Indies Rock!
I love being an independent business owner. Obviously, I wish we hadn’t had to close the storefront, that this economy hadn’t been messing with so many of us the last couple of years, but I’m glad my daughter Annie and I took the plunge, the leap of faith.
Being an indy has made me so much more aware of other indies than I used to be, not only other retailers but also those folks who supply us retailers. Over the years, I’ve come across many with products I loved even though they didn’t really “fit” us and often wished we could stretch a point, so to speak.
One of the few advantages of no longer having a storefront is that I can experiment with a few ideas and look for things I think people might like at the cons and festivals we’re still doing.  So, one day not long ago, I came across this little gem of an idea. We actually would have wanted this in the store but didn’t know about it back then.
In My Book is a little company that has developed these neat bookmarks. Robin Blum had the idea to start with and 
Meredith Hamilton does the artwork. Between them, they’ve come up with a nifty concept, a greeting card that becomes a bookmark, sort of a 2-for-1 deal. Pick out the card you want to give someone and then they can tear off the front to have a very cool bookmark. They’re nice heavy stock, too, not those flimsy paper bookmarks we used to give out (although our store bookmark, while flimsy, was a nice one and popular).
This is the beauty of independent business. Anybody, and that means you, can have a small brainstorm and turn it into a livelihood. You might not be able to quit your day job, at least not right away, but maybe maybe you’ll turn out to be the guy that invented the pet rock or the sticky note. You just never know what will take the public’s fancy but what fun it can be to give it a shot. These days, with the internet, it’s easier in some ways (much harder in others) because the potential is pretty much unlimited if you can just figure out how to reach your target markets. That’s where a lot of hard work and more than a bit of serendipity come in.
To any business, every sale or transaction matters, but especially to an independent. We don’t have big corporate bank accounts to fall back on and we have to pay bills like anyone else. If you like these greeting card bookmarks, go to their website at In My Book and buy some or look up a retail store in your neighborhood—or just give me a holler 
February 21, 2010
Posted in: Tales of a Bookseller
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2 Responses
Love the bookmark cards idea! Thanks for pointing it out; definitely goes on my “must get” list . . .
What a nifty idea!!
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