Bureaucrat makes leap into business

CHEYENNE – It’s a big leap from bureaucrat to bookseller, but the transition has been surprisingly easy for Rod Miller, owner of Joe Pages Bookstore and Coffee House in downtown Cheyenne.Miller was a natural-resources aide to Gov. Mike Sullivan and Gov. Ed Herschler and before that managed his family’s ranch in Carbon County, but reading has always been a love.
“I always wanted to be in business for myself, in a setting like this,” he said in between brewing expresso and selling books. “I love books, I love reading. My education was in English and journalism, so I’m finally getting a chance to use my college education.”
Miller opened Joe Pages with his wife, Linda, in May 1994. (The “Joe” stands for coffee, the “Pages” for books). It was one of the first gourmet coffee houses in town and Cheyenne’s first independent book store in almost two decades. It has helped bring a rebirth to downtown Cheyenne and has become a gathering place for people of all ages.
Part of Miller’s motivation was independence and a chance to build a business from the ground up. But there also was an altruistic element of building something good for the community and providing access to good literature.
As an entrepreneur, Miller has not seen everything go according to plan. He recalls laying carpet just hours before his grand opening. But he has not experienced the shocks that hit some entrepreneurs.
“I knew in my gut that it would be successful in Cheyenne, and it has been,” he said. “I was pretty well prepared. I spent a couple of years studying the market, the product, the city, before I got into it, so there was nothing that was shocking.”
He spent at least a year on his business plan and attended an American Booksellers Association school for prospective bookstore owners.
“The sole purpose of that exercise is to talk you out of opening a book store,” he said. “They say right up front, ‘we’re here to bust your bubble, we want you to be realistic.’ That was incredibly helpful.”
Adequate capital is important, he said. His initial investment was around $150,000, half for inventory, and Miller advises prospective entrepreneurs to have adequate reserves for household expenses, too.
“Be prepared to not take a penny out of the place for the first six months,” he said. “When you open a business, you should have sufficient capital set aside to cover your living expenses for six months … to give the business a chance to start cash flow and replace inventory.”
Miller’s civic involvement included an unsuccessful run for mayor this fall. After finishing second in a crowded primary, he lost to incumbent Mayor Leo Pando by two percentage points in the General Election. He describes the campaign as “a great experience” but doesn’t think it will either help or hurt his business.
“I was careful to keep politics separate from the business so I didn’t politicize my business,” he said. “In politics, you only have to please 50 percent of the people plus one. In business, you have to do considerably better than that.”
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