As I continue on for the fourth week of my latest business endeavor, Five Dollar Books, I decided to put together a little informative/behind-the-scenes post about my mobile used bookstore venture.
A Venture Without a Plan
Five Dollar Books was, admittedly, a spur of the moment idea. Since closing down Basil E. Bacorn Books, Art, and More at the end of 2019, I've been struggling with getting rid of leftover inventory. I had donated the bulk of my children's toys to charity, and I am consigning certain other products with SHEA Creations and Company in Athens, but I was still stuck with about $2,000 worth of books. After some consideration, I decided to start doing vendor events on a limited basis to help clear out, and I called the venture "Five Dollar Books".
Five Dollar Books did not have a business plan, and it still doesn't. I filed registration paperwork with the Pennsylvania government and signed up for my first event in a matter of days. In fact, I signed up for the Sayre Farmers Market on the day before my first day of business there.
I then decided that, since I love helping others, I would use Five Dollar Books as a kind of "fundraising" method to donate money to local causes. One thing I personally would love to set up is an annual small business grant program for local businesses.
It's For a Good Cause
75% of Five Dollar Books's profits annually will be donated to support local causes. I decided this because, as I stated before, I love helping people. One of my main motivations behind my all of my business goals is to be able to help make the world a better place, after all, so I felt Five Dollar Books would be a good way to turn selling used books into spreading smiles and good cheer. Thus the motto "Books to Smiles" was born.
When I tell people "to support local causes", I am purposefully keeping it open-ended. I want to support as many local causes as possible, be it local businesses, nonprofits, or a local family in need. The main goal is to have a consistent fund on hand that's ready to support whatever community cause needs help at a moment's notice. I also have a kind of personal goal to be able to raise enough for a $500 annual business grant for local businesses in the community. As an entrepreneur myself, I know first-hand just how important capital is, and getting grants and investments make all the difference in the world for a small business, even if it's only an extra $500.
Keeping it on the Side
As much as I love selling books, my main focus right now rests with my writing and Basil E. Bacorn Publishing, along with a new business idea I have been developing recently. I am only one person, after all, and I am trying to not spread myself too thin. In all honesty, the only reason I'm even considering the next new business is that it is one of those ideas that I can't stop thinking about and deserves to at least be fleshed out and given a chance. So Five Dollar Books is going to remain a side venture for now (and if I can get to the point where I can hire someone to take over, I probably will.)
To make sure I keep Five Dollar Books as the side project I meant it to be, I'm limiting myself to only one event a week max (except for this week, since I'm at the Five Dollar Books pop-up in Athens on Saturday in addition to the Sayre Farmers Market on Friday). In addition, since it's for local causes, I want to make sure Five Dollar Books only sets up locally. This also helps me limit the number of events since the Valley only hosts so many vendor events a year.
If you've read this all the way through, I hope to see you stop by one of the events Five Dollar Books is at sometime! It's really all about using literacy to make our local community a better place for everyone, which is something I'm always happy to get behind. For more information on Five Dollar Books, and to track where and when we'll be set up, visit the Five Dollar Books website at www.fivedollarbooks.org.
Hope to see you soon! Thanks for reading!
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Have any suggestions for local causes in the Athens/Sayre and surrounding areas? Drop a comment below or let me know privately by email or social media!
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