Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello!  My name is Elena. I am new here!

I am a stay-at-home mom and have degrees in music and bilingual education.  (I`ve worked in both fields.)  Recently my DH and I were discussing our dream jobs, and I said I`d like to own/run a children`s bookstore.  Surprisingly, he was all for it.

Here is the concept-- a children`s bookstore that would sell toys (local craftspeople and higher quality/unusual toys).  There would also be a free but small play area, as well as a cafe.  I could possibly have an online component that would push the toys/unique items.  I know people will use Amazon for books!

In my area (a suburban location 20 miles from a major city) there is no chain bookstore or independent bookshop (other than a Christian one) in the actual suburb.  The closest major chain is 4 miles away, so not that far.  23% of the pop. is under the age of 18, and the suburb is growing as people get priced out of the city.

People I`ve talked to (parents and teachers) have thought a bookstore would be great here.  However, everything I`ve read says that bookstores are a dying breed, and pretty much impossible to keep afloat.

Funding possibilities are a local grant (suburb is trying to revitalize the downtown area) and maybe other grants since I am a female and DH is  part of a minority group.  We`d need loans, too.  I may have a few friends willing to invest, but I would worry about this!

I would not be in this to make a fortune (everyone`s idea is different on the actual figure!) but I could obviously not do this to LOSE money in the long term.  I know initially I`d be lucky just to break even.

I don`t have a business plan yet, but I don`t even want to embark on that if there is a close-to-unanimous vote that a business of this nature would fail.

So, what do you think?  Is this something that could work if done well, or is there really no chance for success?

First off, I think this is wonderful...Stop what you are reading if it`s not going to uplift your dream.  Just because the big boxes are here, doesn`t mean there isn`t room for you to be a player in this industry.  Remove any signs of doubt.  You may start out as a bookstore to sedgeway into something else.  It takes a start to get you going in the direction you need to be.  I too have long terms goals, but in the interim, I need to get the ball rolling with my short term ones. 

It would be great to have a local area to for book clubbers as well.

Much success in your endeavor as you process this through.



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Shana Bryan
ImaginationGYM Trainer
eMAGYN
http://www.emagyn.com

There`s a store like this in Ithaca, where my mom and my sister live. What makes it memorable is that it has unique items for sale, hard to find even on the web. It looks to me as if the owner spends a lot of time exploring the Internet, searching out those unusual products.

Like just about any brick-and-mortar store, it`s all about the "main buyer." Yes, accounting, management, customer service, and display matters, but without product, the store means nothing.

Bed, Bath & Beyond rapidly grew to a national franchise on the strength of a consolidated place for kitchen supplies and linens. Then they apparently fired their buyer, and now their inventory never has what I want. Linens & Things has taken over, and I wouldn`t be surprised to hear the BB&B eventually goes out of business. Why?

If you offer unusual items nobody else has, and you develop a reputation as the place to go for children`s "educational items," you`ll succeed. It doesn`t matter what other bookstores are doing...it matters what YOU are doing.

How successful are you at shopping for gifts for children you know? If you often hear that what you bought was amazing, unusual, and fantastic, that`s one thing. But if the children rarely play with whatever you gave them, you`d want to rethink your idea for a store that sells what you believe is a "great" item. See?

Shanna, thank you for the encouragement!  As DH says, I need to keep going until I hit something that says, no-- there is just no way.  He says it`s too soon to give up!

Craig, good to hear you know of such a store that succeeds!  As for your question-- do I choose good gifts-- tough to tell.  I do think I am able to find the latest new toy/idea, but not commercial ones.  However, I am afraid of parents` reactions of something unusual, so I usually just give books!  (And these are well-received.)  My own children are anomalies-- they don`t play with too many toys!  My oldest (6) makes her own toys and reads constantly, my middle child (2) is TV obsessed or has me read to her , and my little one does play with toys, but I`m sure that will stop!  However, my sister has 5 children that I can use to test drive things . . .they own/actually play with the kinds of things I`d buy for my shop.  (They do like my gifts!)

homebased-- yes!  I was absolutely going to do the b-day party thing!  I think if I can get people to be EXCITED about reading and make it a party, what better job would there be?  I see how touched my own children are by the books we have everywhere (reading is so much a part of their lives), that I want to bring that to every family.  I have many ideas of how to use the bookstore to make it a place where young people (and hopefully their parents!) would want to really get into books.  I think too often the goal of reading (by parents and educators) is on the task of reading vs. the pleasure of reading.  It`s so sad.  I know there is a lot of pressure (like No Child Left Behind), but it is robbing our children of pure joy-- not to mention true learning. 

I think my biggest fear is just losing EVERYTHING.  I can`t do that to my family. Again, I would not be in this to make gobs of money, but I would need enough to keep the business going.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments!

Keep in mind that the store I referenced is successful in particular because they`re not a "book store." They have many of the better children`s books, but that`s not their primary draw. Nor are they an educational children`s toy store. It`s the blend, and in particular, the unusual aspect of their inventory. 

I hear ya, Craig.  I think what I`d need (along with good inventory) are extra ideas (in the form of events, workshops, etc.) to bring people in . . .I have some ideas that go beyond what is currently offered.

And as for the "educational toys," I have my ideas on what they constitute.  I don`t think they are the type that teacher stores sell.  I find children know when they are being tricked into being taught, if that makes sense . . .and it is not authentic for them, so they don`t learn much.  My toys would be much more child-driven, to give them the springs that would set them into their true work-- the work of play.

My concerns are still-- (1) would I have the money to keep the business going while it grew (2) would a recession support this kind of business and (3) is the downtown of my suburb going somewhere, or is it just dead? 

So, I think for these I need to get a business plan into writing (I saw the thread where business plans are somewhat controversial, but I would truly benefit from one).  Then, I am going to go to my local SCORE office (thanks to this board, I found the group existed).  I think that will help me decide if I should go forward or not.

Thank you for the continued help!

1. Everyone with a new business has this worry. Unless you`re bootstrapping, which I don`t think is a good idea for a brick-and-mortar store (my opinion), the last I heard is to try to have 1 year of operating expenses set aside.
2. A recession doesn`t affect everyone the same way. People who have money, will have less but tend to still have money. In most cases, people tend to spend money on their kids. Instead of high-end electronics and games, they`d likely downsize and look at books and games, toys and other such items you`d likely carry. It depends on the financial demographcis of your area.
3. You can do some judicious analysis on the future of your local downtown area by talking with other business owners, perhaps attending city council meetings, and looking into zoning records, in my opinion. You also likely have a fairly good "feel" for the downtown area. If it seems to be thriving now, it`ll likely continue for awhile. Generally, again, my opinion, if a town is run by conservatives it tends to grow. If it`s run by liberals, it ends up looking like a bombed out shell over time. :-)