I'm Still Alive!

After not posting on the blog for a week, all I can do is take one from my grandma's mouth and say que verguenza! Some of you who know me in person know that I've spent the last week pretty under the weather. I missed most of my MFA classes, which was upsetting, and could burst into bitter sobs at any moment, like an exhausted child. (My poor husband.) Clearly, it was not the most productive week for me, and I'm sorry to say that posting fell by the wayside along with everything else.

But I'm back! I'm thrilled to say that my Facebook Page has more than 160 fans, some of whom have been interacting with me and one another on my Wall. And it's humbling that, when I review the fan list, I see that many have been, up to now, complete strangers to me. So thank you to everyone who is taking part in this journey with me.

I mentioned in a recent post that my sister, Amanda, has the opportunity to work with a project plan expert, and she's chosen the bookstore as her project. The development of the plan began last week, and she called me with a few well-edited questions to get things going.

"I know you're going for financing through grants and loans," she said, "but how much money do you think you'll need?"

It's a good question, and one whose answer I thought I would share with you all. By my estimates, I will need approximately $1.7 million to get the bookstore up and running. I have two favorite locations in mind, one of which would require the purchase of land and new construction, and the other which would be leased. If I go with the first, I expect to pay $750K for the land. Then I believe construction of a 6,000 square-foot store will cost between $250K and $300K. Based on my research, I can expect to pay up to $300K for initial fixtures and inventory. The rest of the funds will go toward interior design, advertising, payroll, and other expenses.

It's a lot of money; there's no doubt about that. But if I can raise half the funds through grants, I'll feel comfortable achieving the rest through a small business loan. This week, I'll post a list of grants I'm planning to apply for. And if you all know of any you think are appropriate, by all means, throw them at me!

Other stuff to come this week:

* How are booksellers adapting to the digital age?
* Part I in a series of posts I'll be calling, "But How Will You Make Money?"
* Commentary on an article enticingly called, "An Idea Every Independent Bookstore Should Steal"
* Commentary on a Slate article called, "What Are Independent Bookstores Really Good For? Not Much"
* The blog's first book review, which I'm excited about!
* Updates on the business plan, grant applications, and blog and Facebook analytics

And maybe a personal lamentation or two about the pains of moving--and the excitement of Colin and I buying our first house together :)

What else would you like to see on the blog?

Laredo Bookstore Updates . . . Overdue!

Wow. If any week has shown me what a challenge opening this bookstore will be, it's this one. Which is why, I'm sorry to say, I haven't posted since Sunday.

This week, after being on the market for a year and a half, our house finally got an offer. A full-price offer (granted, after we significantly lowered the price), at that. So, after settling quite comfortably, if guiltily, into the fact that the house may not sell for some time, my husband and I have been jarred into the reality of looking for a new place to live, packing, and moving . . . all in less than 30 days. That is, assuming the sale goes through as planned. All of this means that, in addition to Colin starting a new job this week, and my full-time work and grad school and planning for this bookstore, we've been apartment-hunting like crazy. It's a level of stress that's laughable.

In any case, selling this house (again, assuming all goes through) probably couldn't come at a better time. Because our lives are so in flux right now, we'll be renting for a while, rather than buying. That leaves us with some flexibility when it comes to bookstore plans.

And speaking of plans: Mine for this week are:

* Finish my Pepsi grant application, to be posted online for voting on March 1. Courtney Sames, who has been working with Fede Cavazos on filming a documentary about B. Dalton closing and what has come next, has offered to send me a few photos to use for my application. I can't wait to see what she's got for me!

* Email the president of Texas A&M International University in Laredo; since university students are one of my key demographics, I would love to keep him informed in hopes that he will communicate my plans to all TAMIU students. I'd love to get them reading this blog and contributing their ideas as to what they'd like to see in an independent bookstore.

* Finalize and send off magazine pitches to at least three national women's magazines. I'll let you all know which ones once the pitches have gone out.

* More research and more work on my business plan. When the plan is finished, I'll use it to apply for more grants, as well as a small business loan from local financial institutions and the Small Business Association. Once I have funding, I'll be able to give you all more details as to what I have in mind for location.

