Reading helps to increase literacy. When the literacy level in a particular society increases, it will affect the economy and other sectors, positively. That is why, there can be no end to books.
But, starting a bookshop business goes beyond just making the decision. Before you can start this business, like any other, you must have a passion for it and you must have gained knowledge about it. You also need to know the intricacies involved in starting a bookshop before starting the business at all.
First, you must decide what kind of bookseller you want to be. Do you want to sell all types of books or would you prefer to have a special category of books that you would sell? Do you want to sell second hand books or new ones. Note that, starting a second hand bookstore will require that you have been reading and gathering books over the years and relating with people who also love to read and keep their books. This will help you to have a larger collection of books to start your second hand bookstore with.
You can also import used books as well as new ones, from the UK or USA, at an affordable price and still make much money from the sales of it.
One benefit of importing books from the US is that, you don't have to pay import duties as books from the US are not vatable. But, you must make sure that your supplier, over there, includes the books on the customs form and also, indicates what the parcel contains on it. So that you can easily get it through customs, here in Nigeria.
Importing books from the UK is also as easy as importing from the USA. No import duties apply. Take for instance, you are importing books worth N596,036.63 from the UK, the shipping cost will be around N32,010, while the insurance will cost like N5,500. Making a total import value of N633,546.63, without import duty and vat. When you sell the books here in Nigeria, you can make up to N1,000,000. By so doing, you will be gaining around N360,000 with about 37% profit margin.
Having known this and making the necessary decisions, ofcourse, the next thing to do is to source for money to start your business. Because this type of business requires a substantial amount of money for start up, sourcing for capital may require for you to apply for loans from various financial institutions. You may have to borrow from friends or family members as well as your own money. Even if starting up drains you of all your finances, you can be sure that you will have returns on your investment in bookshop business. The money you are able to raise, should be channeled solely towards the business. It should be used to carry out the plans you have already made.
In choosing your location for such a business, you need to be in a place where there are a lot of people. A place where you can find pedestrian traffic. School children, workers, individuals, even car owners moving to and fro. Such a place will be very good for a bookstore business. Also, you have to furnish the place with bookshelves and counter. This will help in organizing the books and it will make your bookstore more attractive. You can also compartmentalize the store. In such a way that, customers will not have difficulty locating books of their choices.
A bookshop requires proper organisation for the achievement of the goals of the business. Indexing is important in the proper organisation of a bookstore. That is, classifying and arranging the books such that, books that are alike or in the same category can be found in the same place. So that, your store will always look attractive and organised to your customers. You can also do a window display. So that your customers can see the books from afar off and drop in to browse through or make purchases.
Also, when starting the bookshop, you need to market and advertise your bookstore. You can write proposal to schools around your location. Offering to supply books to their students and to give them discounts upon purchases. You should also set up a banner or a small signpost on your location. This will serve as a form of advert and a way to create awareness to prospective customers.
It is after you have done your business plan, raised capital, found a suitable location, registered your business name and done all you need to do about marketing and advertisement that you can go ahead to set up your bookstore.
Hi, where can one get motivational books at wholesale price in Lagos?
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