Register Now for August “Owning a Bookstore” Workshop Retreat

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Paz & Associates logThe Bookstore Training Group of Paz & Associates will present its next Owning a Bookstore Workshop Retreat for new and prospective booksellers from August 27 to 30 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The workshop, which aims to provide participants with the information and skills they need to develop a profitable and sustainable business, will include field trips to Parnassus Books, co-owned by Karen Hayes and bestselling author Ann Patchett, and to Ingram Book Company’s home offices and primary warehouse in La Vergne.

Trainees will be expected to first complete a self-study online training program to gain an understanding of start-up investment requirements, learn how to assess the strength of a community to sustain a bookstore, be able to judge location options, and understand bookstore financial dynamics. Using video presentations, hand-outs, spreadsheets, and exercises, the online training is designed to provide the fundamentals of the bookstore business.

The workshop retreat will then address the key elements of store design, how to buy books and non-book merchandise, the disciplines of inventory management, how to effectively use a bookstore computer system, successful marketing strategies, developing an exceptional staff, and more. Attendees will also learn the best practices of some of the most successful independent bookstores.

Co-sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the program, facilitated by Paz & Associates’ Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman, will include guest booksellers and trainers who will share their frontline expertise.

For details, visit PazBookBiz.com or call (904) 277-2664. ABA members are entitled to discounted tuition and should call to register.