2026 Business Plan
Wow! 2025 did quite go the way I had planned for it to go. There were a number of health challenges (including mental health). There were a number of goals we didn’t reach, but there were some we did. And through it all, I learned a lot! Like I said before, I’m a work in progress and each step forward is a step in the right direction.
This year, as you’ll see, I’m turning my attention to passion and love. I’m looking to grow in ways I’m super excited about and I’m planning to do so purposefully and strategically. I’m excited to move forward putting people first, after all, no one opens a bookstore to get rich. And most of all, I’m excited to learn new things and have fun!
Over the last week or two, I’ve worked hard to dream up ways that we can grow, improve and thrive here at the Emporium. And then I wrote it all down (ok, maybe not all of it) in our 2026 business plan. I share most of this business plan (there are some aspect we’ve chosen to not share in the hopes of allowing everyone to just experience it including idea lists and tentative monthly plans)for a number of reasons including being transparent, give you all a look at who we are and what we’re aiming for and to help me be accountable rather then backing down in fear or anxiety (which I’ve done before).So, without further to do, here is the majority of our business plans!
P.G’s Storybook Emporium
2026 Business Plan
Business Statement
We strive to share a love of stories and books with families and individuals while providing inclusive and meaningful stories to families and individuals and embracing diversity of race, ethnicities, religions, identities and communities with a variety of genres, creating a community in which to celebrate stories and experiences via a range of price points.
Goal Declaration
The year 2026 will follow in the footsteps and grow from 2025 in intention and performance. While 2025 hit us hard with some unexpected obstacles, medical and other, this year we will carry forward, integrating what we have learned and the growth that has been made thus far. This is the first step to making 2026 our best year yet as we declare our intentions and goals for all Wizards, Bards, team members and patrons in hopes of us all growing into and performing as the best versions of ourselves.
The year 2026 will be about going back to our passions as we improve business practices in a way that will benefit and strengthen the Emporium and those connected to the Emporium while focusing on self improvements to further enhance ourselves and the results of the aforementioned business practices. We will also continue to focus on the basics and the very beliefs and values that the Emporium was founded on. We aspire to improve our practices and the execution of such while staying true to what is truly at the center of the Emporium as a whole, the people and the passion. In the princess, we will acknowledge, embrace and implement the knowledge, understanding and inspiration found through ourselves and the world around us in the past years and moments leading up to this one.
To achieve our goals, we will continue to embrace where we are, what we have available to us as well as our team’s strengths while setting reasonable expectations as a store, a team and individual people, adjust our mindset, reconsider our methods of organization and planning while also actively working on strengthening those areas in which we are not yet strong. We will work daily to become a valued and treasured part of the community in a way that is as unique and awesome as the community it serves. We will continue to focus inward, strengthening and and improving what is already there and set in place while strengthening our foundation into a stronger, more centered and supportive foundation that we can be proud of.
2026 Goals
Find ways to work with my/our brains instead of against our brains
Let it be personal, because it totally is
Be transparent, even when it’s hard
Lead with passion
Embrace creativity
Use discarded items to create new life
Have fun
Trust my/our instincts
Bring in the community
Learn something new every day
Become a better leader for the team
Expand donations
Use what’s available to us to its fullest
Improve on preparation for what is planned, and where we are going
Continue interweaving informative content into the “norm”
Continue to provide quality customer service and care
Improve the experience that is shopping and participating in the Emporium’s community
Hit multiple different price points
Get out of my own way
Better incorporate the podcast
Make myself and ourselves proud
Be purposeful
BE CONSISTANT
Continue to curate an inventory of love
Break even financially
Goal Details and Plans to Achieve
Find ways to work with my/our brain: I will continue to refrain from fighting against my brain rather than trying to force my brain to work and be what it isn’t. I will also advocate and assist my team to do the same. Our brains don’t work the same as typical people. That’s not to say that there’s something wrong with our brains, they are just different and that’s okay. It’s even an asset if we allow it to be. We need to acknowledge and address that we are neurodivergent and that comes with some different struggles then others may experience, including but not limited to (as a team) time blindness, trouble with short term memory, shut down/mental exhaustion, getting distracted, decision fatigue, becoming over whelmed especially with large projects while trying to maintain the status quo as well and multitasking. In addition, we experience hyper fixation and a love for a good rabbit hole.
