We--Pete and Becky--have been in the book business for a combined total of...well, let's just say it's more than thirty years and less than fifty. For most of that time we worked as general managers for a once beloved but now defunct superstore chain (we stayed until the bitter end, long after the joy and fun had died). 

When the superstore finally breathed its last we decided to--gulp--open our own bookstore. We were woefully underfunded--coming in at about a third of what we really needed to put it together properly--and hilariously uneducated about the difference between being owners and managers, but we did do one clever thing: we  took advantage of the liquidation of our beloved stores and obtained fixturing and inventory at rock bottom prices. Since then, every penny we've made has been poured back into inventory for the store, and in the nearly two years since opening the doors we've more than doubled it.

But now we're facing a challenge on multiple fronts, and we need help reaching the next plateau. What is the next plateau? you might ask. We need to create a store which is a true destination, one which people will happily make a special trip to get to. And in order to be that place, we need to have what people are looking for. But we have a challenge--as if the dearth of funds isn't enough--to becoming a destination store. The mall in which our store is located is losing retail business at an alarming rate; so fast, in fact, that they're lobbying to fill empty retail spaces with offices. In theory, this sounds like it might be a nice coexistence, but in reality what brings retail traffic into malls is retail stores. But we know that with the right mix of inventory--having on hand most of the books that people want and a healthy selection of books for them to discover, and having great bookish gifts and sidelines such as booklights, cards, and journals--we will be a destination in our own right and won't have to worry about the foot traffic that the mall might bring in. 

What We Need 

We've done a pretty good job of keeping up with new releases (although cash flow--or the lack thereof--has often caused us to be slower than we'd like), and building up a couple of key sections in the store, but we need a big push to allow us to have a serious go at some of the other sections. You're probably asking: "Why don't they just take out an SBA loan?" and the answer is, we tried! Unfortunately, not only does our current cash till-to-bookshelf mode of operation make us an unattractive risk to the banks, but they won't even consider working with us until we've been open for three years. 

We need a large infusion of cash to buy important backlist for the Graphic Novels and Children's sections. We also know how important it is for a small bookstore to carry book-friendly gift items to go along with the books we sell. Journals, pens, stationery, and greeting cards are among the sidelines we're looking to commit to.

We're campaigning for $10,000, but hoping to reap--well, more than that. We'll spend the biggest chunk of the money we crowdfund with our Indiegogo campaign to fill the Children's section with as deep and wide a selection as we can, and everything else we get will go toward bulking up the rest of the store.

Although we want to reach (and perhaps even go beyond) our fund-raising goal, even if we don't reach that goal we'll still use every penny we do raise to buy inventory for the store.

To entice you to contribute we offer a range of swag, from exclusive Book Frog bookmarks to the Frog Prince of rewards: a lifetime discount at the Book Frog.