The scent of cinnamon and sugar takes over all my senses.
“Oh, damn.” I reach into the box as I say, “You’re my hero. I smelled these through the truck on my way in. I almost stopped in and got a few, but I didn’t want to be late.”
“Your truck, the flannel, and your love of bear claws… you’re the most rugged businessman I’ve ever met. How does that go over outside of Rugged Mountain?”
“I’ve had some people say it gives me a grounded vibe. They like it. Others think I’m a tool, and I just don’t want to wear a suit, which might be fair.”
She laughs and bites into the bear claw with a moan, crumbs falling everywhere. “You’re the lumberjack businessman.The guy who’s going to axe old patterns and grow your business fresh again. Of course you’re wearing flannel.”
“So,” I grin wide, “you’ve seen my ad?”
“Of course I did.” Her cheeks pink as she takes a sip of coffee. “You’ve got some good marketing.”
“Thanks. You guys doing anything special with your ads?”
Her gaze widens, and she sucks in a deep breath as though she’s stressed. “We’ve tried all kinds of things here. Everyone in the store pitched in to help. We had a huge author do a signing, we’ve done Santa auctions, tried the rare book route, and, most recently, one of my girls started a book club. So far, nothing is really moving the needle.”
I nod slowly as I bite into the bear claw. I should revel in the taste, but I’m still too fixated on Marley to even notice. That said, I need to get a grip. I’m here for business advice, not to stare at her all day. I clear my throat. “Those are great ideas. Itsounds like you guys really have a pulse on what could help you grow.”
“Yeah, but it’s not helping,” she shrugs, “so I don’t know what to do.”
I take a sip of coffee and lean forward slightly. “One thing I noticed when I walked in was the parking situation. Do you own the lot across the street?”
“The lot across the street?” She narrows her brows and shakes her head. “No, that belongs to Mrs. Robinson. I think she was planning on opening her own quilting shop at one point, but that was years ago.”
“Mrs. Robinson.” I smile. “That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. How is she?”
“Good,” Marley says, her smile beaming. “She joined the book club, so we should be seeing her around a lot more. She always asks about you.”
“About me?”
“Yeah. She really loves that bench that you built for her porch. She said I should have you make more for the front of the bookstore and that people would like to sit out and watch the street as they eat their banana bread and read. I had to tell her you don’t do those kinds of things anymore.”
“I’d like to, but I don’t have room at my place right now. She’s not wrong, though. A couple of those benches outside would be nice. Maybe I could offer to build her a few. She’d like them, and it would open the door to talk about selling that lot for additional parking.”
She chews at the inside of her cheek, and I know right away she doesn’t like the idea.
“You hate it?”
“No, I don’t hate it. I just… do you really think the thing that’s going to fix my business is a new parking lot? Plus, I don’t want to clutter the mountain with more cement.”
She’s thinking critically, and I like that. “It’s called a destination cluster. It’s a business concept where one business feeds off another. That’s why you’ll see places with common themes opened in the same spaces.”
“Like a gym next to a pizza place, ‘cause I feel like I see that a lot.”
I laugh. “Yeah, those are everywhere. Burn the calories, replace the calories. Same concept here. We have to figure out what readers are into outside of bookstores.”
She leans forward as though this idea is gaining traction. “Coffee, baked goods, but we have that. What about crafts? A lot of readers love crafty things. They’re hobbyists. But… I can’t afford to start another business. I can barely afford to keep this one open.”
“For now, let’s just be open to the idea.”
“So… what happens when you open one of these destination clusters? How does it work long term?”
“Typically speaking, you’ll cross-promote. So, the craft store will host things for the bookstore and vice versa. It’ll create a buzz for both.”
She bites at her lower lip and stares up at me. “You’re good at this.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
