Diary entries so far:
7th March 2011
It's been a long time since I've updated this diary and that's both a good and a bad thing! The past few months at the Gutter have been hectic to say the least and it's only now, post-Christmas and post-obligatory-Christmas-cold, that I can have a look back and see what we've achieved (and failed to achieve).
We had a great Christmas in the Gutter. What was wonderful to see was a lot of customers that we had served through the year and met at our various events chose to come and spend their Christmas gift money with us - it was a real sign that the effort we put into our events programme and social media work via Twitter, Facebook and our Mailing List really does pay off. The many chats I had with customers over the Christmas period also confirmed that people are beginning to realise the importance of supporting local businesses if they want to keep these kind of shops in their local area. Admittedly, not everyone thinks this way but as long as enough people continue to value small local retailers for the variety and interest that they off we'll be fine.
Overall, 2011 was a good year for the Gutter and we achieved a lot. Our financial year ends in February so I'll have to wait until early March to know if the company actually made a profit this year but the signs are good. In the meantime, I'm working on a couple of plans which will hopefully expand the business in 2012. I've decided that I certainly don't want another shop for the foreseeable future but there are ways of expanding the offers that we give through the Cow's Lane store. First up is a Loyalty Card which is currently being printed but there's certainly more to come...
Thank you, as ever, to all the people that continue to support and encourage us in the Gutter Bookshop. I can honestly say that it's the best thing I've ever done and something that I hope we can continue to turn into a profitable business in the years to come.
23rd October 2011
We'll be 2 years old in a couple of weeks and that's made me think back on what we've managed to do so far, and think about all the things that aren't quite right yet!
I'm thrilled that we managed to open the shop at all and that we've managed to survive 2 years in a very tough retail environment. I'm proud of all the events that we've organised and been involved in (nearly 250 of them in 2 years!). I'm delighted that people like our bookshop and that they say such nice things about it and I'm happy that I can spend my days doing something that I really love.
But there's so much more that I have going on in my head that we haven't managed to do yet! Our range of books is good but I still don't think it's as good as it could be. I'd love to launch a loyalty card to reward all of our supportive customers (but I need to improve our sales margins a bit first). I've got a great idea for expanding the business (no, we're not opening another shop - I think it's important that the Gutter remains as a standalone for now at least!) but there's other ways of growing our business. We still need to tweak our stationery and gift offers for adults - but I'm so picky about what we sell that it can be difficult... Oh, and of course I'm interested in looking at the ebook market as well but until I can work out a way of doing it profitably it'll have to stay on hold for a bit! Oh, and I'm also working on expanding our events schedule too and this website needs a proper overhaul...
So, we've made a good start but so much left to do. It's time I got stuck in! Thank you all for your support so far - it's what keeps me going.
Well, after a great week in Scotland I came back revitalized and ready to get back to work. What surprises me most was that I managed to switch off completely and not really think about the shop at all. Guess that's one of the benefits of having a great team - with Ann and Sinead running the shop whilst I was away I knew there was no need to worry (in fact, from past experience, the shop always tends to do slightly better when I'm not actually there!)
We've had a busy few weeks since I got back, which is a good thing, but I'm feeling the pressure at the moment. As we approach our second birthday I know that we have to continue to find ways to build and expand the business in order to make it successful. We can't just rely on doing the same thing in order to bring in more money. A fully transactional website is obviously one thing that's always on my mind but set-up costs are a lot and I'm a real believer that if you're going to do something then you have to do it really well. It's also very different than setting up a standard online business (a fact that I have to explain to all those lovely companies who phone me up and offer to set-up a website for me!) A good book website needs to be able to access data on over 10 million books and this includes special Irish editions of books that are only out in hardback in the UK. Anyway, it's something I'll continue to look at but until we can do it really well (and differently from anyone else) it'll stay as a possible. In the meantime, I've had a couple of good ideas on how we can expand our business. I'm working on them at the moment and as soon as I've worked out how to make them happen (in a profitable way!) I'll let you know.
I'm exhausted! Next week I'm taking a week away from the shop to head over to Scotland, exploring the Highlands and visiting friends in Edinburgh that I haven't seen since we opened the shop. Most of all I'm looking forward to sleeping and eating and, hopefully, relaxing for a full 7 days.
