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Bookstores across the country, like so many small businesses, are struggling to survive amid calls for social distancing and shelter-in-place ordinances. Some shopps are turning to crowdfunding to stay alive,
while others are embracing online sales--in some cases, for the first
time ever. Even giants like New York's Strand Book Store and Powell's
City of Books in Portland, OR, had to lay off their staffs. (Powell's
was able to hire back some to help with the groundswell of online
orders.)
The challenge comes as many bookstores have redefined themselves in the past decade as community spaces as a way to offer something Amazon can't. As recently as last year, people celebrated the renewed success of independent booksellers, buoyed by a 6.9 percent increase in hardcover book sales and in-person events that attracted crowds of buyers. In 2018, bookstore sales hit $10.28 billion, a 1.7% increase for an industry many had written off in the age of digital downloads...
With so many decades of experience in an already challenging business, Thomas has some advice for small business owners. "What's really been important to me is to build good relationships with the people you might sometimes be in conflict with: your vendors and your landlords," she says. "If you just build super-honest, transparent relationships with everybody from the get-go, and say, 'This is who I am, this is what I can do,' and if there's a month that you can't pay for all of it, or [payment] has to be slow, tell them. If there's a problem, call them, reach out."
Read more...
Source: Inc.
