you've got to believe

Your visions sounds great. may be a ways off, but it can happen. But we also have to be different-not a repeat or an imitation. look for what is lacking and make sure those things will be in the store. It seems to me that the internet and its one -stop shopping has put a dent in the corner book store's business. so if you were to open brick and mortar what would make your store different? why would people want to actually physically shop in your store vs. ordering it on line. For all we know both Narnia and The Black Swan are run by folks who don't need the store for their livelihood--maybe they hit the lottery or this is what they did with some savings? I mean I enjoyed the ambiance of The Black Swan but after seeing the store I can't imagine why I would frequent the store on a regular basis--that's the kind of business you want--repeat customers, book lovers--maybe if The Black Swan was in a better location. I doubt you have many "browsers" in that store. Unless you want to touch your purchase before you buy, I can't see why you would (physically) shop at the Black Swan. The only folks who might visit that type of store on a regular would be collectors or sellers of old books. You want a store that will generate a repeat business. You can have your on-line business as well. To be honest with you I could not sit in a store all day hoping that I might have a customer or hoping for that one big sale. Even with the on-line you are still waiting in the hopes that someone will buy. You have to make them want to return, dazzle them with what you've got going on so that they'll come back and they'll tell their friends about the cool book store thats all about reading and books and learning... and they even have a good cup of coffee and they carry that out of town newspaper that I can't find anywhere else.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." W. Churchill

r