In order to account for these things, I will both encourage my team and work to practice the following things over the course of 2026:
Set schedules and set reminders,
Adjust for shut down and take action when I feel it coming on before I’m drowning in it
Be gently with myself, no one is perfect
Embrace mistakes, fails and other learning experiences as opportunities to learn. Life’s all about trial and error.
Schedule creative outlets
Delegate tasks that are high battery and better disperse the work load using guest writers, Bards of the Emporium and other resources.
Assign tasks that highlight team members strength
Create plans for the week, including tasks to be completed both personally and work
Schedule days off and out of the office regularly (at least one day a week) and holidays (holidays don’t count as the one day off a week. It is an additional day off).
Break big tasks into smaller steps with deadlines and plans to create more manageable chunks.
Schedule and plan ahead to know what to expect and what the short term goals are we are working for.
Use alarms and such for tasks such as content posts, sales, and checking in with the team.
Don’t be afraid to follow the dopamine! Dopamine is good!
Find ways and people to help keep me accountable and keep me on task
Use team members (and sometimes others) to talk through ideas and help flush out ideas.
Create a variety of planned, consistent and regular content (video series, ect) so that I can record in bulk but it’s not the same thing over and over again.
Let it personal (Because it is personal): They say that business and one’s personal self should be kept as two separate entities. We disagree! Passion is personal. Doing what you love is personal. The very act of reading is personal. We all have our own tastes, interests and take aways from what we read and experience. We are fueled by passion, curiosity and pleasure and, as stated above, all of these things are supremely personal. The store was created and built on dreams, ideals and values that we hold dear. What could be more personal than that? In addition, especially for online companies, people like to know who they are supporting more than what they are supporting. In reality, even business decisions is a reflection of who is calling the shots. It’s more about the actions taken than the words said in showing character. Plus, we’re awesome (even when we don’t see it within ourselves) and who wouldn’t want to know us?
To help enhance the character and personal side of the Emporium, I will:
Post about what I am reading (and the team)
Write blogs and use them as social media content including book reviews, personal recommendations
Interweave personal interests and hyper fixations into the content we share
Share our stories
Share pictures and videos of myself and the team
Share out thoughts, opinions, via blogs, social media content, Saturday Night In podcast and on our website within reason.
Use our faces in more content
Share my goals and struggles that pertain to the store and reading
Encourage team members to do the same
Don’t be afraid to share/show my sense of humour and tastes
Be transparent (even when it’s hard) in an authentic way: While this ties into making it personal, it goes beyond that. We are told to only show the best, most pretty parts of our business, but that’s not reality. Sometimes, things are a mess. Sometimes they’re sad. Sometimes they don’t go the way we had hoped or planned. Some months are hard. Sometimes (often) we don’t break even. Money is tight. We do what we can to manage it all but it’s a series of decisions that need to be made daily. Sometimes it all seems overwhelming and impossible. That’s the life of a small business owner. These are not things that we should be ashamed of. We should be able to talk about them and be honest with those supporting us. The more honest and transparent we are the better we will feel, and the better the relationship with our supporters will be. To achieve this goal we will:
Share are weaknesses. We are only human, after all
Share our goals
Own it when we didn’t live up to our own expectations
Share our journeys and struggles about reading, mental health, physical health, ect. (within reason)
Share the business plan
Ask for help when needed (Man that’s hard!)
Proudly share the way we work to save customers and ourselves money and why we feel that this is an acceptable way to go about it in that way.
Reduce of trash
Saves us money which then allows us to price items lower and save you money
Share more of our behind the scenes shenanigans
Ask for what we need (like donations)
Books
Picture frames
Vases
Coffee cups
Candle making supplies
Craft supplies
Junk journaling supplies
Yarn
Stickers
Stamps
Hole punchers
Glass rock things
Lead with Passion: I feel like I’ve spent years focusing on growth and making good business decisions. In the process, I’ve put my battery life and time into doing something more akin to what a business “should” do. But I’m a Banana’s fan, enough with the expectation! I’ve lost the excitement and passion for the daily tasks.I’ve convinced myself that my interests, my hyper fixations, ect., need to looks certain way or be separate from my job. Why? Who says they can’t be interweaved? This year, I want to let my freak flag fly! I want to incorporate what I’m excited about both in the office and out of it. The truth is, allowing my passion to come into play is one of the best things I can do for the store! When our passion shines through, when we allow it to be, our passion is contagious! Plus, what we care about matters and, if it matters to us, it matters to someone else out there, too. Passion doesn’t have to be suppressed! To embrace my own passions and allow the team to do the same, we will:
Allow our hyperfixations to be seen! We can use them to our advantage in ways such as:
If you like this show/book/series/time in history/trope, ect. Then here’s a list of books you should read!
