The transition from book-lover to book-seller seems a logical one. After all, who could be better at running a B & M or on-line book store than someone who’s devoted their life to reading?
All you need is some inventory, a computer, shelves, a sign, paint, a business license and you’re set, right? No, not quite, I’m afraid. The ins and outs of starting — and maintaining — a healthy business, are myriad. So are the talents required to ensure job and customer satisfaction.
Your typical bookshop owner
The ideal entrepreneur naturally pays attention to their customers’ needs & wants, is able to adapt and change their business strategy as needed, and knows when to stand their ground. They also have a head for numbers, merchandising and inventory.
True, very few people have every talent listed above. I, myself, possess a knack for visual merchandising, knowing what my customers want and keeping an evolving business plan. But, when it comes to numbers (taxes, income, expenditures), I tend to struggle.
This is why it’s good to have a partner (in my case, my fiancé), whose talents balance your own. She knows very little about the retail world, but keeps track of numbers like nobody’s business. While I’ll be looking to expand our Fantasy section, she’ll be making sure we won’t go broke doing so.
For anyone aching to open their own book shop, your main motivation should be a love of business. You need to understand the basic mechanics of the retail world — supply/demand, branding, building customer relations — almost instinctively.
Okay, there are plenty of books for would-be retailers — and anyone can grab one, read it and apply what they’ve learned to their particular business. But, the ideas in these books are best used by those who already have a world view that’s conducive to being an outstanding entrepreneur. For those who don’t have this all-important talent (or group of talents), these books will help you to be mediocre, at best.
Also to be considered are the hours you’ll need to invest into making your shop financially sustainable. While you may dream of cozying up with a good book behind your desk or counter, the reality is that you’ll need to work your ass off. Every day will be spent doing whatever you can to draw people into your store and keep them coming. This involves actually talking to people — often people you don’t like all that much, not just bibliophiles like yourself.
If you love books and want to work around them, but don’t have a head for business, try volunteering at a local book store. You could even set up a consignment account at your favourite reading hole or sell on line.
Taking the helm of a Brick & Mortar isn’t for the faint-hearted, my friends. It demands tenacity, imagination, and a great deal of courage. You need to be willing to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gains. And, always, you must keep in mind that your shop isn’t your own personal library, but a means of income.
The point of this post isn’t to shatter anyone’s dreams, but to encourage them to think long and hard before pursuing them. For, in the world of Brick & Mortar, it’s business first and books second.
8 thoughts on “Business first and books second.”
One day last year a young woman came to my shop with her mother and her little boy. She wanted me to put up a poster for a choir concert. Her little boy was in the choir. She rhapsodized about my bookstore. “This is my dream! This is what I want to do! Leave my job in the big city and have a little shop here in Northport!”
“You need a business plan,” I told her very seriously.
“Quit my job and open a little shop here–that’s my plan!” she repeated enthusiastically.
“That’s your dream,” I told her, as her mother nodded and gave the daughter significant looks that said she should listen to me. “Now you need a plan.”
Yes, bookselling has to be a business, or the bookstore won’t last long. Thanks for the reminder. Many dreamers need to hear it.
Excellent posting Brian and perhaps Bruce should permanently pin this one to the top.
P.J., Your comment is 100% right and I hope your words to the young lady sank in. Those are words that can be used through many areas of life.
And Brian, your line, “For anyone aching to open their own book shop, your main motivation should be a love of business.”
I had just about the same advice when I had an opportunity to buy a printing shop. My boss said, “In order to own a print shop you have to be a businessman first and a printer second.” That opened my eyes and i did not buy the place. – As a P.S. to the story… It was a few days after my decision I found the rented property was up for sale and the shop owner/seller had not mentioned that tidbit in his presentation. I wonder if he might have brought it up after I signed the dotted line.
Good advice and kudos again to P.J.
It won’t and shouldn’t stop book lovers from entering this wonderful business but they need to hear and listen to this type of advice without being intimidated by it. It is hard to hit the ball out of the park if you take your eyes off the ball – and our ball is still keeping all marketable books in circulation.
The conglomerates now controlling the books business seem lost or asleep at the master switch that determines the direction books are going are proof that those with a predominantly business approach can screw up.
