Opening a store is a crazy ride!

It's been a while since I have updated on this blog. So sorry! Things have been going at lightning speed!

Our landlord says they will hopefully be done with the building August 20th. That is less than two weeks away! I can't believe it! There are still so many things I would like to get done before we move in, so that we can open faster.

Opening a store is a crazy ride! I have told people that I make about 1000 decisions a day. No joke! It's amazing the amount of things to decide - between product, books, the building, employee issues, POS systems, event planning, advertising, etc. It's all good, but just alot!

Some of my favorite things to do have been: picking out books, planning events, & talking to people about the store. Things I don't like: figuring out the POS/Inventory system (but Mike does, so it works out well), spending lots of money, & having my house taken over by boxes & store supplies. Yikes! Since I'm one that hates visual clutter, I will be glad when we move things out of the house very soon. Five of our rooms are taken over with boxes & supplies! It's kind of crazy around here.

I just started sorting through used books. I am so excited about all the new & used books we will have at the store! They are pretty awesome! Not to mention the other products that we will be selling. I am also excited for the kid's area! We are planning some very unique & special things for it. One young lady in particular, Sam, is working hard to make it very special. I can't wait to see her work!

I also have met some very wonderful people in the process of looking for consignment artwork. I met with a local family last week who will be showcasing their talents at the store. I just sat there listening to them & thinking - "what a gift these people have - how do they do it?" Extremely talented people always make me say that. I just stand in awe of their gifts. One of my favorite things to do is to encourage people to accomplish their dreams. It's one of the best things in life!

Another interesting thing that is happening is that we are now accepting applications for a part-time person. Reading through some applications is quite interesting! I'll let you just ponder what that means! I am praying & hoping that we will find the perfect fit for the store - as this person will be key as we open & get going.

Well, I need to get going. On today's agenda: talking with my dad about employment issues (he has owned several businesses through the years & is extremely knowledgable), sort books, clean the house, pay store bills (Mike does this), maybe take a nap & read a book for an hour or so,(I just got a couple more in that I want to read.), & spend time with Mike & Zack later today. Summer is going by so fast & Zack will be leaving for school soon.

I hope this gives you an idea of what goes into starting a bookstore. It can be summed up in one word: LOTS.

The Great Neighborhood Book

I just started reading the book, The Great Neighborhood Book. There are alot of great ideas in it to make a neighborhood be a friendly & awesome place to live, hangout, & raise a family.

According to the book, they believe in the Power of Ten. Meaning, that if there are at least ten things you can do in a particular spot, it will likely become a popular destination for people in the neighborhood (pg 36).

So this makes me think (even though today is my day off & I'm trying not to think!), what things can we do to make Reading Frenzy BookShop a great place to be in Zimmerman? Well, off the top of my head I can think of a couple, but I need everyone's help with this. What kinds of things do you see in a neighborhood bookstore that would make you keep coming back & tell all your friends about? Seriously, I want your input! Don't be shy! I love to hear people's ideas.

A couple of things I can think of are:

1) The adjoining door/easy access to Dunn Bros. The greatest coffee shop on earth (not to mention their extremely fantastic staff).

2) Our unique kid's area. (Can't publicly tell all the secrets of this one now), but kids are going to want to come here to hangout, find, & read their favorite books. Incidentally, one of my favorite things is to pick out kid's books! Zack, my son, just loves for me to read to him these great finds! (No wait, that isn't exactly true anymore... he's 21 yrs old! I do try to read to him. But he just rolls his eyes at me : ) )

3) Awesome Events - author signings, activities, book clubs, discussions. I have a background in Event Planning & this is going to be so much fun!!!

4) Should have had this first! The books! We will have popular books & unique books that you might not see elsewhere. This is the fun part of the job... finding books that our special customers are going to love to read. Independent Bookstores have great freedom in choosing books that may not be seen on the New York Bestseller List. Trust me, there are ALOT of books & authors out there that are awesome that just need some exposure.

5) We are going to have local/regional authors, books, artists, & other products that are locally grown, so to speak. From MN & around. Let's face it... Minnesotans are unique! The place we live in is unique. Reading Frenzy is going to feature many of these local talents. I'm excited about it! I've told several people & reps this week... RFB is looking for the unique, not necessarily the most popular.

6) Spectacular custumer service! Knowing product, customizing book orders, helping people find the perfect book, & listening to customers needs will help us stand out. Old fashioned hospitality will be at the forefront. (All those years of greeting & welcoming people into church will pay off here!)

7) Atmosphere. RFB will be a comfortable place to hangout, enjoy some outstanding candies, sip your white mocha latte with raspberry coffee from Dunnies (Mike's favorite), meet your friends, and find a great new book to take home.

8)Product line. In the book business they call them sidelines. Basically anything you sell outside of books. Oh, you will love the stuff we have picked out!

9) New, used, & sale books. You'll find new books to purchase, gently-used books, & used books that are a little more worn - different choices for different needs.

