Today we’d like to introduce you to Martha Ferguson.
Hi Martha , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Friends Books on Main was established 10 years ago in April. We had previously held quarterly sales at a church gym and always had many books left after the sale. (We averaged 10,000 books pre-sale). Originally we had a person who would buy all our left-over stock following the sales, but when he closed his business, we often mentioned how wonderful it would be to have a store and not have to go through the packing, delivering, set-up, and take-down for each sale, This took place during a one-week period with the sale lasting 3 days of that week. We began anew after each sale, collecting and organizing for the next sale. We lacked for storage space, and it took us about 3 months to fill up what little space we were allotted, thus the quarterly sales.
Today, we are complimented on our organized store, and of course, our bargain prices. Everything we sell is donated by the public and our staff is made up of volunteers. Newly donated items are still organized and packed up to come to the store, then unpacked and shelved into their categories, so we are constantly getting new items out for the public.
It is wonderful to see patrons who enjoy our store visiting often, and new customers who are only now discovering us. We have increased our income each year and people are still discovering us.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We reminisce at how far we have come since taking a chance on ourselves. We learned as we went along and are still learning.
We are constantly changing, according to what does and doesn’t work. I think a major part of our success is we love what we do and believe in books, libraries and the joy of reading.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We have a team of six Leads who run the bookstore. One of us is at the store whenever it is open, (and often when it is not). There is some experience on the team with running a business, an education and career as a librarian, experience in marketing, etc. This was not done intentionally, but we appreciate what each of us has to offer to the store and the team. We are very proud of how well we work together and respect each person’s time and talents. The team has changed over the years, but we have two leads who have been there since the store opened 10 years ago.
What are your plans for the future?
No, we just want to be better and better as we go along, appealing to readers and book lovers.
Pricing:
- Bargain prices
- Book prices begin at $1
- Often hold sales on our books
- Most books are only $4
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yclibraryfriends.org
