Owning a Bookstore: Opportunities to Learn the Business

Any bookseller currently in business will tell you that retail bookselling requires knowledge specific to the book industry as well as the necessary skills to run a successful small business. Two pitfalls that prospective booksellers should avoid is lack of training and inadequate funding.

The workshop retreat “Owning a Bookstore: The Business Essentials” will take place March 19 - 23 on Amelia Island (near Jacksonville, Florida). The week will include key topics such as strategies for making a profit in retail bookselling, best practices for driving sales, achieving efficiencies with a computerized management system, creating a distinctive sense of place with store design and merchandising, buying and managing inventory, and much more. More than 12 trainers, including a regional Small Business Administration loan officer, will provide in-depth training. The workshop curriculum will also include an overview of the American Booksellers Association’s products and services from ABA Content Officer Dan Cullen.

Co-sponsored by ABA, the workshop is offered in March and September of each year and is facilitated by Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman of The Bookstore Training Group of Paz & Associates. ABA members are eligible for up to a $200 discount on tuition. For details, visit PazBookBiz.com [1] or call (800) 260-8605.