Workshop for New & Prospective Booksellers in September

The Bookstore Training Group of Paz & Associates will be conducting an intensive workshop -- Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials -- from Monday, September 8, through Friday, September 12, on Amelia Island (near Jacksonville, Florida). The program, which is divided into two sessions, will answer participants' general questions about the business, as well as detailed questions about the start-up process.

Session 1, "Retail Bookselling: Creating Foundations for Success," on Monday and Tuesday, will examine:

• How to assess whether a community will support an independent bookstore
  
• Ways successful booksellers compete in today's market
  
• How much it will cost to implement a prospective bookseller's vision
  
• Bookstore financial dynamics -- why some bookstores are profitable and others aren't
  
• How long it will take to open

At Session 2, "Ready, Set, Open for Business: Planning & Store Set-up," from Wednesday through Friday, participants will learn:

• Insider's tips on bookstore design, fixtures, lighting, and merchandising
  
• Ways to order an opening inventory
  
• How to buy and manage inventory once the store has opened
  
• What book industry resources are essential to a successful business
  
• What to look for in a computerized bookstore management system
  
• Marketing and grand opening strategies, publisher co-op, and more

More information and a registration form about the workshop, facilitated by Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman and co-sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, are available at www.pazbookbiz.com.