What goes into being a bookstore owner
As I am listening to an audiobook that includes stories from bookstore owners, I am hearing some of the pros and cons.
All have mentioned they were life long readers. Most did not set out to be bookstore owners. Many had other aspirations such as publishing, writing and other pursuits. The business side of being an owner can sometimes take over their dreams of recommending books, meeting authors and creating displays. This can be the case for many entrepreneurs. An example is a person has a passion for teaching yoga so they open up a yoga studio. So much of their time is spent paying bills, marketing, hiring, cleaning … they aren’t enjoying their original mission.
All have mentioned the ideal situation of putting the perfect book in the hands of the customer in search of a good read. Many recall doubts about the viability of opening a brick and mortar store when the internet seems to be taking over sales. Their mission is to find a niche that will bring in a loyal set of customers plus the drop in traffic.
This resonates with me because I can fully understand the yoga analogy. Mastery School was an immense undertaking and finding the joy in what we were doing had to be a conscious effort once we realized how easily the admin side could take over. I also would be scared to open a book store with the internet taking over yet there’s nothing like walking through them and really taking the time to look around. I genuinely hope they never become a thing of the past and in addition to that I hope more libraries are refurbished rather than closed down because libraries are my ultimate favorite❤️
ReplyDelete