Owning A Bookstore: The Essential Planning Guide

What you’ll discover in Owning A Bookstore: The Essential Planning Guide:
-
The Book Industry
- Learn about the book industry, the trends and statistics, glossary of bookstore and book industry jargon, and book industry publications for the latest industry news -
Decision-Reaching Process
- What skills are required when you own and manage a bookstore and the activities involved in daily operations, profiles of bookstores who have recently won the U.S. “Bookstore of the Year” award -
Vision
- Ideas and information about choosing a name and logo and developing an independent bookstore with tangible competitive advantages, a strong foundation for a successful launch -
Financial Dynamics
- Learn how much it will cost to open a bookstore, how to use industry averages to project your sales and expenses, and the essential elements for a business plan for an independent bookstore -
Location
- The language of a lease is a whole different language altogether and this chapter, written by veteran lease negotiator Gerry DeWulf, spells out the details and provides a sample lease -
Store Design
- Learn about the importance of creating a special sense of place and work through planning exercises designed to help you develop your bookstore’s unique character -
Fixtures
- Bookstore fixtures need strength and flexibility and you’ll see a number of common fixtures used in bookstores -
Inventory
- We’ll demystify how you put together your opening order, how much it will cost, and the resources to help you create a selection with thousands and thousands of books ... and fun non-book merchandise too -
Computerizing
- Do not purchase an off-the-shelf POS software package! It simply does not work for the complexity of the bookstore world where you need to be able to import data from databases of millions of titles. Your computer system is not only your cash register, but your primary tool for buying and inventory management ... and is key to your ability to make a profit. -
Human Resources
- Learn about staffing requirements, your payroll budget, and the important characteristics to look for when recruiting booksellers. Prior bookstore experience shouldn’t necessarily top the list! -
Marketing
- Bookstore marketing budgets are small, so you want to get the mileage out of everything you do or pay for to help drive traffic to your website and make your cash register ring. -
Operations
- There are soft openings and grand openings, theft and inventory ‘shrink’ plus many other elements of managing a retail business.