Do you have any good links or recommendations on informational books for a person considering opening an independent bookstore/cafe in a small (central-northern California) town which doesn't have a bookshop of any kind at the moment? Is that a totally insane idea? Do indie bookshops ever even break even, let alone make money?
Ugh. I don't. I'm not sure there are any good links for that :/. I don't think it's a totally insane idea, but it would depend on a number of things, one being population base (is it near a University or a College?). I think independent bookstores can break even, and there are some fabulous examples out there -- there are probably more examples of stores that don't. In Toronto, among the best of the bookstores is Book City, which is a small chain, owned by one man. He started out with one store, expanded, and in constantly involved with all aspects; he's a big of a character.
One of the ways in which the stores have made money is by his excellent pursuit of interesting remainders, because the mark-ups on those are much higher. But this involves a lot of driving; it's a huge time-sink.
The up front capital is high, as well, because you have to stock books, and you have to keep the inventory at a certain level. Without having any idea of what the level of sales are like, it's hard to figure out what the base inventory should be; some stores will start with 200K, if they're large and general, and some with as little as 80K. That, shelving, leases -- we'll assume that salaries aren't as much of an issue if they're starting very small -- mean the up front cost can be high.
Publishers want, in theory, net 30 days payment, which means 30 days from the date of the invoice.
When you open an account, there's usually a minimum order that has to be placed, and it has to be paid for up front. The amount of inventory you can subsequently order will be dependent on the credit limit set for the account by the distributor/publisher, and with new accounts, that limit can be as low as 500.00 (very low) to 2,000.00 (low).
Yes, you can break even, but as in any business, I think the first year (or two) are expected to run at a net loss.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2004-11-30 11:31 pm (UTC)Ugh. I don't. I'm not sure there are any good links for that :/. I don't think it's a totally insane idea, but it would depend on a number of things, one being population base (is it near a University or a College?). I think independent bookstores can break even, and there are some fabulous examples out there -- there are probably more examples of stores that don't. In Toronto, among the best of the bookstores is Book City, which is a small chain, owned by one man. He started out with one store, expanded, and in constantly involved with all aspects; he's a big of a character.
One of the ways in which the stores have made money is by his excellent pursuit of interesting remainders, because the mark-ups on those are much higher. But this involves a lot of driving; it's a huge time-sink.
The up front capital is high, as well, because you have to stock books, and you have to keep the inventory at a certain level. Without having any idea of what the level of sales are like, it's hard to figure out what the base inventory should be; some stores will start with 200K, if they're large and general, and some with as little as 80K. That, shelving, leases -- we'll assume that salaries aren't as much of an issue if they're starting very small -- mean the up front cost can be high.
Publishers want, in theory, net 30 days payment, which means 30 days from the date of the invoice.
When you open an account, there's usually a minimum order that has to be placed, and it has to be paid for up front. The amount of inventory you can subsequently order will be dependent on the credit limit set for the account by the distributor/publisher, and with new accounts, that limit can be as low as 500.00 (very low) to 2,000.00 (low).
Yes, you can break even, but as in any business, I think the first year (or two) are expected to run at a net loss.