There is little complicated about a cash business dealing in used goods.
There are many of us in this business who started out as book lovers only to find out that a love of books is not enough. Those of us with the will and the stamina to do the work our business requires can build a great business.
If the book business hasn’t taught you the validity of this statement “I am thankful this business is more dependent upon my work than my brain” – you might need an attitude adjustment.
Every day brings a new opportunity to learn more about books but the basic workings of this business are not complicated enough to overwhelm anyone of average intelligence.
The level of success you can achieve is only limited by you – your demeanor (how you, your character and your personality come across to your customers) – your intestinal fortitude (the guts to keep creeping beyond your comfort zone) – your money management (managing your money so you can ALWAYS buy books) – and having the work ethic to process every book you buy as quickly as possible to present your customers with fresh stock every day.
Having the guts to find and rent a good location for your store, and then staying there and going along with all the future rent increases, is a very important factor … I would attribute most failures in our business to the reluctance of a books seller to pay a fair rent for a good location.
Shopkeepers who think they have earned their customer’s loyalty and that their customers will follow them when they move to a location with lower rent are invariably proven wrong. If there is loyalty owed it is you, the shopkeeper, who owes it to your existing customers. They shouldn’t be inconvenienced – ever – by your business decisions – all of those decisions should be slanted in only one direction – towards enhancing the benefits you offer them.
Simple … but not easy.
George,
While I appreciate the positive attitude behind your reply, I must respectfully disagree with most of it.
Saying that anyone of average intelligence can run a bookstore is, at the very least, misguided. That would be the equivalent of me saying that almost anyone would make a good actor, decent lawyer or an adequate teacher. Despite the fact that many of us in North America were taught that we could be anything we wanted to be, the truth of the matter is that most of us possess only a handful of talents and skills. Or, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, we only have a certain amount of room in our brain attics.
Will, stamina and a can-do attitude can only carry you so far. Imagination, flexibility, and an ability to adapt to your customers’ needs are what it takes to build a successful bookshop. You may keep a healthy stock of marketable books, but that will do you little good if you aren’t able to draw and retain customers.
There is a certain amount of required physical labour when running your own bookshop, but most of the work will be done by your brain. Keeping your store fresh and competitive demands that you constantly evaluate your store’s layout, merchandising, branding (even if you don’t think you’re a brand, you are)and every minute detail to ensure customers’ wantd and needs are being met.
As for the inherently simple nature of a cash business selling used goods, that is a complete misnomer. There are things like taxes, keeping track of your inventory costs, and a book’s final sale price (before taxes)to consider. Then you have to figure out just how much you need to make each month to cover your rent and other business-related expenses — on top of that, you need to determine your wages and those of anyone else working for you (and the taxes you need to deduct from said wages).
There’s loads more I’d like to add — but, as this reply is threatening to exceed my original post, I believe I’ll save it all for another time.
Brian,
I agree we are on opposite sides of this question – and I wish you were right because this business is like a magnet for brainy people.
They come to work and within three months they have learned so much they think they know enough. They then start looking for a cozy niche to avoid the continous flow of customers and books and the resulting pressure they bring to search for more knowledge. It is then just a matter of time before their imploding brains snap them back to their old comfort zone boundaries and we have to let them go.
We keep hiring hoping to find another book lover with a work ethic – we are blessed with eight who have settled in and sometimes they can even lift the other seventeen staff to a higher level for short periods of time.
I wish you and all who think like you well and sincerely hope you are onto something that can improve the business for everyone.
George,
Just because someone’s strengths lie on the intellectual side, doesn’t always mean they lack the necessary discipline to see their ideas through. If that were true, then scientist and doctors would’ve given up on findind cures for A.I.D.S. and cancer long ago.
Oh, the bookshop business has more than its fair share of lazy intellectuals, unwilling to adapt and grow as their customers’ needs evolve. However, there are those who hone their intellectual fortitude with the stone of hard work. These are the ones who have the greatest chance of running an outstanding shop.
