Still Time to Register for “Introduction to Bookstore Business” Seminar

ABA-member new and prospective booksellers can still register for the full-day workshop “How to Succeed at Retail Bookselling: Introduction to the Bookstore Business,” to be held on Friday, February 22, just prior to the kickoff of Winter Institute 8 (Wi8) in Kansas City, Missouri.

Registration for the seminar is open to ABA Provisional members and employees of Regular member stores. The cost of $100 includes lunch and two coffee breaks. All workshop participants can also register for Wi8, which has its opening reception on Friday evening, February 22, and runs through Monday, February 25.

The workshop will be facilitated by Mark and Donna Paz Kaufman of the Bookstore Training Group of Paz & Associates. The workshop’s content, which is comparable to Session One of their intensive workshop retreat, “Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials,” will introduce new owners and those who are exploring the possibility of opening or buying a bookstore to the fundamentals and best practices of independent bookstore retailing. The program will cover key topics, such as capital needed for opening a bookstore; the realities of bookstore profit margins and why they are more challenging than other forms of retail; realistic benchmarks for bottom-line earnings; and key indicators for successful site selection.

Current ABA members can sign up for the one-day intensive workshop here and should be sure to indicate on the form whether they would also like to attend Winter Institute 8 and whether they will need hotel reservations. ABA Education Manager Lisa Winn will follow up with seminar registrants to facilitate their Wi8 registration and hotel reservations. Questions regarding the workshop should be e-mailed to Winn.

Non-ABA members can join the association and then sign up to participate in the workshop.  Questions about ABA membership should be directed to Member Relationship Managers Kaitlin Pitcher and Nathan Halter.