Write book reviews on books connected
Create the things, especially from discarded items such as:
Things from destroyed books’ pages
Candles
Vase arrangements
Bookmarks
Wall art
Decore
Use representation in photos and videos
Embrace creativity: One of the things I’ve learned is that I need a creative outlet. There are many ways to get that whether it be writing, crocheting, crafting, creating images. But there’s also finding creative ways to save money, fairly price items and solve problems. And of course, there’s creative ways to go about things and marketing. Of course, this goal is entangled in with a number of other goals (Be transparent, make it personal, have fun, be proud of myself, growth), this goes beyond that. This means seeking out creativity. This means celebrating it. This means not being afraid of it, even when it’s imperfect or unexpected. To do this in a purposeful way, I will:
Explore a number of options and compare each one to find the best option available.
When a creative desire is not obtainable at first, I will make into a goal for the future
I’ll make a notebook for ideas to explore and do in the future
I’ll slow myself down and and think through the business logistics before diving into creative adventures within the store
I will embrace and seek out inspiration from everywhere and life. Inspiration can be found anywhere if you’re open to it.
I will remind myself that just because something is expected or the common practice doesn’t mean that I have to do it that way. It’s ok for my store to be as unique as I am.
Create new life from discarded items: This has become a new hyper fixation for me. I’ve found it unbelievable satisfying to create new life from items that have been discarded, whether it is by collecting previously loved books to be adopted, creating candles, bookmarks or other items from discarded supplies or damaged items, there’s something healing about giving something a chance to be loved again in a new way! Not only does it offer a creative outlet, it also reduces our costs to obtain the items, allowing our money to stretch further, but also allows us to hit lower price points as we list the creations intended for the store, which is important to us. We will continue to explore different outlets to maximize our ability to continue this trend such as:
Reuse shipping materials (which cuts back on shipping and handling costs)
Use donated items
Ask for donated items
Obtain items from thrifting via.
Second hand stores
Social media groups
Garage sales
In truth, this is just something I enjoy doing and want to do. Being able to give the product to the store just allows me to keep creating without having to worry about what I’m going to do with all of the things I’ve made when I really only need one of them. So this is kind of a self serving goal of sorts.
Have Fun: If we’re not having fun, it shows. It’s in the energy of what we put out. The Emporium was not created to make anyone rich, it was created out of passion, because it’s fun and it helps me meet my own needs in so many ways. This job isn’t worth doing if it’s not fun and fulfilling. Let’s be honest, no one’s getting paid that much at the Emporium. It’s important to me that there is more fun and enjoyment in my job then there’s not and that those who have joined our team has fun in what they do for us as well. Lead with passion. Lead with love. Lead with meaning and, when we manage to make all of the planets align as such, we will have fun.
Trust my instincts: Confidence!In the past, I’ve learned that I don’t have horrible business instincts, but that means nothing if I can’t incorporate them and use them in my business without doubting and second guessing myself constantly, being skittish and letting my rejection sensitivity or fear of rejection take over the wheel. Fear and failure is always going to be a thing if I care at all, but by ignoring my instincts, I’m furthering my chances of failure. When I explain what they tell me, think through how to execute plans and trust the process as well as let things play out, I find more success. Nothing worlds instantly and never wanes. It’s part of the process. And nothing is a failure if I learn from it.
Bring in voices from the community/team members: I am one person and I can’t do it all. Sometimes, I just need a little help. But, more than that, I only have my point of view, experiences and skills. By bringing in Bairds and members of the community, not only will I have some help with content creation, but we’ll also get to hear others’ thoughts, points of views and experience their strengths. This only makes us stronger as a whole.