When I was getting ready to open the shop back in October 2009 I popped over to see my good friend Hereward at The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop in Tetbury. One thing he was adamant about was that you need to take proper holidays otherwise you become exhausted and no longer of much use to your business. I think I'm at that stage now and need to recharge before an Autumn filled with great events in the shop. I guess I'm lucky enough that I enjoy my business so much that I feel the need to expel so much energy doing it!
Ann and Sinead will be doing a grand job of running the shop whilst I'm away, do pop in and say hello.
On Saturday we held our first big external event as part of the Made In Temple Bar Festival. Our Picturebook Picnic was a great success and it was great to do something completely different for families to enjoy. We had loads of support in putting the event together - Dublin UNESCO City of Literature were particularly helpful, as were Walker Books and Children's Books Ireland who helped us out on the day.
Niamh Sharkey, author and illustrator, kicked us off with some stories and drawing based on her picturebooks - a particular highlight was her Hugglewug dance that had all the kids (and grown-ups) on their feet and dancing. Niamh was followed by poet and musician Paul Tubb who had a number of funny poems about lesser-spotted Dublin creatures. Rounding things up was Patricia Campbell, a storyteller from Dublin City Libraries, who had everyone joining in with her 'heads, shoulders, knees and toes' as well as being completely enthralled by her favourite picturebooks. Finishing off the afternoon was a special guest, Maisy the Mouse!
Everyone seemed to have a good time and I'd like to do more family events in the future, it was lovely to see such enthusiasm and willingness to be involved. A big thank you to everyone who came along and to Temple Bar Cultural Trust who have been so encouraging about what we are trying to do.
You can see more photos over on our Facebook page.
In a couple of weeks time we'll be holding our first big external event - 'The Picturebook Picnic' in the Wood Quay Venue - as part of the 'Made in Temple Bar Festival' that celebrates 20 years of Temple Bar being turned into a central cultural and tourist destination rather than being demolished to make way for a central transport hub. Last week an official report was published that looked at the work Temple Bar Cultural Trust have carried out in developing Temple Bar as a cultural centre and whether the TBCT should continue to exist as an independent organisation. This weekend there was a fairly negative newspaper piece about what Temple Bar has become in The Irish Times magazine.
Any changes will have an immediate impact on The Gutter Bookshop and how we run our business and our potential future income. Temple Bar Cultural Trust currently act as our landlord and any change is obviously worrying for a new small business. We've been extremely excited in the past few months by the long promised redevelopment of the Smock Alley Theatre on our doorstep starting to take shape. The ongoing work by the Temple Bar Cultural Trust to turn the Old City part of Temple Bar into a viable commercial and cultural area was one of the key reasons why we decided to locate the business in this district. All that we can hope for is that if TBCT is disbanded and control of the area reverted to Dublin City Council that they work as hard to transform this area, and improve the cultural offerings of Temple Bar, as the TBCT have done over the past 2 years that we have been in business here.
Busy! So much going on at the moment that I'm not sure what to do with myself! Not complaining though - it's a great position to be in but apologies that I've not managed to keep this blog up to date. Bizarrely I've been writing guest blogs for other sites (see Diary entry below on how this doesn't always work out for the best!) but it's a good way of spreading the word about the Gutter and what we do.
The big news is that a few weeks ago we were named Independent Bookseller of the Year 2011 for Ireland in the annual Bookseller Trade Awards. There's 6 finalists from around the UK and Ireland and I'll be attending a swanky do in Park Lane, London next week to see if we've won the overall prize. To be honest, we're just thrilled to have won the Irish award and the response from our customers and contacts has been wonderfully supportive so it's given us a real boost in terms of energy and confidence. Thank you to everyone who has encouraged and supported us, we really appreciate it!
I'll also be talking about Social Media at the Bookseller's Association Conference on Sunday. It's amazing the opportunities that come up when you start to talk to people about the way you run your business and because I always enjoy discussing ways in which we can grow and develop the bookshop this should be a good occasion to meet some new, and old, friends from the business and get some new ideas too.
It's been an odd few days. A few weeks ago I was asked to submit a blog to a trade magazine about being a bookseller in Ireland's current economic climate. I umm-ed and ahh-ed about it for a few days before agreeing as it isn't something I've done before and it was quite a way out of my 'comfort zone'. In the end I said yes as I thought it would help build awareness of the Gutter in the trade (useful for attracting author events and other support from publishers) and because I like to push myself out of my comfort zone now and again.
