This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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I love talking about books. Been an author for more than a decade now and still books are my favorite media. I know there are other forms of media out there, right? Like podcasts, for example. I know there are a thousand new streaming services.
Probably a new one's gonna come out before I finish recording this episode. But nevertheless, I remain fond of books and booksellers. Also, people have been predicting the demise of traditional book publishing long before I ever started writing books, as I said, a dozen years ago. So this brings me to today's listener question. And by the way, welcome to Side Hustle School.
So glad you're here. My name is Chris. Today's listener has a black-owned independent children's bookstore. Online sales weren't a priority until the pandemic, but now she's wondering how she should adapt, okay? Now, the past couple of years have produced even more challenges than usual for the average independent bookseller.
So what do we think about her situation? Let's see what we can do to help her. Her name is Kathy. Her question and my answer is coming right up. Stay tuned.
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Hi, Chris. This is Kathy from South Bend, Indiana. Although I've only been listening to you for four months, I'm impressed with your knowledge and insight and could really use your help. My question is, is it crazy to try to run an online bookstore as a side hustle? I run a black-owned, woman-owned, niche independent children's bookstore.
Online sales were never a big channel or priority for me until the pandemic. My sales surged when Amazon deprioritized books, and again, when the country decided to buy black. I closed the physical space when mandated, and I never reopened. My online sales have started to dwindle as the country resets itself. I'm offering local pickup, but not free shipping, and have stocked some bookcases out on consignment.
I'm just wondering if I'm focusing on the wrong things. Thank you. I can't wait to hear your wisdom that will help me decide what's next. - Hey, Kathy. Thank you so much for the message.
I am excited about your bookshop. Is it crazy? Is that what you said? Is it crazy to run an online bookstore as a side hustle? Not at all.
I think it's smart. I think it is worth investing your knowledge in. Now it's gonna require some knowledge, some effort, some love, let's be clear. But as mentioned, I'm a fan of books. So listeners, check this out, brainlayerbooks.com.
That is Kathy's website, and she describes it, I really like this, as a bookshop dedicated to developing empathy, okay? Great tagline, all right? So good news and bad news, all right? Let's be real. First, the bad news, there is a lot to be done here.
The good news is, as mentioned, I think it's worth it, okay? So Kathy is probably familiar with the strategies most independent booksellers have used in an attempt to stand out, which is typically things like being hyper-local, hosting events, encouraging people to buy local, for example. But even if her primary goal was to bring customers back to her retail store, I think it would be a mistake to not put a good amount of attention on the online world, especially on this day and age. And it helps a lot that she has a clear identity, not just as a black woman-owned bookshop, but also on her website. As mentioned, a bookshop dedicated to developing empathy.
What a wonderful tagline. So this website needs some attention, both in a technical sense and also in a strategic sense. It does need a graphical uplift. First of all, I do think some design love, a little bit of design love would go a long way. Maybe there's somebody out there who wants to help.
Let's just put this out to our listeners. Maybe Kathy knows somebody already, and that's great, but we have a lot of talented people in our community, and I know a lot of folks have wanted to help black-owned businesses, especially over the past year, and hopefully going forward as well. So if you want to potentially contribute some assistance, maybe check out brainlayerbooks.com and send Kathy a note. So I'll just put that out there. But also, regardless of what happens there, in terms of strategy, it's not just about the visuals here.
We really need to think, how can we help this bookshop move forward? So a couple of ideas I had, maybe there's a brainlayer book of the month club, right? It creates more loyalty, recurring revenue, et cetera. And I understand no free shipping for everyone. Kathy mentioned that.
But what if people paid a charter membership fee, and then they got free shipping? So only some people got free shipping. You had to actually contribute to get free shipping, which is, after all, what Amazon did with Prime so many years ago. I mean, you used to have to pay for shipping on Amazon when Amazon sold mostly books, and then they introduced the Prime service, which everyone's familiar with now. Just an idea there.
Kathy could also try partnering with brands like the School of Life, or Good Life Project, or podcasts from Black Creators, or from anyone who wants to support Black Creators. So these are just kind of a few ideas I'm throwing out here. In short or not short, this is gonna require some effort and attention. It's not going to necessarily be quick or easy growing a bookstore. And I know that from trying to sell books myself, but I do think it is something worth investing in.
So good luck, Kathy. Let us know what happens. We're gonna keep an eye on the Brain Lair Bookshop. And listeners, if you have a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions. We will continue to feature them throughout the year, along with updates from listeners as they launch their projects.
Thank you so much for tuning in and being part of this wonderful community. I hope you'll come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
