Category: Oct 18-19, 2021 – Day 1 Cohort B

Plenary Notes, Oct 18-19, 2021

October 18 Opening Remarks October 18 Evening News October 19 News and Announcements October 19 Closing October 18 Opening Remarks Praven Madan’s introduction HELLOOOOO EVERYONE! WELCOME.  Thank you all for joining us today for, what we hope, will be a pivotal gathering for bookstores and our communities. My name is Praveen Madan and for my… Continue reading Plenary Notes, Oct 18-19, 2021

New books are the lifeblood of a bookstore, a room full of books. How do you keep your passion and stay on top of the season, make discoveries?

Host: Patricia Nelson Participants: Madi Mullen, Missy from Katy Budget Books, Diana Montano, Hannah Harlow, Nasim Ghasemiyeh, Kristianne, Kelly Munn Notes:  Bookstores have to do so many things – but bringing in the new books, the discipline of it, are sales rep relationships outdated? Etc. or anything related to this topic Patricia: Recently at an… Continue reading New books are the lifeblood of a bookstore, a room full of books. How do you keep your passion and stay on top of the season, make discoveries?

What revenue streams are people using for increased wages?

Host:  Amanda, Kepler’s Participants: Eric – Mrs. Dalloways Suzanna – Oblong Books Roy – Rozzie Bound (“Rozzie” = Roslindale, Mass) Shelley – Blue Heron Books Kristin – Hicklebee’s  Carolee – Kepler’s Alex – Publisher’s Weekly Eileen – One More Page Books Irene & Melissa – Beacon Hill Books Scott – author Esme – Firestorm Books… Continue reading What revenue streams are people using for increased wages?

How can we create an ongoing sense of mentorship, especially for newer booksellers to help them create sustainable careers?

Host:  Stephanie Heinz Participants: Ruth (PRH), Stephanie (Print), Donna (Kepler’s), Kim (Third Place Books), Charlie (Kepler’s), Nasim (Alta Journal) Notes: What has been done? Used to have Emerging Leaders and then Indies Forward Emerging Leaders kind of petered out as people moved into management & ownership DEIC was a direct result of Indies Forward’s work… Continue reading How can we create an ongoing sense of mentorship, especially for newer booksellers to help them create sustainable careers?

Non-profit models for bookstores

Host:  Donna Paz Kaufman Notes:  Sara from Charis (Atlanta) and Ryan (Open Book in Chicago) shared their structures, how they evolved and how they work best. Charis has several entities: a for-profit bookstore and two no-profit initiatives. What general booksellers consider author events are considered programs. Open Book is 100% non-profit. Bookstore revenues help fulfill… Continue reading Non-profit models for bookstores

How can bookstores leverage the market for independent/small-press books to be more inclusive in connecting readers and authors?

Host:  Vanessa MacLaren-Wray Participants: Charlie Kruse, Dick (VisionWorks), Humaira Ghilzae, Christopher Miya (Heyday), Madi Mulluen (libro)  Notes:  Our group successfully posed a lot of good questions, though not so many answers. Mainly, we learned that there’s a will to connect small-press/indie-pub books with indie bookstores and a need for creativity and awareness of constraints on… Continue reading How can bookstores leverage the market for independent/small-press books to be more inclusive in connecting readers and authors?

How can we shift indie bookstores from a commodity offering to a “category of one” by creating one or more Grand Slam Offers?

Host:  Jill Hendrix Participants: BradleyJones/ Morgan Hill Bookstore in CA, woman from Berrett Koehler, Carol from BookPeople, a couple of latecomers Notes:  Inspired by book $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi Books are commodities that are easily price-shopped. With chains/online/ebooks, indie bookstores no longer have book monopolies in their communities. How do we get that back… Continue reading How can we shift indie bookstores from a commodity offering to a “category of one” by creating one or more Grand Slam Offers?

How can cooperative ownership (worker and/or consumer) provide an alternative to traditional economic models?

Host: Roy Karp at Rozzie Bound (Boston, MA) (roy@rozziebound.com)  Participants: Suzanna, Amanda, Charlie, Kristin Hall, Beth, Nathan, Kristen, Esme, Jamilah, Rebecca, Hannah, Stephanie Heinz Notes:  Introductions – popcorn Roy – Rozzie Bound, aspiring cooperative in Boston Jamillah – House of Page, worker-owned bookstore in Georgia ? Rebecca – Rediscover Books, looking to become a coop… Continue reading How can cooperative ownership (worker and/or consumer) provide an alternative to traditional economic models?

Young people are the future but teenagers don’t frequently read books or go to bookstores. How can Indie bookstores attract teenagers?

Host:  Perla Ni Participants: Perla, CEO CommunityConnect Labs Notes: Problem statement: Young people are the future and they are not reading books frequently, or going into bookstores frequently.   Ideas: Bookstores can better fulfill teenager’s needs: place to meet up, hang out with friends, impress a date Make bookstores a place for teens to hang out:… Continue reading Young people are the future but teenagers don’t frequently read books or go to bookstores. How can Indie bookstores attract teenagers?

How can indie bookstores get the kind of public support that libraries, etc. get to alleviate the financial burdens?

Host: Tanya Mills  Participants: Eileen McGervey, Diana Montano, Robert Martin, Joan Griffin McCabe, Veronica Liu, Andy Hunter (John Mutter, Pam Grange, Kevin Smokler, Ethan Nosowsky, Aziza stopped by) Notes:  Are there “grants” that bookstores can apply for that are similar to the kind of support themselves like libraries? Asking Veronica: wondering about founding of Word… Continue reading How can indie bookstores get the kind of public support that libraries, etc. get to alleviate the financial burdens?