Opening a bookshop?

giftgrub

I've had this long time dream of opening a bookshop/cafe, now i dont know anything about selling books, other than i like reading them, but myself and the GF do have plenty of catering/chefing/retail experience.

would anyone have an idea of roughly how much i'd need to start up? premises lease in Dublin (not city centre), stocking insurance all that jazz

irishguy

Not to rain on your idea or anything, but i was just wondering do you think its financially viable to go into the traditional book shop business. With all the competition from the likes of eBay, amazon and not to mention the established book shops? I don't know anyone who purchases books in a shop any more(i know i don't). I can even find it cheaper to buy Irish books (printed in Ireland sometimes) from US eBay sellers for less than i can get them in Irish shops. Again dont mean to put a dampener on things

DublinWriter

giftgrub wrote:

I've had this long time dream of opening a bookshop/cafe, now i dont know anything about selling books, other than i like reading them, but myself and the GF do have plenty of catering/chefing/retail experience.

would anyone have an idea of roughly how much i'd need to start up? premises lease in Dublin (not city centre), stocking insurance all that jazz

Sounds like you'll be emotionally too attached to your business idea.

A couple of friends have been in the second hand book biz for yonks, the key is location location location, I was always told that it's not a North/South thing but an East/West thing when it comes to the book reading demoigraphic of Dublin and that the East was always better.

Saruman

I have never bought a book online.. plernty of other stuff...
There are lots of people who are the same. Lots love going into a book shop and browsing.. spend an hour in there and buy something they never would have bought online..

Still... might be better to concentrate on the cafe side of things and have the book store as a sideline to the business. A cafe that has a small bookstore in it would be a great thing There are not too many of them.
Unfortunatly the best place for this is the city centre.. and most expensive.
Or maybe somewhere along the luas path or even near/in a train station.

r3nu4l

I love books and thought of doing this myself a few years ago but then I did a brief survey of my friends and decided against it.

I buy online, from charity shops, or discount warehouses (here in Cambridge). I've browse in the bookshops, take a note of what I'd like and then go buy online or preferably from a charity shop (I often find new bestsellers in charity shops!).

First things first, set up a feasability study.

Define the reading habits of friends and family
How often they purchase
Average spend per purchase
Type of purchase fiction/non-fiction/academic etc.
Where they purchase (online, supermarket, charity/second-hand store, market, warehouse)

That's part 1 - your potential market
Phone large shopping centres such as Manor Mills in Maynooth, Liffey Valley, Blanch centre, Superquinn Lucan. Try to determine yearly lease costs and terms.

Look at some standalone shops, explain you are thinking of opening elsewhere (ouside their competition zone) and ask about costs and overheads. Book appointments with owners etc. Some independents may want to enter a partnership agreeement with you.

Opening a bookshop is just like any other business you need a business plan. Book yourself into a start your own business course.

See here for more.

Strokesfan

I think if you want to do something that you're passion about you have more chance than most at success, do research, maybe sell more than books - don't limit yourself.
Premises in dublin I don't know but maybe you get an upstairs premises above a shop that shares a similar target market. looking at a lease of at least 30,000 (no idea how much more in dublin)... cost of fixtures, fittings, lighting? 5,000+? wages for yourself, initial stock cos at first you won't get credit - 20,000? insurance, vat, business phone and fax, credit card facility, electricity, maintenance, print and admin and professional fees.
Maybe you can find a niche market to fulfil that is poorly satisfied online - heavy coffee table books? coffee dock combined with bookshop? student text books? situate yourself near the target market. There are still alot of people that rate the instant gratification of buyin in a physical shop and the ability to leaf through the books manually. I think it could be good if done right.

RainyDay

Why not go work in a bookshop for 6-12 months and learn the business without risking your own capital?

lomb

i know a guy who owns a few, they sell other things in addition to books like cards etc. they have located in suburban shopping malls not the sqaure type but smaller local ones. rent is very dear at around 50 grand rates and insurance and service charges must be another 10-15 grand.

location is very important as another poster said, with being in the south east of dublin important. its risky though signing a lease with a personal gaurantee, you could be bankrupted if u cant pay the rent. also finding a good place means paying a premium for a lease which may be money down the pan, also the lease may be restricted to selling something other than books or even if its books then u may not be able to sell anything else. fit outs also are dear as is stock. good luck with it

Sonnenblumen

giftgrub wrote:

I've had this long time dream of opening a bookshop/cafe, now i dont know anything about selling books, other than i like reading them, but myself and the GF do have plenty of catering/chefing/retail experience.

would anyone have an idea of roughly how much i'd need to start up? premises lease in Dublin (not city centre), stocking insurance all that jazz

Without sounding cheeky, I think your next book to read should be "How to Run a Bookshop (Successfully)". Emotion is a great starter, but you cannot bank emotion. Unless you have deep pockets, I would agree with other posters, the wiser move would be to do some research and get some first hand experience before spending your money.

On the otherhand, if you're emotionally attached to the idea, you'll probably go ahead in which case I wish you best of luck. IMO there ain't too many business areas as competitive as the humble bookshop.

is_that_so

Agree with most of the posts here. Get out your spreadsheet and see exactly how much it really costs. Dreams are always more expensive because we are convinced that we can do them no matter what. As an aside The Winding Stair closed its doors some time back. That was a great shop with a superb location. Also Kenny's in Galway actually closed their "bricks and mortar" shop and went fully online.

I am a lover of browsing in bookshops and would spend hours there but what could you offer that Waterstone's is not already doing? Apologies for harsh words but you need to be completely grounded in reality before taking something like this on.
Good luck.

nikolaitr

I don't honestly know much about running a bookshop, but I imagine one of your problems would be keeping a stock of books. Considering you would be selling thousands of different books at the very least, you have to be able finace the purchasing of these books....very costly. Plus you have to keep alot of them on stock.

How about you run a cafe which sells books. Maybe you could have shelves with book which people could read while eatting or drinking. It would be very "Continental". And provided you run it yourself,and well it would be a nice touch. Especially in a Big town like Dublin where everything is Commercial. And if you do start this...Hire me as a waiter...I need the money

irishguy

Well if you do end up doing it I promise ill buy a book, now all you have to do is convince the other 72,171 people on boards to the do the same and you have yourself a business

TempestSabre

Personally I buy different books online, than I do in a bookstore.

junii

When people are convinced that they can achieve there dreams emotionally and then try to ground themselves in reality by doing up numbers and research et cetera. How can you tell whether your emotions are fooling you into believing you can do this or not?

Is it always a leap of faith? Please excuse my naiveity, im quite young.