Learn something new every day: There is something to be learned from every day Some of those things will absolutely, obviously help me to create the best Emporium possible. Other things may help in other ways. But there are too many things in this world to spend a day not learning something. It might be relearning something I already know, or updating information I had already. Maybe it will be a crafting technique or a new crochet pattern. Maybe it will be about a new book or a marketing strategy, or maybe it will be none of these things but some random trivia fact that may never make into the store at all. Either way, that lesson is important. Either way, it’s up to me to actively seek out knowledge and use it in the best way I can. That might be creatively, or practically. Maybe it’ll be financially or in understanding a book I’m reading.
Be a better leader for the team: This one is hard. Currently there are four team members, each with their own specialties and strengths and I’m so excited to see what they bring to the table! But it’s also important to know that four out of five of us are diagnosed as neurodivergent, which means it’s important to work with our brains. While I want to see them shine in their own creative creations and additions to the Emporium experience, I need to remember that we all need some extra support at times and that I need to listen and truly hear them when they tell me what they need from them. I made the mistake of forgetting what they struggle with and just setting them free in 2025 and it yielded poor results. So, in 2026 I will strive to:
Have individual meetings with them each at the beginning of the month in which we will discuss:
Any project ideas or inspiration they want to explore
The expectations for them that month
Remind them to shop Libro
Give them topic recommendations should they need them
Check in with them in the middle of the month to offer more support, remind them of their projects
Check in with them after they turn in their projects, even if just to give them a job well done and let them know when it is/will be posted.
Send them a link to their works on the website
Check in with them, again, toward the end of the month if they have not turned anything in yet.
Provide structure that is flexible enough to be molded by them without overwhelming them.
Use hyperfixations and interests as inspiration and topics for them to explore
Embrace their strengths and allow them to focus in areas they thrive.
Provide positive feedback! Be sure to offer more positive feedback then negative.
Be appreciative for the effort they put in and the work they do.
Listen when they tell me what they want/need
Be willing adjust if they need
Expand Donations: Up until this point, we’ve primarily taken books as donations. In 2026, we will open that further to include other discarded items in which we can use to create other goodies with. These may also be used to create kits or for events in the future as well. Items that we will take as donations:
Christmas boxes (they don’t have to be in perfect shape)
Yarn,
Glues,
Wax for candle making
scents/aroma therapy oils for candles
Coffee cups/mugs
Small vases/bud vases
scrapbooking/junk journaling items,
Bells
Pom poms
Picture frames
Buttons
Embroidery thread
Stickers
Tissue paper
Bubble wrap
Ribbon
Candle making supplies (wicks, wick scissors, wax, scents, dyes, containers)
Jars (baby food jars, mason jars, glass jars)
Beads
Blank greeting cards
VHS tapes (damaged is fine)
Mod podge
Greeting/holiday/birthday cards
Stencils
Board games with missing pieces
Card decks with missing cards
I will also post on the website and in social media about what we will accept and for what purposes. The items above may be used for crafts to create something new, or packaging. While we are not demanding these items be given to us, we are offering an option should someone wish to get rid of them, rather than throw them away.
Use what’s available to us to its fullest: We live in a time in which there are possibilities all over, should we look. Thankfully, we have an abundance of resources available to us that will help us learn, grow and explore on our journey to being the best version of the Emporium that we can be. By utilizing the resources we already have, we can expand what we have to offer and stretch our limited budget as well as provide the best experience for those on this journey with us that we can. Many of these resources are free, what isn’t free we will include in the budget. It is up to us to make the best of these resources in the year 2026.
Social media platforms
Facebook- By posting and interacting on our profile and in other FB groups I can reach out and make sales as well as interact with bookclub
Instagram- Interact on our profile
Bluesky-interact on our profile
Tik Tok-Interact on our profile
Pinterest-interact on our profile
Saturday Night In
Spotify-Post episodes
Look into posting in more places then just Spotify
American Bookseller Association (ABA) (paid)-Information, marketing tools, conferences, Bookshop, possible discounts
Bookshop.org
Physical books
Ebooks
Gifts
Libro.fm
Audiobooks
Ingram-order new/sideline items in stock
Barefootbooks- see Ingram
Square/website (paid)-POS (Point of Sale)and website with all of the extra perks
Picmonkey (paid)- used to make content, remove background/label inventory images
Canva - see picmonkey
Community Library -allows access to a number of books I do not have in my personal library to recommend, talk about and review
Donations - increase inventory selections
Thrift stores/second hand stores - provides display, inventory and supplies for the store
Team members- content, word of mouth, support, brain storming, ect.