The blog went live a few days ago and it soon attracted a number of comments that were negative about my blog, and about the shop in general. In all honesty, this surprised me and I wasn't sure how to respond. It also made me consider my approach to the Gutter and what we were trying to achieve. I would always have thought of myself as having quite a thick skin (you have to be to set-up your own business) but it's amazing how much some negative criticism can knock you when you are still unsure of the right way forward.
Having thought hard about it over the past few days I have now decided to move on. There were some interesting ideas in a few of the comments concerning the role of non-book products as income generators for bookshops, and whether customers are best served in stores with a large stockholding or a more tailored range, but I decided that engaging further on this particular blog would most likely be detrimental.
So, do I regret doing it? Not really. Regret is a funny thing because it depends on hindsight. I knew that in order to try and promote the Gutter in as many ways as possible that we would have to try lots of different things. Some would work, and some wouldn't. I also still believe in pushing myself out of my comfort zone to try new things. My skin has just got a bit thicker and some negativity now and again just reminds you of how hard you have to push to make a small business succesful.
I have been asked to write further blogs but have yet to decide whether to do it. There's part of me that doesn't want to back down but ultimately I have to ask myself what is best for building the business and whether the effort required will ultimately pay off in a higher turnover for the shop.
You can read the blog and comments here. If you'd like to comment please do so, or you can contact me direct via the shop.
Phew, well that's been a busy few days! Last week we hosted a booklaunch for Shirley Benton, a school event for Dublin Book Festival with author Jean Flitcroft, a Dublin Book Festival True Crime Night, World Book Day, World Book Night, Dublin Book Festival Kids' Storytime and a Russian Fairytales reading for the Festival of Russian Culture!
(Lots of photos on our Facebook page if you want to see!)
I'm so glad we insisted all our shop units came on wheels so we can just move them out of the way everytime we need to create some space, it makes life a lot easier.
It always intrigues me that each event has it's own unique vibe that comes from the different audiences they attract and the way they use the shop space. Luckily, every event we've done so far has gone well and been well received. It's always good to get new groups of people into the shop (if only to give my energy levels a boost when they tell me how much they like the shop and utter my favourite words - "I'll be back".
Quick update (due to overdue blogging guilt!) We've had a great start to the year with stacks of events lined-up. March is looking to be a very busy month with launches, tie-in events with the Dublin Book Festival and all of other bookgroups etc. Lovely that so many people have come to us with things that we'd love to be involved with - all we have to do now is make sure that we do them justice!
It's wonderful to be in the position of having so much going on in the business. I hate saying 'no' to things that help grow our bookshop so next stage is to make sure that we can handle everything and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way. And at the same time, ensure that we all get a little bit of a break and some relaxation to keep our energy levels up.
We learned this week that we're one of only two Irish independent bookshops shortlisted for The Bookseller's Independent Bookshop of the Year Award. You have to self-nominate so this isn't such an achievement yet but it's reassuring to see that we were considered strong enough to be shortlisted. Regional winners will be announced in April, with the overall winner announced in May so keep those fingers-crossed!
Sorry, but where did the time go? I can't believe I haven't updated this diary since November. I guess I win the 'Worst Blogger of the Year' award! Apologies but I have been very busy, honest, and thank you for coming to have a look at the site anyway.
So, here we are in 2011 and The Gutter Bookshop has now managed to survive through 2 Christmases. Last December was tough going for everyone in retail. The snow in early December was a big issue for High St shops as people had just started to think about shopping for Christmas when it hit and therefore spent time at home ordering presents online. The snow in the week before Christmas was also difficult as it stopped some people being able to get out and about in their usual fashion. Last week I attended a meeting of the Irish BA (Booksellers Association) and everyone reported having a very difficult Christmas. This comes as some relief to me as, whilst The Gutter Bookshop certainly did not have an easy time of it, we don't seem to have been as badly hit as others. This is partly due to being in the City Centre and therefore more accessible by public transport than other bookshops but also because we are continuing to build the business year on year.
Looking into 2011 we aim to continue building The Gutter Bookshop further. I'm looking at lots of different ideas as to how we can grow the business in different ways. Sadly a lot of these plans would involve investing substantial amounts of extra cash which is not feasible at the moment but there are other ways to grow a business and I'll certainly be putting some of these into action. Here's hoping that 2011 is a good one for The Gutter Bookshop.
