Winter Institute 2019

Increasing margin through better buying and careful budgeting can improve your cost of goods. This session will use data from ABA’s ABACUS report to outline a path to improvements in a store’s cost of goods, leading to improved financial decisions and substantial savings. The booksellers on this panel are excited to share straightforward financial practices that will make a big difference to the financial health of your business. In this session, booksellers will learn:

• How to read the ABACUS report, including how to compare your data with national averages
• How to make small changes to cost of goods that will result in a positive financial impact
• How long it takes to see the results of small changes to cost of goods
• How to evaluate which financial changes are the ones that will most benefit your business with the least worry and work

IndieCommerce™ is the ABA’s e-commerce platform for independent bookstores. The system provides the tools for indie bookstores to create unique, content-rich, and easy-to-operate, fully transactional, e-commerce enabled websites. Over the past few years, the IndieCommerce team has been working closely with booksellers to to help them achieve their online marketing and sales goals. This session will highlight some of the most impactful changes that individual stores have made to their websites over the past year, including before and after examples.

One minute of planning can save you ten minutes in execution. Planning skills can make you a more effective bookseller and help prevent burnout because planning creates efficiency and leads to improved productivity. Cindy Dach, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstores (Tempe, AZ), will teach booksellers techniques for time management, planning and organizing daily tasks, all with an eye toward completing the big-picture projects. This session is part of Changing Hands' professional development program.

Bookstores that sell direct to schools are an invaluable resource to the local community and a successful strategy for increasing cash flow and profits. Bookseller panelists who have worked closely with their school districts will share with Institute attendees how they too can foster a relationship with school districts and add to their stores’ bottom line. In this session booksellers will learn:

• How to find appropriate school contacts
• How to create teacher wishlists
• How to become a school’s one-stop book fair distributor
• How to manage in-school author visit orders
• Best practices for orders
• How to establish and manage subscription services

Your landlord can be one of the most important influencers on the success of your business, but this critical relationship is often only considered when the rent is due or when it’s time to sign the lease. Bookstore owners who have experienced the positive results of cultivating the landlord relationship will share their experiences and explore effective strategies for landlord relations. Panelists will discuss:

• Best practices for improving landlord relationships
• Tips for turning your landlord into an advocate for your business as well as indie businesses in your community
• Tips for lease negotiations

Hanif Abdurraqib is the author of Go Ahead In the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest, University of Texas Press.

Genre book buyers are dedicated readers who are willing to spend time and money on these titles. Whether it’s mystery, romance, science fiction, or another genre, independent booksellers can profit by creating ways for these readers to connect, purchase titles, and enjoy lively discussions. This idea exchange is an opportunity for booksellers to discuss genre marketing, merchandising, events, and more.

Keeping your bookselling team connected is an ongoing challenge. From Podio to Slack and Team Snap, technology continues to offer ways to manage projects and communicate with staff. A panel of booksellers will review the tech tools they are using to good business effect. This discussion will provide insight into:

• Options for both project management and staff communication
• Choosing the best tech solution for your needs
• Letting go of systems that do not work
• Understanding when technology is NOT the answer
  

Pre-registration required; for owners and managers only.
Register here

As a bookstore owner or manager, having multiple responsibilities means your to-do list is never done. And as your business grows, your days only get longer. In order to keep your sanity, you need staff who can take on more responsibilities and grow with the business, providing leadership in your store and possessing the confidence to represent your store in the community. For this to happen, you need employees who can think strategically, take initiative, and feel empowered to solve problems. Alden Mills—Inc. 500 CEO, Navy SEAL, and author of Unstoppable Teams: The Four Essential Actions of High-Performance Leadership (HarperBusiness)—will teach important strategies you can apply immediately to develop leaders in your stores. You’ll walk away with Alden’s C.A.R.E.-based model that focuses on building relationships in four ways—with customers, co-workers, and community.

This Advanced Education Session is designed for in-depth exploration among peers about management and operational concerns. Space is limited and registration is first-come, first-served. Each ABA member company is limited to two AES participants. ABA will attempt to accommodate all interested stores with at least one AES placement; assignments will be e-mailed prior to the start of Winter Institute. Presented twice on Thursday, 1/24: 9:20 to 10:20 am and 3:30 to 4:30 pm.

International guests are invited to join their colleagues from around the world for an informative discussion about the current state of the American book business. Lunch will be served.

Margaret Atwood, author of the upcoming The Handmaid's Tale (The Graphic Novel), (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday) speaks with Erin Morgenstern, author of the upcoming The Starless Sea (Doubleday).

If you have been an owner or manager of store for six years or more, this is the discussion group for you! Owning and/or managing a bookstore for this long comes with specific challenges. Join your colleagues to hear how other longtime owners are addressing their unique challenges and opportunities.

If you have been an owner or manager of store for five years or fewer, this is the discussion group for you! Owning and/or managing a bookstore for under five years comes with specific challenges. Join your colleagues to hear how others are addressing their own unique obstacles and advantages as a newer owner.

Developed for author guests at Winter Institute this lunch panel features booksellers who have formulated best practices for creating events that benefits both store and author. This session will cover a number of issues, from author publicity to dealing with pre-event nerves.

International guests are invited to lunch with their colleagues and participate in an informal discussion about bookselling developments and trends from around the world. All countries represented at Wi14 will be given an opportunity to provide a short country report. Take a break, relax, and enjoy an informal discussion with other international bookselling colleagues.