10)...... Let me know what else will make Reading Frenzy BookShop a special place to be in Zimmerman!

Daily Planet Article

This article was in the Twin Cities Daily Planet.  It talks about all that indie bookstores bring to a community & economy.  They site Red Balloon Bookstore in Mpls.  After their events there is an increase & rush at a local bakery. I hope that we can do this for Zimmerman.  It's a great place!

Many, many details!

This is going to be a busy summer!  So many details to take care of, but all good.  This coming week we meet with the landlord, Matt, & his architect to get the ball rolling.  We have some adjoining space so we have to figure out what will work for both sides.  We will be having an adjoining door with Dunn Bros!  Yea! So people can get their book & coffee fix at the same time - all in one convenient stop in Zimmerman!

I am currently filling out all the publishers & distributer forms to open accounts.  This is extremely exciting & at the same time makes my head go crazy!  I also am deciding on what other product we will carry.  For those familiar with us so far, you know that RFB will have books but also many unique items: old fashioned candies, games, t-shirts, local artisans, etc.  Unique things that you may not find elsewhere.  We also are trying to connect with local artists & musicians to incorporate them into this new community bookstore.

One other thing that I am working on is Book Clubs.  We want this to be a place where groups can meet & share the love of reading!  I keep saying it... "So many books, so little time!"  If I could read all the great books that I've found over the last year... well it would be heaven!  If you would like to head up a book club for your friends or open to the public, let me know.  There will be a discount when you purchase your book through us & we can try to arrange space for you & if is open to the public we can put it on our store calendar.

I'm also working on opening events. This is EXCITING!!!! Those who know me, know that I love to plan events.  Which is perfect for a bookstore. Other retailers don't do this type of thing on a regular basis, but bookstore owners thrive on it.  Things in the works:  Several author signings & a Skype author visit with an animal rescuer.  Hopefully this can be arranged for our soft opening. in Sept.

We also are working on the details for decorating the store. Colors, flooring, rugs, kid's area, lighting, signs, ... oh the list goes on!!!!!  Where will book genres go best in the store.  Special feature book areas.  I love all this stuff!  And of course picking out all the books for people to love. Indies (independent bookstores) are known for having unique books.  Things you may not see if you went to one of the chains or  department stores. We have the ability to hand pick our books for our customers.  We specialize in excellent customer service, knowing our customers & our product, & helping you find the perfect book or gift!  Try to do that with a 'Big Box" associate stocking shelves!

Mike is working on the inventory system, figuring out our accounting system & helping me so I can bounce the million or two ideas off of him that I have going in my head all at once!  And keeping me balanced.  He is so awesome!  I am so blessed to have him alongside of me.  How did I get so lucky?

Thank you all for your support.  We can't do this without you!  Just to let you know, we are still in need of ALOT of gently-used books of any genre.  We can arrange pickup.  If you have a few or many or if a family member or friend of yours would like to donate, please pass it along.  If you see a garage sale with alot of books or craigslist or auction, let me know! 

Have a great week & stay tuned for more adventures as the bookstore unfolds!

The Birth of a Bookstore!

Well, for those of you who have been keeping up on our FB Fanpage, you know the latest news already... we are starting our storefront!  The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of multiple things falling into place for us.  I have been calling it a "God-thing" because all hope was lost of starting this year when we found out about our retaining wall.  But I think God used that event for the good.  It forced me to think outside of the box on how we could get our storefront.  I will just give you the overview here, so you can still get other things done today! Ha! 

It basically began by me going to visit a shop in town to see if I could rent some rooms for selling books.  I met a super nice lady & she gave me an offer & price to do it.  But I just didn't feel that was the right thing to do. So the next day Mike & I drove around Zimmerman & copied down all the phone numbers for the vacant spaces that we wouldn't mind having.  Keep in mind that our first choice has always been next to Dunn Bros, but we just couldn't afford it.  And we couldn't afford the start-up cost.  It is very expensive for a bookstore - all the inventory, shelving, etc.

The day before I went to the shop in town, I got an email from a friend of mine, Juliana.  She found an online auction that was liquidating bookstore fixtures.  She thought we might be interested.  We checked it out & the stuff was super inexpensive! We could go & actually see them on Sunday & then the auction closed the following Thursday night.

On Saturday, we made a call to see a place right on Hwy 169.  It was very nice & the owner was willing to work with us to get the price affordable.   I loved it & we could make it work.  Well, Mike said that we needed to talk to the owner of Dunn Bros (who also owns the whole building) & see if he could come down in price at all.  That was our first choice & an awesome location - the best in town!  All of a sudden our dream was coming true!  Me, the cautious one, was well, cautious!  I was driving Mike crazy! : )

So on Monday night, Mike met with Matt, the owner.  That night Matt came down in price enough so we could afford it!  Mike had his little spread sheet & popped in all the numbers & it was working!!! Could this really be happening???  We really could do this!  So all of a sudden, I started to think outside of the box again (look out when that happens). 