Neither hard work nor intellect alone are enough to build and maintain a healthy business model. I’m not saying you have to be a qualified genius to open and run a great shop — brilliance doesn’t always equal business success — but having an above average intellect, combined with a solid work ethic, will always give you a leg up.
In regards to your staffing challenges, I can empathize. Finding motivated employees is a problem that plagues the retail world. And, try as you might, there’s no way to constantly motivate people who are not naturally so. But, there are those of us who both love books and like putting in a hard-day’s work. I should know, I’m one of them.
Saying that anyone of average intelligence can run a bookstore is, at the very least, misguided. That would be the equivalent of me saying that almost anyone would make a good actor, decent lawyer or an adequate teacher. Despite the fact that many of us in North America were taught that we could be anything we wanted to be, the truth of the matter is that most of us possess only a handful of talents and skills. Or, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, we only have a certain amount of room in our brain attics.
Will, stamina and a can-do attitude can only carry you so far. Imagination, flexibility, and an ability to adapt to your customers’ needs are what it takes to build a successful bookshop. You may keep a healthy stock of marketable books, but that will do you little good if you aren’t able to draw and retain customers.
I felt great after reading the article that you wrote. What an awesome piece of information. I thank you for having shared with us the information on the topic and for having educated us on the same.
One day last year a young woman came to my shop with her mother and her little boy. She wanted me to put up a poster for a choir concert. Her little boy was in the choir. She rhapsodized about my bookstore. “This is my dream! This is what I want to do! Leave my job in the big city and have a little shop here in Northport!”
“You need a business plan,” I told her very seriously.
“Quit my job and open a little shop here–that’s my plan!” she repeated enthusiastically.
“That’s your dream,” I told her, as her mother nodded and gave the daughter significant looks that said she should listen to me. “Now you need a plan.”
Yes, bookselling has to be a business, or the bookstore won’t last long. Thanks for the reminder. Many dreamers need to hear it.
Excellent posting Brian and perhaps Bruce should permanently pin this one to the top.
P.J., Your comment is 100% right and I hope your words to the young lady sank in. Those are words that can be used through many areas of life.
And Brian, your line, “For anyone aching to open their own book shop, your main motivation should be a love of business.”
I had just about the same advice when I had an opportunity to buy a printing shop. My boss said, “In order to own a print shop you have to be a businessman first and a printer second.” That opened my eyes and i did not buy the place. – As a P.S. to the story… It was a few days after my decision I found the rented property was up for sale and the shop owner/seller had not mentioned that tidbit in his presentation. I wonder if he might have brought it up after I signed the dotted line.
Good advice and kudos again to P.J.
It won’t and shouldn’t stop book lovers from entering this wonderful business but they need to hear and listen to this type of advice without being intimidated by it. It is hard to hit the ball out of the park if you take your eyes off the ball – and our ball is still keeping all marketable books in circulation.
The conglomerates now controlling the books business seem lost or asleep at the master switch that determines the direction books are going are proof that those with a predominantly business approach can screw up.
There is little complicated about a cash business dealing in used goods.
There are many of us in this business who started out as book lovers only to find out that a love of books is not enough. Those of us with the will and the stamina to do the work our business requires can build a great business.
Location, Location, Location
Buy Books, Buy Books, Buy Books
Work, Work, Work.
If the book business hasn’t taught you the validity of this statement “I am thankful this business is more dependent upon my work than my brain” – you might need an attitude adjustment.
Every day brings a new opportunity to learn more about books but the basic workings of this business are not complicated enough to overwhelm anyone of average intelligence.
The level of success you can achieve is only limited by you – your demeanor (how you, your character and your personality come across to your customers) – your intestinal fortitude (the guts to keep creeping beyond your comfort zone) – your money management (managing your money so you can ALWAYS buy books) – and having the work ethic to process every book you buy as quickly as possible to present your customers with fresh stock every day.
Having the guts to find and rent a good location for your store, and then staying there and going along with all the future rent increases, is a very important factor … I would attribute most failures in our business to the reluctance of a books seller to pay a fair rent for a good location.
