How Dionne Sims, owner of Black Garnet Books, learned to balance mental health and owning a business
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- When Dionne Sims opened Black Garnet Books in St. Paul – she had her community in mind, including her youngest neighbors.
Sims's store on University Avenue became Minnesota's first- Black-owned bookstore in several years when it opened last October. She's constantly curating her collection of books by Black and brown authors.
But there's one thing she doesn't do -- use social media.
"I used to have a large social media following and then deleted my social media," Sims said. "When you feel so much pressure from everyone around you to turn yourself into content, to turn your life into content...it's not natural. It's exhausting."
She made the decision in an effort to protect and cultivate her mental health.
Sims spent a lot of time in the spotlight, and months of multiple, surface-level interviews a week started to tear her down. She decided to start saying "no." Instead, she got the word about her business out through in-person events and focused on her mental health.
"At the time, it was the only Black-owned bookstore in the state," Sims recalled. "There was a lot of interest from the media."
"At times, it felt pretty tokenizing," she said.
Sims said changing her relationship with social media and figuring out her boundaries has helped her feel less anxious. She's now able to focus more on what she wants to accomplish.
"I would tell people, especially young people: Start practicing the vulnerability that you've been able to have online, that walls-down feeling, start trying to practice that offline," she said.
If you'd like more information about mental health and seeking professional support, click here.