How could we make the startup cost work???  Used bookstore fixtures that were really nice, start our inventory with half gently-used books & half new books & product, & perhaps do without an inventory system right away. Could this be falling into place?  This was starting to work.  In the mean time, Mike was busy bidding on bookcases & stuff in the auction.  We had to figure out how high we would go, cuz there was some joker (I mean "person") bidding too & the price was going up.  Again, Miss Cautious, was well, cautious!  Could it be?  In the meantime, Mike got a line of credit from our bank.  Amazing!!!!!!! Now you can imagine why were weren't sleeping at night!  This WAS falling into place. 

Thursday night came & Mike was home to do the bidding at the close of the auction.  We were able to get everything we needed & also some other display fixtures & stuff too!  YEA!!!  I had told Mike that I wanted to see the space one more time before I said yes.  So we arranged it with Matt. There were no negatives, but I just needed to be sure...one more time.  I would make the the decision Friday - one way or the other.

Friday morning I woke up.  God & I had a little conversation.  This was the time.  All the obstacles were taken out of place.  All my questions were answered.  We could afford to do this. Now was the time.  God was bringing all the pieces together.  I got out of bed & went downstairs & told Mike - YES!!!!!!  I felt like crying & throwing up all at the same time.  How exciting was this!!! My dream was unfolding before my eyes. 

It was the birth of a bookstore!

"Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn't be done" - Amelia Earhart 

Waiting

Waiting is the hard part. Not only for me, but for anyone. When you have a dream or a goal it usually doesn't happen overnight or without a lot of work.  So it takes time.  I hate that part!  I would prefer things to happen overnight.  I would like to wake up in the morning & have everything lined up neatly to start my new project.  In our case with the bookstore, this dream has taken a while to emerge. 

I've always wanted to have a bookstore.  The look has changed over the years.  When I was a pastor, I wanted a bookstore in the churches I served.  After I left that career, my mind started to imagine & wonder.  What should I do now with my life now?  I still have half of it left! (My grandma is 95 yrs old.)  So ideas started to pop in my head.  I started to write them down.  More ideas came.  I looked to see what information & resources were out there for owning a bookstore.  I love learning (that is why I love non-fiction books - so many topics, so little time!).  I stumbled across a couple of books & also a bookstore consulting group called Paz & Associates, ran by Donna & Mark Kaufman. They are sweet & extremely knowledgeable people from Amelia Island, Florida. 

As Mike & I started to piece together this new dream & what this new adventure would look like, we met a lot of great people.  I am SO blessed & honored to know so many wise people.  You people know who you are!  Many people have helped give ideas for the store & what we are doing.  That has been very helpful, but the people who have helped the most are those who haven't stomped on our dream.  Again, dreams & goals take time to formulate & come to pass.  There is waiting involved.  I have told people several times... we keep putting one foot forward & doing the next step.  Working the plan.  Figuring out how to raise our finances, how to get our name out there, what we need to learn to be successful in this business.  Amid tons of what some would call setbacks, we keep moving forward. What do I do today to progress towards the dream of owning a community bookstore?

We've had a lot of obstacles in the roadway.  Our most recent being an estimate for over $20,000 to repair a retaining wall in our backyard.  Oddly, that is the same amount for a down-payment on a loan for a bookstore!  Yikes!  Again, God has amazingly sent wisdom-filled people into our lives to help us navigate this hurdle.  Will these obstacles ever be done?  I don't think so.  Life is full of obstacles.  You have to get through these things in order to fulfill your dream & goals or you'll be stuck where you are forever. Was I bummed out after that great piece of news?  Oh yea, but I'm finding that I am bouncing back quicker now.  Could it be all those difficult days as a pastor are helping me get through problems as an entrepreneur?  Oh yea.  I know so.  Mike & I found a plaque at the Mall of America a few months ago that we bought.  It says: "The only thing more overrated than natural childbirth, is the joy of owning your own business."  Ha!  How true is that!

So as we wait for the actual picture of our dream to happen (storefront), we move forward. We don't wait for our dream to die or shrivel up.  We don't let the dust settle.  We do the next step. We work the plan to make this happen.  And along the journey, we are so privileged to meet so many awesome & wise people.  Thank you to those (and you know who you are) who have supported us & encouraged us each step.  We are proud to know you & honored that you are in this adventure with us. We're going to have a storefront someday!

The Old Man Behind the Counter

Some people dream of becoming rich or famous or having a big house. If they could win the lottery - then life would be grand! But not me. Just give me a little house that's paid for, a car that runs - OK, maybe a little nicer than that, but nothing too fancy - food in my belly and a wife and son that love me, and I'm happy.

My dream is simply to be the old guy behind the counter with no worries, mate, hoping you found what you were looking for and that you have a nice day. Now THAT would be grand!