Walked past a closed bookstore in Portland and it made me rethink my whole plan

I was in Portland last month and saw a local bookstore that had shut down, which was a real shame. The thing is, their window still had a sign up about hosting weekly author events and book clubs right up until they closed. It hit me that they were trying to grow by just doing more of the same thing (community stuff) without checking if it was actually bringing in new sales. For my own consulting business, I've been focused on getting more clients, but maybe I need to look harder at which activities actually turn into paid work. Has anyone else had to stop doing a popular thing because it wasn't helping the business grow?

3 comments

3 Comments

masongonzalez2mo agoMost Upvoted

Actually, that bookstore sign got me thinking. The community stuff might not have brought in new sales directly, but it could have been what kept their core customers coming back for years. Killing the only thing that makes you special is a fast way to lose your regulars. Maybe the real problem was they never found a way to make those events pay, like charging a small fee or selling special books at them. You can't just do free stuff forever, but you also can't just cut the heart out of your business.

taylor.sean2mo ago

Yeah that's such a good point lol. I ran a small coffee cart and we had this weekly live music thing that everyone loved, but it never actually sold more coffee, it just made us busier for no extra money. Had to kill it even though people were mad, because it was just a drain. Makes you realize you can be popular and still go broke.

taylor.sean2mo ago

Wait but like, how mad did people actually get? I mean it's just a coffee cart, not like you canceled a festival.