698 days…..

A couple of days later than I hoped, but I’m here!

Business plan

Over the last few days I have been trying to get my head around a business plan. As the saying goes, “A goal without a plan is just a dream” and this dream is now a goal! … well it’s getting there!

With that in mind, it’s made me realise how much I want this venture to be more than just a bookshop.

I want this place to become something that works for our community, engages people to fall in love with literature, to get lost in imagination and be able to find somewhere their creativity can thrive.

Now don’t get me wrong, a bookshop is where it starts, but the plan that is forming after a month of brainstorming and talking with friends is becoming so much more.

I want it to be somewhere that inspires a love of reading in children and adults alike. A place where people can discover new stories, meet authors, join book clubs, and reconnect with their imagination.

I want teenagers to have somewhere to study after school. I want board game groups and local book clubs to have a welcoming place to meet in the evenings. I want friends to be able to escape the noise of everyday life, grab a cup of tea (or a coffee), and spend an evening surrounded by books and conversation.

Most of all, I want people to walk through the door and feel like they belong there.

If I can create a space where stories bring people together, bring back that lost creativity, and help build stronger connections within the community, then I won’t just have opened a bookshop.

I’ll have created something that matters, and deep down I think that’s my true goal.

Because communities need places that are open after the 9 to 5, where people can connect, dream, learn and belong.

One page at a time . . .