[kurttheviking]

my wife and I have a new side project: we're opening a bookshop! the last local store is closing due to retirement and we figure the community demand is still there. we're negotiating the lease, sorting out how to order a lot of bookshelves, and source the initial inventory. i'm currently figuring out how to connect our point of sale system to our accounting software. good times. :)

[101008]

I hope you succeed. This would be a dream of mine, have a cozy bookshop, with maybe a cafe, or something like that. The world deserves more bookstores, they are beautiful and each one is unique. Honestly, I wish you the best and, as someone who would love to live it through but possibly won't, I'd love if you start a weekly newsletter telling what you are doing/learning in the process!

[kurttheviking]

yeah, it was the same for us. really one day we woke up, talked about it, and agreed, why not. worst case, i'll work a few more years than i had originally planned or whatever. best cast, we have delivered a valuable service to the community and can work on it for many years. my wife will be full time and it's very much her dream too. i hadn't thought of the newsletter but that's such a good idea...stay tuned, i might dm you.

[hallman76]

I'm pretty sure that the owners of Belmont Books in Belmont, MA also opened their store out of a love of bookstores & the community surrounding it. Best of luck to you! https://www.belmontbooks.com/ (no affiliation)

[gmichnikov]

This is my hometown, fun to see this here. I've never been, but it sounds great.

[EasyMark]

Even if you can’t have a full service cafe, having a commercial coffee brewer (do they make tea ones?) could add that extra oomph. I like nothing more than sitting at a table and perusing my new book while sipping on some hot coffee or tea.

[thedangler]

What accounting is it and what POS? Cuz for $15/m I have one that connects with Quickbooks online and xero natively. Would be more than enough for a bookstore / coffee. It’s well know and used all over the world.

[shiroiushi]

>sorting out how to order a lot of bookshelves

I've heard that IKEA "Billy" bookshelves are very popular, including among people who heavily customize them into creations that look nothing like the original.

[SoftTalker]

Or, why not buy them from the shop that's closing? Or buy the whole business?

[seafoamteal]

That's lovely. I'm still in university, but one thing I've wanted to do since I was a kid is to have a small bookshop or library later in life. Thanks for showing me it can be done!

[anonzzzies]

Ah, my wife and I have always wanted to do the same. We would like to make it a bookshop for dog charity. Hope we get there some day as well. Keep up the good work!

[swaptr]

Awesome! Are you planning to build a bookshop or something more like a library?

[kurttheviking]

we have a really great local library system where i live so what we're working on is definitely more a local store. we'll have a mix of titles based on our knowledge of community preferences (my wife is also a writer and knows much more than me about the local scene), seasonal titles (e.g. featuring new and old horror titles in october), plus events like author readings and educational seminars.

[replwoacause]

My wife and I have fantasized about this too. Good luck!!

[edm0nd]

That sounds pretty cool!

What kind of margins do book stores typically have?

[kurttheviking]

at full retail price, you're often looking at 40-50% for books...but then everything goes on sale at some point. sideline merch (think the stuffed animals in the kids section) can get 60%+. but after rent, expenses, etc. we're just hoping to break even in year 1. the math suggests its possible but we're about to find out empirically. in the end, most evidence also suggests there are a lot easier ways to make $30k net a year. but it's a community project as a much as a business.

[greenie_beans]

the aba does a yearly survey and last one i read, 2% profit was the average

[boogiemath]

This is wonderful!

[joeevans1000]

You are wonderful!

[kurttheviking]

thanks! my wife and i both really like local bookstores and often stop into them when we travel. and you know, you only live once...so why not.