Newsletters- Find a newsletter format I like and get back in the habit
Business cards/swag - Hand out and add to packages to advertise and remind
Saturday Night In- talks about books, plug the store, share content and links
Google Meets- used for book club
Reading tracking apps.- Book reviews and content
storygraph
Fable
Biblio-Sell and price items
Ebay - sell
In short, I am surrounded by a number of resources that will work with me and for me if I use them well. Most of these resources are free to use or have low costs. By using these resources, I will be able to expand my reach, make more sales, create stronger and more active community and expand our options and reach.
Improve on preparation and planning: This is a bit of a struggle for me. There are a number of reasons for this. Those reasons include: forgetting plans, getting bored and feeling repetitive, low battery life, lack of ideas, lack of knowledge (which requires research which takes time and energy, slowing down the process), lack of supplies, lack of funds, anxiety. While I can’t eliminate all of these factors, I can improve on how I handle them. The more prepared I feel, the easier the task is and the more confident I complete the task. This helps to improve time, battery life (as I spend less battery life), makes the job more fun, increases the quality of content, helps create the energy vibes that I want the store to have, and helps me be more consistent. It also allows to show more of me (my face and personality) and will help to expand my reach. To achieve this goal, I will:
Create a list of topics and “series” to post regularly.
Choose a “series” to do regularly, like once a week. This means I can record about 4 “episodes” in bulk to cover the month and I’m not recording the same thing over and over again.
Use blog posts for content
Plan content purposefully
Plan content regulars that are fun and informative
Set step by step goals for new roll outs and bigger plans, allowing time to prepare and ensuring that we are as ready as we can be when the time comes. This will also help with budgeting.
Set short term goals to achieve mile stones in big, long term goals
Remember that I create the time line and instant success does not mean prolonged success. On the flip side, a slow or seemingly lack of success at the start doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. Give things time. Follow the plans. Baby steps count as long as they are moving forward.
Create monthly plans with goals, dates to know and themes/topics to take the pressure off in the moment.
Create and make running lists of ideas to refer to when the right time comes
Give myself time to create and prepare for holidays in a retail universe, not just a consumer universe.
ASK FOR HELP when needed
Be open to making adjustments as needed. Nothing is set in stone until it is done..and even then there’s room for adjustment.
Continue interweaving informative content into the “norm”: We have the ability to help inform, educate and entertain our supporters. It is important that we use that platform for good. This means using information to create an informed, inclusive and diverse community. To do this, we will use our resources (internet, books, people, experts, experiences, ect.) to share not just fun and product centered content but also informative and current information as well. This may be done within or in the form of:
Blog posts
Articles
Book recommendations
Content on social media
Images
Posts
Videos
Continue to provide quality customer service and care: We believe that by keeping and embracing our “people first” ideology that our respect, appreciation and love for people and their individual stories will bring supporters coming back to us. Offering people centered customer service allows us to not just say that we are “people” centered but also show that we are people centered as well as make people feel that they matter. We will continue to practice quality customer service by:
Price items fairly to enhance accessibility
Include thank you notes with all adoptions
Include swag (also counts as marketing)
Adding additional goodies randomly to packages
Ensuring that over charged fees are returned even after the customer paid them (we’re honest here. We said there should be no additional cost for shipping, so there shall be no additional cost for shipping)
Being honest and transparent
Always act in respectful ways
Continue to improve the experience that is adopting and participating in the Emporium experience: Book shopping should be a fun, magical, experience filled with opportunities. It should be fun, whimsical and dopamine inducing! In order to do this, we need to go above and beyond the bare minimum and find fun ways to enhance the book collecting experience. In addition, we need to ensure that interacting with us on social media and other platforms is a pleasant and positive experience when at all possible. This further enhances the environment we are trying to create but it also helps to enact our people first mentality and celebrate the things we love ( like stories, obviously). We can do this in the following ways:
Including book recommendation cards with book inspired sidelines (ex. Christmas centered books when a Christmas Cookie candle is adopted)
Include recipes paired with books when a book that’s been paired is adopted
Include recipes with cups/glasses housing candles when adopted
Continue slipping post it notes into random books for adoption
Responding to interaction on social medias
Post content on socials
Interact and build relationships with other social media accounts
Provide a variety of Price Points: This is a big goal for us! Reading should be accessible to everyone, not just those with a big enough bank account. While we know that this is not entirely in our control, we will do what we can to offer a range of price points by:
Pricing our previously loved items on the low end of the “reasonable” spectrum taking into account the item’s worth, condition and what we paid for the item to put it on our shelves.
