Let's Talk Business

First of all, a Bookstore is just goin to Leave you in more Debts. Not worth it. People these days don’t want to read books.

Talk to small book store owners for a start.

Sounds like a pipe dream to me. Go for it though.

Just make coffee…..people will buy anything if you have coffee!…lol

has ample amounts of literature for new business and how to get started.

Be prepare to get rake over coals since a Book store would fall under retail which is highly competitive and tend to fail.

You could start by checking out , which is the federal government’s small business administration. You can probably find something similar on the state level in Texas, if you google around a bit. With Dallas being as big as it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s not something similar on the local/metro level. Could probably get some help (or, guidance at least) from the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Best of luck!

Edited to add: Seems like a lot of people are down on the idea of a bookstore in Dallas because of all the competition, and there’s probably some truth to their arguments.. If you try to go up against B&N or Half Price Books, they’re spot on.. If, however, you “find a niche and scratch it,” as they say, you could pretty easily be the only game in town.

What I mean is, don’t just be another indy bookstore — be the only bookstore in Dallas which specializes in books about trains and railroads…or neoclassical art…or early 20th century cinema…er whatever.

Nobody is going to loan you money to open an independent bookstore. Independents are a thing of the past.

You may have a small shot if you were going to open it in San Fransisco or Boston, but Dallas???? Forget about it.

In addition to the SBA (and yes there are loans for small business), contact score (it is a free volunteer organization & they have counselors who will work with you one-on-one as well as seminars).

Good Luck & don’t let anyone take your dreams away from you!!!

If you don’t have a SOLID business plan, forget the loan. Add that to the fact that you have NO business background or experience, you won’t get a loan. You better do your HOMEWORK very well before you take that step because it can lead you to bankruptcy fast if you have no idea what you are getting into, especially since you will be competing with Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon.com and any number of other book stores. You need a SOLID business plan, and analysis of the potential customer base where you propose to place this store. Then you will need to get information of what leases or rentals go for in the area you want. If you plan on hiring employees you have a hell of a lot of work to do (with IRS as well as with benefits plans), as well as with all the bookeeping and accounting involved. You will have to provided projected sales and profits, and the BIG thing is that you will need lots of your own money to live on while the business is trying to grow. You just don’t skim the profits and live on them. You have suppliers to line up, distributors and advertising, and who knows what else.

Opening a business isn’t like baking a cake, so you need to do a LOT research than “I am moving to Dallas and want to open a book store.” The fact you said you ‘have no clue’ would be enough to frighten off any loan officer. You might qualify for a government ‘grant’ but you still have to provide a solid business plan to qualify.

Sounds harsh but that’s the business world. If you don’t have enough saved to live on for a year or two while this business is losing money in the beginning, you’ll fail. Plain and simple. Just look at the small businesses that open only to ‘close up’ after a few months. All because of a lack of a business plan and survival money.

I would take a close look at your “Question”. You have no business background. How much capital do you have? Are you aware of the laws and regulations required of a business owner? Have you ever worked in a bookstore? Have you ever walked into a bookstore (besides Barnes and Noble?) and seen more than 10 people? I am an avid reader and I often go to bookstores. The problem is, for the markup and the expense of stocking your store, you will be broke before you open your doors. Do you know where you will be buying your books? Do you know how many books it takes to open a store? You can’t have one of each sitting on shelves, which brings me to another thought. Shelving, furniture, lighting, computers, software, not to mention the books. You will have to purchase boxes and boxes and more boxes of books to stock up your store. You know they want money before they ship those books out right? You know that they won’t extend credit to a shop that just opened up, right? I am a business owner and it just really irks me that people that want to do something with their life, don’t prepare for it. Why would you want to set yourself up for failure???

I own a small used car dealership in Arizona. I worked in the automotive industry for 15 years before I bought my store. My husband worked (from the ground up) as a journeyman technician for 20 years, to Service Manager and Director of fixed operations for another 14 years. Do you realize how hard it is with our backgrounds, to make a profitable living? It’s not easy, and we had experience. So what I am telling you is, it’s not the smartest idea to go into business without being armed to run it. If your looking to invest all that money you have, I am always looking for investors here!!!

A small business loan is one of the most treasured commodities in the business world. It is still very hard to get despite the claims and promises of banks, credit unions, and other lending institutions that they want to help American smallsuppliers and vendors. The main reason that the banks use for not granting many loans during this period is like the same reason that a student can’t get a job coming out of school. They don’t have the experience.

Go to and in the upper left hand corner, enter your zip code. On the next screen, you will get information on the nearest SCORE chapter. Call them and arrange for a free meeting with a SCORE counselor.

SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

SCORE has 389 chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors.

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Good luck !

Don’t open a bookstore. Open a EBOOKSTORE! You already have all the infrastructure you need to do it. Your only risk is a bit of your time. If it takes off, (after you learn a whole lot more about the business world), you can expand to a brick and mortar bookstore.