{"id":42371,"date":"2019-11-18T10:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=42371"},"modified":"2021-04-27T15:47:57","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T19:47:57","slug":"women-owned-bookstores-find-success-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/women-owned-bookstores-find-success-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"These Women Opened Bookstores, Even When Friends & Family Said It Was a Bad Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opening an independent bookstore in an age when print is supposed to be dead may seem like a risk not worth taking, but female literary lovers across the country are finding innovative ways to start this new chapter in their lives.<\/p>\n

It just takes long hours, a lot of hard work \u2014 and a taste for dramatic irony.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiterally my family and friends said, \u2018Do not open a feminist bookstore,\u2019\u201d said Kalima DeSuze, owner of Cafe con Libros<\/a>, which opened in 2017 in Brooklyn, New York. \u201cEvery day I find a reason to be insecure about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But DeSuze echoed other business owners when she said her store provides a welcoming space for the community \u201cthat feeds our souls\u201d \u2014 even if it is not yet turning a profit.<\/p>\n

According to the American Booksellers Association<\/a>, there has been steady growth of indie bookstores across the country, with stores operating in more than 2,500 locations in 2019 \u2014 compared with roughly 1,600 locations a decade ago.<\/p>\n

While an ABA spokesman was not able to say how many of the group\u2019s members are female owned, it appears there is no shortage of women getting into the book business. In New York City, Christine Onorati opened the first WORD Bookstore<\/a> in 2007, Lexi Beach created The Astoria Bookshop<\/a> in 2013, Emma Straub founded Books Are Magic<\/a> in 2017, and No\u00eblle Santos established The Lit. Bar<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>An Enterprising Woman Makes Bringing Books to the Bronx Her Business<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

And, perhaps more importantly, store sales are on the rise. According to the ABA, overall profits in 2018 increased by nearly 5 percent over the previous year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is a result of the fact that indie booksellers remain a resilient and entrepreneurial group \u2014 and that independent bookstores offer a unique and unparalleled opportunity for the discovery of new authors and great writing,\u201d said spokesman Dan Cullen.<\/p>\n

These bookstore owners are keeping the love of reading alive through more than just the printed word, however. Sellers make daily decisions about what else might appeal to their customers and drive revenue, and they have branched out into artisanal tea and coffee, CBD and cannabis products, and even sex toys.<\/p>\n

Socks bearing the likeness of Supreme Court Justice and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg don\u2019t hurt, either.<\/p>\n

To celebrate National Novel Writing Month<\/a>, The Story Exchange talked to independent bookstore owners who shared stories about success, business practices, and what keeps them up late at night \u2014 when they\u2019re not reading the latest release, of course.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Gertrude Stein\u2019 of Sag Harbor<\/h5>\n
\"Taylor
Taylor Rose Berry in one of her PopUp shops at Grindstone Donuts in Sag Harbor. She rebranded her own store as Berry & Co. and sells more than just books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Harbor Books had to leave its high-rent post on Main Street in the relaxed eastern Long Island enclave of Sag Harbor, Taylor Rose Berry immediately saw a rebranding opportunity. She found a cheaper location in May, re-dubbed the store Berry & Co.<\/a>, and doubled down on a new niche.<\/p>\n

Berry still carries bestsellers, but she has expanded into what she calls \u201cwitchy stuff,\u201d such as a tarot section, and she also started Roving Books, collections that she curates for other stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a book lover \u2014 that\u2019s why I got into this,\u201d Berry said. But, \u201cit\u2019s no secret that books don\u2019t have the greatest profit margin, so that is why you will see a lot of independent bookstores branching out to different things.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said Dobra Tea<\/a> and cannabis lifestyle products \u2014 which range from edibles to lubricant \u2014 comprise 40 percent of her business, while books and book-related merchandise make up 60 percent of overall sales.<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>Megan Rapinoe Joins Sister\u2019s Cannabis Startup<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

Since Sag Harbor is a seasonal community, she is thinking of starting a mobile book project and a subscription service for customers who leave for the city come fall.<\/p>\n

Despite the high overhead costs, Berry said running a brick-and-mortar store year-round is still a big draw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a gaggle of kids I\u2019ve watched grow up hanging out in our children\u2019s section, and we have writers and writers\u2019 groups that come on our porch for tea,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s something about that salon-esque feel. I\u2019ve always wanted to be the Gertrude Stein of Sag Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she could sell wares out of her home office, Berry said she would lose something more meaningful.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou miss the real engagement that makes books what they are,\u201d she said. \u201cI would miss seeing my readers and talking to them about what they were reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