Create crafts such as bookmarks, candles, wall art, ect from donated or thrifted items
Offer services such as “pick up” and “delivery” for local readers to combat shipping costs
Recycle what we can to pass the savings on to you
Shipping supplies
Items for “junk journaling”
Offer, recommend and provide items from previously loved to new, common to not so common, vintage to current and produced by hand to hand crafted.
Obtain inventory from low cost locations such as:
Library book store
Thrift stores
Garage sales
Market place
Choose assets and items to spend money on carefully
Reminder: Our goal is to help reading be more accessible to all and stay afloat, not lose money. We are still a business.
Get out of my own way: Let’s be honest, I’m a professional at getting in my own way and letting fear, doubt and shame of failure take ahold of me (perceived and real both). As a result of working towards these goal, I will need to overcome those debilitating moments and actively, consciously get out of my own path. I will work against building seemingly unmoveable obstacles in my way and allow myself to feel defeated before the battle is over. I need to remind myself that, while rejection sensitivity is a very real thing it can not rule me. It is a part of life. It’s a part of success and, even when it hurts, I will survive getting a “no” or a “I don’t like this” now and then. Perfection is over rated and we are all just works in progress. Enjoy the princess. It’s a beautiful journey. To achieve this I will:
Get out of my comfort zone, even when I’m scared to do it
Plan things out in manageable chunks
Ask for help with things that I struggle with or need help with
Don’t allow myself to pull back and not do something planned because of fear
Take a breath. Acting out of feeling desperation has never yielded the results desired and has only fed further into those feelings of failure. Ride it out. Think it through. Allow myself to learn and accept that things take time. It’s not magic.
Let got of what doesn’t work or find a new way to make it yours. Even if it works for others and you love the idea. I’m not others. I’m me.
Never stop learning new things or gathering inspiration
Allow three months or more for a system or idea play out before deciding if it’s a good fit for the store or not. Again things don’t happen instantaneously.
Better incorporate the podcast: The podcast is going into its third season in 2026. It was started for a number of reasons including a fun way to collaborate ad spend time with Mike, expanding reach, talking about something I’m passionate about, a way to let supporters see me as a real person. However, marketing a podcast is not something I’ve ever done and I’m struggling to carry the weight of the podcast and store social medias. I will continue to gain skills in marketing our podcast and allow the podcast to also work for the store and visa circa by:
Regularly post or share posts from the pod cast’s social media
Post website episodes on the website
Have Mike create some social media content
Research and look into how other podcast use social media and their resources to market their podcasts
Create more content and images specifically for the podcast pages.
Look into posting the podcast in other areas, not just Spotify
Make myself and ourselves proud: True success in life can not be measured in numbers on a bank statement, fancy material things and big houses. It all means nothing if you’re not happy and proud of what you’ve done. My goal is for all of the team members at the Emporium to be proud of what they have accomplished in the Emporium space and beyond. To do that, we must trust each other, lead with passion, never give up and always keep learning.
Be Purposeful: The Emporium was built upon a set of values and dreams. The collection of those values and dreams are unique. In order to honor those ideas, I must act purposefully in everything that I do, choices I make, dollars we spend, donations we take and every post and topic covered in content across the board. By being purposeful and mindful, we can better succeed in our mission to continue to grow until, one day, we are not a garden, but a whole farm! This means being loyal and purposeful to who supports us and who we strive to be, not who we think we should be. To do this, I will ask myself (and encourage team members to as well) a series of questions which include:
What am I attempting to achieve?
What value does this represent?
Does this fulfill a passion of mine?
What goal does this reach?
Is this the best/most effective way available to succeed in achieving what we are aiming for?
Is it worth waiting for another/better option?
What has our past history taught us about choices like this?
How will I market this?
Does this make me proud of what I’m doing?
By asking and answering these questions, my actions will be less out of impulse and with a greater understanding, planning and purpose to carry out what we seek to achieve. This will also provide more space and attention for the items that are new, popular and that fit in with our standards and values while also leaving space for new inventory. This goal works hand in hand with better planning and preparation as it allows us to stop and think through what we are doing and how to make it work in the best ways for us as well as if it is sustainable.
