Booksellers Think Strategically About New Business Models

Last month’s Winter Institute session “How to Create New Business Models Through Strategic Thinking” revealed how indie booksellers are using their ingenuity and their roots in the community to come up with new ways to grow book sales. The discussion, moderated by ABA COO Len Vlahos and featuring Casey Coonerty Protti of Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, and Roxanne Coady of R. J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut, has motivated a number of attendees to look at their businesses with fresh eyes.

Liza Bernard of The Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, Vermont, told BTW that, while Coonerty Protti and Coady outlined their own business challenges, “the workshop was about how to think about our own issues, not necessarily what other shops do to deal with their issues. By definition, independent bookselling is about not being a ‘cookie cutter’ type industry, and focusing on the creative approach, instead of the solution, was very helpful.”

To help “sort out some things that [she] may be too close to actually see,” Bernard is contemplating forming a board of advisors. Even though she relies on her “great business partner” as a sounding board, having a regular focus group to run ideas by, as discussed by the panelists, sounded “positive … and scary,” Bernard said. “Casey and Roxanne have different kinds of advisory boards, and we would need to create one that fits our community and store. We will definitely explore this idea further.”

Robert Sindelar of Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington, also thinks that creating a board of advisors is a smart way to get regular and valuable feedback. “Roxanne’s advisory board was very inspiring to me,” he said. “The idea to force yourself into the potentially uncomfortable position of having people you trust and respect discuss and analyze your business struck me as something few of us would be brave enough to do. I’m contemplating doing something similar here.”

Based on something Coady does at R.J. Julia, Third Place has already launched a management team bookclub that has staff reading and discussing business books and how they apply to the store. “I thought this was such a great idea that we started one here,” Sindelar said. “We are reading Getting Things Done by David Allen and had our first meeting about it yesterday – so far so good. Also, no matter how many ABA sessions I have attended that talked about the power of customer surveys, it wasn’t until I heard Casey’s real-life example that I finally realized that we are overdue to do one of our own.”

Besse Lynch of The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado, also found Coonerty Protti’s approach to gathering market information directly from customers useful. “We have periodically polled our customers at the Bookworm, but sometimes we fall behind on the follow through. Casey really drove home the importance of using the information you gather to take action or to make changes where needed.”

Both Lynch and Sindelar also now plan to set aside time away from the store for brainstorming. Lynch said, “We often get caught up in the day-to-day operations and demands of bookstore life and sometimes forget to really think about what we want the next few years to look like, not just the next few months.”

“The SWOT [Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats] diagram outlined by Len Vlahos is something that I personally will implement in my event and marketing plans to be sure that I am staying in line with all of my long-term goals,” said Lynch. The SWOT session handout is designed to help identify a business’ core strengths and competencies, as well internal weaknesses and outside threats, to enable owners and managers to best take advantage of opportunities.

Lynch plans to use the worksheet to brainstorm about the best types of events to host. “Because we are not located in an urban area, we have to be very selective about the types of events we do,” Lynch said. “I plan on using the diagram to think seriously about what kinds of events benefit the whole store, and to decide where we should focus the majority of our energy, so that we have better outcomes. The same thing is true of our marketing strategies. When working with limited resources, you must find a way to methodically trim the fat. We must always focus on the things that are best for our store, not the things that are just okay.”

“How to Create New Business Models Through Strategic Thinking” session handouts – a bibliography of top books on business strategy, Bookshop Santa Cruz’s customer survey, and the SWOT diagram – which were provided to all Wi6 bookseller attendees on a jumpdrive, are  available for download by all ABA members on BookWeb.org.