05/30/2026
I had intended to make a cute little hopeful video about this, but despite being hopeful, even the thought of Operation STB failing makes me sad, so you get a couple of slides with a long caption instead. Sorry :/
Operation STB = Operation Save the Bookstore. Here’s the sitch:
Book Around has always been a little passion project. Author consulting (shoutout ) is both a) the bread and butter, and b) the piece of the business that I love most. Don’t yell at me for that! I love my bookstore too, but when push comes to shove, supporting authors in the way I know best will always be my priority.
NOW that said, I don’t want to have to choose. I want both. No, we aren’t going bankrupt. But also no, the bookstore does not do well enough on its own to support itself.
The consulting side is funding somewhere around, um, 70% of the bookstore. I’m eternally grateful that that side of the business has grown to do so well that it can afford to keep my little baby bookstore afloat. But just because one side is thriving doesn’t mean I can easily justify keeping the loss leader around. The amount of effort the store requires to just barely make rent (just rent... not the $$ to cover inventory, pay wages, other overhead...) is incredibly difficult for me when I also have what is essentially an entire other business to uphold. My clients depend on me. That will always be the priority.
What I will not do is:
- Let the bookstore negatively impact my work for my clients
- Make the decision to close without trying ABSOLUTELY everything first., because I know that Flori Fundamentals continuing to grow and Book Around becoming a (consistently) successful bookstore and bookish event space can both be true
Here’s the sitch pt. 2
It’s a long story, but I thought I had more time. I have 60 days. With a lease that ends at the end of August, I need to have made a decision and informed my landlord of my plans by August 01. Enter: Operation STB!
Everything we’re doing to keep Book Around ✨booking around✨ is in the graphic, so go look at that. The caption is for all the boring stuff anyways. If you’ve made it this far,
