missing your people.
✅ Default to generosity.
Courtney's willingness to share data, collaborate with other bookstores, and lead with trust (even with so-called competitors) is something more entrepreneurs need to hear. Generosity builds resilience. It also builds relationships that can save your business when things get hard.
If you’re a business owner stuck in the daily grind, worried that stepping back means stepping away, Courtney’s story is proof that it doesn’t have to be that way.
She didn’t build Underbrush by being in every customer interaction or micromanaging every shelf. She built it by trusting her team, listening to her customers, and doubling down on what mattered—community, connection, and purpose.
Sound familiar?
That’s the whole point of TrustBuilt. We help business owners create systems of trust so they can build something sustainable, something valuable, and something that doesn’t fall apart when they finally take a break.
📞 Want to break free from your business being dependent on you?
Set up a call with me today and let’s talk about building your version of a self-sustaining business:
👉 Book your free consult
Listen to the full episode with Courtney Smith on YouTube:
🎙What Every Business Owner Can Learn from This Small Bookstore