Be consistent: This is among the hardest goals for me to reach, and one of my biggest weaknesses but I’m sure trying! Without participating consistency, we will not be able to move forward and we’ve seen that doing the work does pay off! Our community needs to know what to expect without being too predictable, thus boring. I need to know what to expect, plan for and create without being too predictable and getting bored with it. They also need to see who we are and we need to have a voice and an expressive outlet. While this is hard in a number of ways, I will continue to work toward reaching this goal by:
Planning and schedule time to prepare for promotions/events, ect.
Plan ahead of time for what events are coming when at all possible (and I mean months ahead of time).
Take time in December and January to plan for the upcoming year
Provide/post 2 reviews or more a month and 2 or more other blog posts a month
Send out monthly newsletter each month.
Post on each social media platform at least once a day
Post 2 or more podcast episodes a month
Post one store or reel each day
Create images, photos, ect and stock pile them for future use
Record videos for a month or more at one time
Make images for a chunk of time at once
Schedule posts a month before they are expected to be posted
Add at least one new piece into inventory every week
Use provided images from places like ABA
Reschedule posts not posted when intended
Use Pinterest again
Post reviews on storygraph and fable
Use affiliate links
Post at least four books I’m reading a month
Continue to curate an inventory of love: Our space is limited and we strive to sprinkle attention and love on as many items as we have available. It also requires that we use our available space purposefully to provide access to as many titles and items as we can. In order to do this, we must be purposeful and selective while choosing which items we will have on our physical shelves and which we will only have on our digital shelves (through personal orders, bookshop.org and libro.fm). To achieve this, inventory will be chosen in accordance to the interest and recommendations of the Wizards and Bards of the Emporium first and foremost. Inventories slots will not be filled due to a sense of obligations or to fill a “niche” we think we should fill. Inventory will be filled with books and gift items we have personally read, used, want to or find value in even if it isn’t for us. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality and we strive to build an inventory filled with gifts and books we see value in and are in good condition. In accordance, we will be mindful of our values and reading habits as well as those of our customers in order to fill the store with items that support our values and beliefs and spread joy and positivity. If we find ourselves wishing to expand in an area we are not well versed in, we will reach out to others, especially those who are a part of said community for recommendations and information as well as actively work on expanding our personal reading material to become better informed.
Reminder: It is easier and much more fun to recommend and find homes for books, items and stories that you have experienced and enjoyed then for those who feel like you should recommend without experience or affection for it.
Break even financially: All of this together, theoretically, will add up to breaking even financially. This is the longest standing goal on our business plan to date. We define breaking even as the act of making the same amount of money (or more) then the amount of money going out to pay for bills and means of operation, leaving us with a balance of $0 or above and the end of the month. In order to achieve this, we need to make a minimum of $250 a month ($2190 a year) in profit (after taxes, shipping, ect) to cover monthly expensive such as website, domain,pic monkey, supplies, ABA membership and new inventory. In addition, selling fees charged by other platforms such as ebay will be rolled into the price of the item up for adoption to cover that cost. In order to reach this goal, it is estimated that we will need to fill 50 adoptions of $5 or more profit per month to reach the goal of $250 a month in out going costs.
In order to achieve said goal, we will implement a number of strategies, including those already discussed. Strategies used will include:
Providing products and links for adoption on a number of platforms including:
Facebook
Instagram
Biblio
Website
Blue sky
Tik tok
Saturday night in
Newsletters
We will also use our resources as affiliates with such organizations as bookshop.org and libro.fm to further provide adoption opportunities for our customers.
Provide product highlights, sharing our love and excitement over bookish and fun items
Share what we are reading
Prepare to start doing events
Write a minimum of 2 book reviews a month, including links and means of adoption, always being honest about our thoughts.
Make book recommendations via posts, blogs, conversation, podcast episodes and on our website
Add at least 1 new item a week to the website
Continue to give high level of customer service that makes us proud
Provide accurate and honest images and information of our inventory on our websites with flaws and imperfections visible for customers to see upon choosing their adoption.
Provide sales and deals to help clean out inventory to make room for new inventory at least least once a year.
Improve consistency on social media and elsewhere
Add venmo as an payment option
Update other forms of sales other than the website regularly