Living eight minutes from her store, and reading eight books a week \u2014 which she then posts about on social media \u2014 has paid off for Berry. This year she anticipates 25 percent growth in sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll entrepreneurs think at some point that you\u2019re an island unto yourself,\u201d Berry said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a wonderful gift to be able to own your own business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018Writer in a Candy Store\u2019<\/h5>\n
\"Nina
Nina Barrett is an author and the owner of Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston, Illinois. (Credit: Ned Schaub)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Nina Barrett transitioned from publishing to another kind of book business, it was at the height of the e-reader frenzy. \u201cA lot of people thought that e-readers were going to destroy the book industry,” she said. “But that isn\u2019t what happened.”<\/p>\n

After receiving a master\u2019s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, working in a feminist bookstore, and penning a few books herself \u2014 she is the author, most recently, of \u201cThe Leopold and Loeb Files\u201d<\/a> \u2014 she decided to open her shop, Bookends & Beginnings<\/a>. Working at a bookshop is \u201clike a writer working in a candy store,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The store, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, sits in a \u201cvery low-rent\u201d spot in an alleyway in Evanston, Illinois, near Barrett\u2019s alma mater. Barrett used her own money to get going, spending about $20,000 on used books to fill her rustic, wooden shelves \u2014 all of which she purchased at a discount from another store going out of business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been profitable,\u201d she said. \u201cWe never borrowed money. We\u2019ve been conservative. It has a certain rustic charm, but it was never fancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another part of the charm? \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have any crap,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things about this business, you need to stay engaged in a day-to-day way with your community,\u201d Barrett said. \u201cI think of it as a conversation I\u2019m having with my customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>Stacy Ratner is in Business to do Good<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

She orders new releases and maintains a children\u2019s section but doesn’t carry commercial franchise titles (such as Disney or Star Wars) to differentiate herself from her competitor, Barnes & Noble, half a block away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe very selectively pick,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I\u2019m looking for is more low-profile stuff that [customers] might not find somewhere else, and that makes browsing still a part of the bookstore experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barrett, who opened her store at age 54 after raising a family with her librarian husband, cautioned other aspiring sellers to be realistic about the industry. Right now, as a solo entrepreneur supporting three full-time and several part-time employees, she is calculating whether to move to a main street location for more visibility and foot traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people start a bookstore because they think it\u2019s cute and quaint, and you\u2019re going to sit around and read all day,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a business, and you need to run it like a business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u2018Black Feminist\u2019 Book Lover<\/h5>\n

For Kalima DeSuze, opening a bookstore was a political act.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack feminism changed my life, so for me not to center my bookstore on that would be a contradiction to who I am,\u201d she said. \u201cI had a lot of pushback, but I think there\u2019s something very important and transgressive about having a space specifically about women.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeSuze, who has an infant son and a full-time job as assistant director for field education at Hunter College to make ends meet, opened Cafe con Libros in Brooklyn in 2017.<\/p>\n

The intimate shop and cafe features books by bell hooks, Octavia Butler, Elizabeth Acevedo and the popular science fiction writer N.K. Jemisin.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery story in there is about affirmation and acknowledgment of women\u2019s roles,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just different stories about women and for women.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeSuze and her husband took out a business loan to open the store, and she said a lot of their money goes toward overhead and paying back what they borrowed. Most of the revenue currently comes from coffee and pastries.<\/p>\n

[Related: <\/i>Kerrine Bryan: Career Themed Children\u2019s Picture Books<\/i><\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI want it to be sustainable, I want it to thrive, but I\u2019m not seeing profits just yet,\u201d she said, adding that she struggles with \u201ctime, energy, and sometimes feeling uncertain about how to go about asking for mentorship. I haven\u2019t really leveraged the community as well as I should have in terms of asking for support and ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, DeSuze is embracing the community aspect of her small jewel in Brooklyn\u2019s Crown Heights neighborhood. Her son makes frequent appearances, and a group of his friends come every Saturday and hang out in the children\u2019s section.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want this to continue being a community-centered space where people can come together,\u201d she said. \u201cOf course I want to grow our revenue, and be a space where you can order coffee, books, gifts for your whole family. We hold a special place in people\u2019s hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article has been edited to clarify that Nina Barrett opened Bookends & Beginnings with her own savings and maintains a children’s section.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Booksellers across the country said they were looking for joy, community and profits when they opened their stores. 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