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Let me talk a little bit about the bookstore and my goals for it.
When I made my pitch for it, one of the things I pointed out is that my skills include working within limitations in a way that makes them strengths.
When I made my pitch for it, one of the things I pointed out is that my skills include working within limitations in a way that makes them strengths.
Opening a bookstore in a little annex about the size of a small hallway that also has to function as a hallway (it leads to the elevator and the restrooms) means it can't serve the function of even an airport bookstore in terms of stocking books.
You could use that space to replicate the book aisle at a chain drugstore if you wanted to, but people aren't going to a bar already looking for the latest reliably popular mysteries and romances.
So I guess the first thing we need to ask is - why do this? Why put a bookstore in a bar? The short answer is "to make money", but as anyone who has sold books in any capacity knowshaving books available for sale is *not* a solid business plan.
As I see it, the main way a bookstore makes a bar money is that it brings people in. Those people might spend money on books, they might spend money on food and drinks, they might tell their friends about this cool, cute, chill place that sells food and drink and books.
So that means not trying to stock the same things you can sell in any drugstore or airport anywhere in the country... stocking things people want, but also stuff that people might not know about, stuff they would want if they saw it.
My business plan isn't to *not* try to sell books but my operating assumption is that if I get people in the door, they'll spend money. So my first goal is to get people in the door.
The space I'm working with is *amazing* but also kind of a too-well-kept secret. It's tucked away out of sight, down an alley and literally halfway down the stairs. (Note: there's also an elevator.)
Downtown Hagerstown has been undergoing construction for most of the summer, which hasn't made it easier to get foot traffic or attention for someplace that's tucked out of the way and out of sight.
Now, I have a moderate sized following online. This isn't going to translate to automatic success because of the people following me, most of them aren't conveniently close to western Maryland.
But it gives me a leg up in getting any bookstore content to go viral.
But it gives me a leg up in getting any bookstore content to go viral.
So when I get the bookstore up and running, if I can get people talking about it... it increases the odds that people in town or nearby find out about it, too.
So that's my goal here: create the kind of space that gets people talking. If I can do that, I think I can make the bookstore a going concern and grow the business of the parent space, the bar/cafe.
It's a different challenge than running a pure retail store, where success would require me to personally make payroll, pay the rent, keep the lights on. Instead, my bookstore is successful if it makes the Flying Camel more successful.
For anyone who missed my earlier announcement and doesn't know what I'm talking about, this is the space I'm working with:
Yeah, the Camel has been doing individual author events and has some writer meet-ups. I think something like this could be a good potential addition to the calendar, down the line.
It will be both! I'll be on hand some of the time operating the store. When I'm not, people will still be able to pay for their selections inside the restaurant. So eye-catching displays and internet buzz are a big part of my overall strategy.
