The independent bookstore business today is not for the faint of heart. In fact, it is a rather daunting, daily (as in, seven days a week) labor of love.
When I opened Sausalito Books by the Bay in 2019, I knew that the way people read and buy books had changed dramatically. But, I was, and remain, convinced that people still want to hold a real book in their hands. They want to browse the shelves and discover something new, that serendipitous, joyful experience. They want to discuss books and current affairs.
They want wisdom and connection with a live person, a knowledgeable bookseller who can help curate books. No online search engine, even AI, can match the in-depth, personal touch of a good bookseller. A big-box bookstore or the Big A (Amazon) can’t offer a haven of learning and exchange like an independent bookstore does.
Having lived in Sausalito for over 30 years, and been actively involved in the community, I also knew that most locals want to support small businesses that sustain their community. They don’t want big-box, chain stores. If I created an enchanting ambiance and welcoming environment, curated a captivating selection of books — they would come. What could be better than a bookshop in the center of downtown Sausalito perched right on the San Francisco Bay? Not a bad view for starters. With free parking, no less!
I knew little about owning or operating a bookstore when I opened the shop, but I did know it wasn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. Unlike other retail products, the profit margin on books is low. But this venture wasn’t about money. It was my “retirement,” my gift to the community. After all, books were my passion. I had been a voracious reader since I was a child. Libraries were my happy place. I am a firm believer that every town needs a bookshop and is better for it.
With my business and marketing background, the pro forma we developed for the bookstore indicated that we could make ends meet. Who knew that three months after opening my new shop there would be a global pandemic?
As we know, life and business on every front came to a crashing halt. Everyone had to catch their breath, pivot and reinvent. Independent bookstores were already an endangered species… COVID made extinction even more likely. We had to innovate sooner versus later.
I won’t sugarcoat the experience. It was a rough and costly two years having just invested in building a bookstore from scratch. But it was also an opportunity to reimagine and redefine my bookshop on many fronts. This is my story. What I did. Lessons learned on the Bookshop Trail.
Not just a bookstore
The most lucrative strategy was to diversify. We don’t just sell books. Mostly books, yes. But we also sell “sidelines” (merchandise with higher profit margins). Greeting cards, boxed notes, journals, hats, unique gifts and homeware. We try to fill unserved niches in our local retail market. We don’t sell t-shirts. Sideline merchandise generates 40% of our revenue.
We sell craft beer and a carefully curated selection of wines, specialty foods that are locally sourced such as Amphora olive oil, McEvoy crackers and tapenades, Fiorello’s Gelato. There are no “new” liquor licenses to be had in certain areas like downtown of Sausalito. We had to buy an existing one, work with a broker. All costly. All worth it. We have two different ABC licenses which allow us to sell bottles for take-out and to pour wine at our events.
We are also a mini art gallery of sorts with one wall featuring a different local artist every month. We also host special events. A lot of them. These have played an important role in our ongoing survival. Quite simply, events generate foot traffic and awareness.
I had to reimagine events as well however. We can’t compete, and don’t want to, with the larger local bookshops. We tend to do smaller, more intimate events and love offering a platform for new and local authors.
I am always looking for ways to reimagine and differentiate our programming and still involve books! Wine tastings (wine books), workshops, community forums on racial justice, women’s health, climate change, Native American heritage. Poetry readings with live music. Storytime for toddlers in Pooh’s Corner at the shop, but with up-market toys as well as books. It’s all about getting people through our doors.
Another competitive advantage? We ship books for free anywhere in the U.S. We will also deliver to your front door in Sausalito.
Sustaining support
Last year, I launched a nonprofit — Literacy by the Bay — to help sustain the profit side of the business, embracing a hybrid business model for independent community bookstores that has been deployed across the country. The mastermind behind this next generation bookstore concept was Praveen Madan at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park.
When Kepler’s nonprofit was reimagined in 2017, it was written up in the Stanford Social Innovation Review and garnered a lot of press coverage. Credit also goes to Madan and the ABA (American Bookseller Association) for launching a monthly, nationwide, virtual workshop called “Reimagining Bookstores”.
With a 501(c)3 we are able to offer donors a tax deduction and these funds help underwrite our literacy programs at the bookshop. Literacy by the Bay is providing additional capital to keep our doors open. Isabel Allende helped launch the program last year, which we are continuously innovating. My goal is to maintain a bookstore that is a sustainable cultural institution, a beacon of literacy in our community.
Our Community Supported Bookstore & Annual Membership platforms are more standard loyalty programs, offering discounts and perks, but they also help ensure our ongoing survival.
Employing the art of storytelling to stay sustainable
My mantra is that everything in the shop must have a story. The books do, but so must the merchandise. Apolis bags are made by women in Bangladesh — an enterprise helping to break their poverty cycle. Handcrafted Annieglass from Santa Cruz; Rescued Wine Candles in recycled wine bottles, with sales benefiting animal welfare programs; Addison Ross frames from London; Margot Elena lotions and soaps — unique products not easily found elsewhere. All with a story.
I have also tried to distinguish my enterprise with merchandising — point of purchase tabletop displays that are also a study in storytelling. We showcase cookbooks with food products, a bottle of wine, Italian tea towels and lacquered Caspari trays.
In addition to standard run-of-the-mill bookstore sections, we curate themed sections. Some of my favorites: The Armchair Sailor, Must-Read Banned Books, Wanderlust, Pride in Print. I’m not afraid to mix genres, pairing fiction and non-fiction. AfroAmerican history and memoir are displayed with fiction by Black novelists. Again, something to make a visit to Sausalito Books by the Bay different and compelling.
I’ve tried to create an in-store shopping experience that is one of exploration and wonder. I want the shop to be a sanctuary. A learning lab. A therapy session (“Broken hearted? This book will renew your faith.”) A community center. All of this reimagining the book store experience has helped keep us alive and well.
It takes a village
We have found great value and synergy in collaboration, partnering with local libraries (we recently hosted Amy Tan with the Mill Valley Library), as well as the Sausalito and Marin City schools. It takes a village, as they say, to keep a local independent bookstore alive.
We collaborate with local businesses and local organizations such as the Sausalito Center for the Arts, The Spinnaker, Amour Vert, Barrel House Tavern, Sausalito Nursery School and Performing Stars of Marin. Engage with the community and it will engage with you, I say.
We are also dependent upon and so appreciate our ardent supporters in our small town. We know who you are. And we are eternally grateful. You keep us going. This story isn’t over. We are about to celebrate our fifth anniversary. We have survived and are trending in the right direction based on all the “reimagining” we have done.
I could wax profound for hours on the vital importance of books, even argue they are a path to peace and understanding. We will never stop selling books. But our most important “commodity?” Community.
And finally, my success — the success of any business — depends a lot on the people you hire. I am blessed to have a great staff, especially Jeff Battis, my manager and book buyer. A 25-year veteran of City Lights in San Francisco, Jeff has forgotten more than I will ever know about publishing and bookselling. He is a rare bird, a gift. An invaluable asset.