* Visit with Mary Benavides again over the phone to compare notes on our plans. I have some ideas as to how we can both achieve our goals while providing Laredo with bookstores that aren't in direct competition. Details to come!

Another update is that my sister, a senior at Texas A&M University in College Station, has the opportunity to work with an expert to develop a detailed project management plan. She's opted to work with me on developing a plan for the bookstore, which I'm SO excited about! This is something separate from the business plan, and should serve as a roadmap throughout the project. I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Soon to come: my vision for the bookstore. The size, the look and feel, the books, the non-books, the refreshments . . .

Thanks for coming back this week despite my inconsistency. Your readership inspires me!

What Do Independent Bookstores Offer That Chains Don't?

As it turns out, a lot.

But first, a little history on how Laredo views chains and independents, at least from my perspective.

Laredo seems, to me, very different now than it was when I was growing up. I didn't run barefoot across unpaved roads like my parents did, but I distinctly remember the many parts of town that were undeveloped. Just monte--hard-packed dirt and scrub brush. I remember the joy we three kids had on our family trips to San Antonio, 150 miles away. Our first stop upon entering the city was always Olive Garden. The restaurant shared the parking lot with Ingram Mall, and I remember being delighted by the big Shepler's Boot sign.

San Antonio was the land of chains, and we loved it. It was American Eagle and Abercrombie, Red Lobster and Texas Land & Cattle. We'd stay at the Drury Inn, which we called the Dreary, or sometimes at the Omni or Doubletree or Marriott. We'd shop and eat for two days and then go home, full and happy.

I remember when Laredo got an Olive Garden. It, too, shares a parking lot with a mall. Red Lobster, Logan's Roadhouse, Sirloin Stockade, and Long John Silvers occupy the same stretch of asphalt. I remember when we got a McDonald's almost around the corner from my house, and then--cue the trumpets--Starbucks came into town. In high school, I adored the feeling of sitting in Starbucks, gossiping with girlfriends, and drinking some sugary caffeinated concoction. I felt as though I was growing up, and Laredo was, too.

In a lot of ways, I think chains coming into town gave Laredo some kind of validation. It made us feel like we were joining the rest of the world, becoming a "real" city. It wasn't until I moved to the Austin area in 2002 that I became charmed by independently owned restaurants, boutiques, antique shops, and bookstores, that I began seeing their unique value.

Now to answer the title question of this post: What do independent bookstores offer that chains don't?

According to several studies explored in an article on Book Passage Bookstore's website--which can be found at http://www.bookpassage.com/content.php?id=95--locally owned businesses "generate a 70% premium in local economic benefit."

In California last year, the number of in-store author appearances at indie bookstores was more than 4,000. In the same year, indie bookstores donated more than $100,000 to local community organizations. They employed more than 3,000 people, and the sales taxes collected and paid to support schools, social services, and public agencies totaled more than $10 million. How about Amazon.com? Zeros to all of these questions.

I know, I know--Amazon.com isn't exactly a chain. But consider this bit of information from the article:

"In 2002 a study was commissioned in Austin, Texas, to compare the comparative economic benefit to the community of Bookpeople, an Austin independent bookstore, and Waterloo Records, a local music store, with a proposed Borders store that threatened to drive both out of business. The study looked at the local economic impact - i.e. the degree to which money from each business flows back into the local economy. The study concluded that for every $100 of money spent at Borders $13 flowed back into the community in wages, expenditures, taxes, etc. With the independents, however, the comparable figure was $45. In other words, the two independent stores yielded more than three times the local economic impact."

Consider these figures from a similar study in Chicago:

"For every $100 in consumer spending with a local firm, $73 remains in the Chicago economy.
For every $100 in consumer spending with a chain firm, $43 remains in the Chicago economy.
For every square foot occupied by a local firm, local economic impact is $179.
For every square foot occupied by a chain firm, local economic impact is $105."

I'm convinced. How about you?

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post! I'd love to hear your thoughts. And thanks to Annette for pointing me to this article!