Indie Bookstores Are Perfect Models for American Small Businesses

It's no secret that I love independent bookstores. So when I came across an article I discovered on the Flavorwire website titled, 5 Reasons Why Indie Bookstores Are Perfect Models for American Small Businesses by Jason Diamond, I couldn't resist reading it and sharing it here on my blog! In the article, Diamond writes:

The thing is, people are fanatical about independent bookstores. In a 2011 Slate article about why you should shop for your books on Amazon, Farhad Manjoo talked about “bookstore cultists,” or the type of people who might stop talking to you if you tell them you purchased The Flamethrowers on Amazon. Now, if anybody were so radical as to cut you out of their life because of where you shop, then yes, that’s a little excessive. But in focusing primarily on price, Manjoo ignored two simple things: you go into an indie bookstore and deal with a real person instead of clicking your mouse a few times, and people are simply loyal to certain brands and businesses. No matter what sort of discount they’re offering, it’s often difficult for online businesses to build up a devoted customer base because they feel so impersonal.

While I don’t necessarily foresee these indie stores banding together to defeat another evil corporate giant that is looking to crush them, reading Boris Kachka and Joshua David Stein’s New York magazine piece, “6 Independent Bookstores Are Thriving — and How They Do It,” got me thinking that while each of the examples cited in the piece has its own story, what successful independent bookstores share is more important than what sets them apart. There’s no secret recipe, but any young entrepreneur looking to start their own business should consider walking to their local bookstore to see how it gets the following things right.

Click on the top link to read Jason Diamond's five reasons why indie bookstores a perfect small business models.

Until my next post, visit an indie bookstore!