Posted by Forest on May 30, 2008
While prepping the house for sale last weekend, I ran out of boxes and knew that we had plenty of empty ones in the “book room” at my business partner’s house. So I drove over there to get some boxes and we ended up having an impromptu meeting where we basically talked over the future of the business and I essentially quit. As much as I love the book business, there are just more important things that are taking up my time these days.
We hashed out a quick plan on what the split was going to look like and we both left satisfied. I’m getting a payout and he’s going to continue on with the business with his wife taking over my spot. There were no hard feelings and it’s all good — we’re still great friends.
While it only lasted a little over a year for me and it didn’t make me rich (financially), I really treasure the experience I gained. In college, I was an English major which is close to the furthest away from a Business major (maybe Art is a tad further) that you can be. So I’ve learned a lot about “business” over the last year and whether you like it or not, it seems the world runs on Business and not literature. Sad, but true.
Still, I’m looking forward to taking all the knowledge I gained over the last year and applying it to my next venture, whatever that may be.
Posted by Forest on May 22, 2008
For the last few months, sales have really slowed down. Whether it’s due to American’s reducing their discretionary spending I can’t be sure, but I know it probably has something to do with the fact that I haven’t put much effort into acquiring any new inventory.
The main problem is my motivation. The book business was never meant to replace my primary income. It was meant to be supplemental; fun money, if you will. However, two months ago I got a new day job and the pay increase has really diminished my feeling that I need to make a little more on the side. It’s always nice to have a bit more, but I’m questioning whether the amount I am making with the books is worth the time I put in to them.
It actually takes quite a bit of work. At my old job, I had every Friday off and I would spend them traveling between thrift stores, garage sales, estate sales, and used bookstores, looking for books that were worth more than their price. Then I’d go home and list them all on Amazon and right a short description of their condition after checking them for underlining, highlighting, etc. I’d also have to list them in our accounting spreadsheets and peel off all the price stickers. Peeling price stickers is by far the worst part of selling used books online (I go through a lot of Goo-Gone and have sticky fingernails). Anyway, with my new job I have to work Fridays again and I don’t necessarily want to spend my weekends (especially in Summer) scouring the local thrift shops and book sales.
At this point, we are still slowly selling off our old inventory, but I haven’t been acquiring anything new. My business partner and I will be meeting later this month to discuss the future of the venture. I’m leaning towards calling it quits because it’s just not worth it to me at this point in time. I will keep you posted on what we decide.
Posted by Forest on May 21, 2008
Last April, a friend talked to me about partnering up and trying to turn this hobby into something more lucrative. We spent time coming up with a plan and dividing responsibilities. I knew what books were valuable so I would be in charge of acquiring inventory. He had an empty basement to store the books in and was willing to take on the packing and shipping duties. We would split the bookkeeping. After conducting some research, we bought some equipment and launched. The first month we turned a tidy profit and knew we were on to something. The main difference between bookselling as a hobby and bookselling as a business was the effort and discipline put into it. Rather than shopping for books whenever I felt like it, I would go out at least twice a week whether I really wanted to or not. The effort has paid off and we’ve been pretty successful over the year (I’m not talking millions - but a healthy amount of supplemental income/fun money) and it’s been a great learning experience as well.
Tomorrow, I’ll tell you where we stand today and our plans for the future.
Posted by Forest on May 20, 2008
As I mentioned before, one of my streams of income comes from a side business that I run part-time during my evenings and weekends. That business is an online used bookstore.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved books. I like reading them. I like holding them in my hands (no e- or audio books for me). I like collecting them. I like organizing them on my shelves (author, genre, color - I like to switch it up). I own a lot of books.
In college, I watched my friends buy and resell their books at the campus bookstore (getting ripped off in the process). I was an early adapter to buying textbooks online and then reselling them on Half.com when the semester was over. It was such a success that during the summer I turned it into a new hobby. I would spend some of my free time acquiring antique books at estate/garage sales and then selling them on eBay. In the process, I learned a lot about what makes a book valuable and got good at identifying them. After college, I continued my hobby of buying and selling books, but only when I felt like it or stumbled upon a great deal I knew I could flip for profit. It was fun, but also very tempting as I was bound to find plenty of books I wanted for my personal collection while I hunted for those I could sell.
Tomorrow, I’ll tell you how I turned the hobby into a business.
Posted by Forest on May 14, 2008
One of my longterm goals is to multiply and diversify my streams of income. Here is where my money comes from these days:
The Day Job Income - During the day, I don the uniform of corporate America (not to be mistaken with Captain America) and head to my special place (it’s a cube). There I sit for 8 or 9 hours and do my work while I dream up ways to never have to wear the uniform or sit in the cube again. Sometimes it’s a lot like The Office, more often it’s like Office Space, but mostly it’s a lot like Groundhog Day (as in it’s the same thing over and over again for those that haven’t seen the movie). I have much more to say on work, jobs, dreams, etc. so stay tuned.
The Small Business Income - About a year ago, I started a small business (very small) that I run part-time on nights and weekends. It’s profitable but I won’t be quitting the day job anytime soon.
The Internet Income - I make minuscule amounts of money from advertising on this very blog and a couple of other sites that I run.
The Random Income - Every now and then, I sell things on eBay or pick up a random one-time job (one of these tomorrow!) or receive money as a gift. This category also includes interest from bank accounts and dividends received in my stock portfolios.
So that’s where my money comes from. Next time, I’ll take a look at where it goes once I get it.
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