Shopkeepers who think they have earned their customer’s loyalty and that their customers will follow them when they move to a location with lower rent are invariably proven wrong. If there is loyalty owed it is you, the shopkeeper, who owes it to your existing customers. They shouldn’t be inconvenienced – ever – by your business decisions – all of those decisions should be slanted in only one direction – towards enhancing the benefits you offer them.
Simple … but not easy.
George,
While I appreciate the positive attitude behind your reply, I must respectfully disagree with most of it.
Saying that anyone of average intelligence can run a bookstore is, at the very least, misguided. That would be the equivalent of me saying that almost anyone would make a good actor, decent lawyer or an adequate teacher. Despite the fact that many of us in North America were taught that we could be anything we wanted to be, the truth of the matter is that most of us possess only a handful of talents and skills. Or, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, we only have a certain amount of room in our brain attics.
Will, stamina and a can-do attitude can only carry you so far. Imagination, flexibility, and an ability to adapt to your customers’ needs are what it takes to build a successful bookshop. You may keep a healthy stock of marketable books, but that will do you little good if you aren’t able to draw and retain customers.
There is a certain amount of required physical labour when running your own bookshop, but most of the work will be done by your brain. Keeping your store fresh and competitive demands that you constantly evaluate your store’s layout, merchandising, branding (even if you don’t think you’re a brand, you are)and every minute detail to ensure customers’ wantd and needs are being met.
As for the inherently simple nature of a cash business selling used goods, that is a complete misnomer. There are things like taxes, keeping track of your inventory costs, and a book’s final sale price (before taxes)to consider. Then you have to figure out just how much you need to make each month to cover your rent and other business-related expenses — on top of that, you need to determine your wages and those of anyone else working for you (and the taxes you need to deduct from said wages).
There’s loads more I’d like to add — but, as this reply is threatening to exceed my original post, I believe I’ll save it all for another time.
Brian,
I agree we are on opposite sides of this question – and I wish you were right because this business is like a magnet for brainy people.
They come to work and within three months they have learned so much they think they know enough. They then start looking for a cozy niche to avoid the continous flow of customers and books and the resulting pressure they bring to search for more knowledge. It is then just a matter of time before their imploding brains snap them back to their old comfort zone boundaries and we have to let them go.
We keep hiring hoping to find another book lover with a work ethic – we are blessed with eight who have settled in and sometimes they can even lift the other seventeen staff to a higher level for short periods of time.
I wish you and all who think like you well and sincerely hope you are onto something that can improve the business for everyone.
George,
Just because someone’s strengths lie on the intellectual side, doesn’t always mean they lack the necessary discipline to see their ideas through. If that were true, then scientist and doctors would’ve given up on findind cures for A.I.D.S. and cancer long ago.
Oh, the bookshop business has more than its fair share of lazy intellectuals, unwilling to adapt and grow as their customers’ needs evolve. However, there are those who hone their intellectual fortitude with the stone of hard work. These are the ones who have the greatest chance of running an outstanding shop.
Neither hard work nor intellect alone are enough to build and maintain a healthy business model. I’m not saying you have to be a qualified genius to open and run a great shop — brilliance doesn’t always equal business success — but having an above average intellect, combined with a solid work ethic, will always give you a leg up.
In regards to your staffing challenges, I can empathize. Finding motivated employees is a problem that plagues the retail world. And, try as you might, there’s no way to constantly motivate people who are not naturally so. But, there are those of us who both love books and like putting in a hard-day’s work. I should know, I’m one of them.
Saying that anyone of average intelligence can run a bookstore is, at the very least, misguided. That would be the equivalent of me saying that almost anyone would make a good actor, decent lawyer or an adequate teacher. Despite the fact that many of us in North America were taught that we could be anything we wanted to be, the truth of the matter is that most of us possess only a handful of talents and skills. Or, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, we only have a certain amount of room in our brain attics.
Will, stamina and a can-do attitude can only carry you so far. Imagination, flexibility, and an ability to adapt to your customers’ needs are what it takes to build a successful bookshop. You may keep a healthy stock of marketable books, but that will do you little good if you aren’t able to draw and retain customers.
I felt great after reading the article that you wrote. What an awesome piece of information. I thank you for having shared with us the information on the topic and for having educated us on the same.
http://www.callpills.com