open my own bookstore

he highlighted the many independent booksellers in town that had not been able to maintain business, and how sad it is to see them go. He said something about the cover of the most recent New Yorker… and i smiled internally, that he was a subscriber (I used to).

I’ve always thought of this as a passion, not as a money maker, so it is something to do with age and in retirement. It is becoming clearer that the type of security I want in this phase of my life, is not something I will acquire as a n independent business owner. I need a source for stable income and reliable benefits, so I can start stashing cash for my later years.

and then, I will be able to build my brick and mortar…

It definately is not as pressing as owning a house. After I buy a house… if I am in the kind of financial situation to make that happen, I might have more possibilities when it comes to opening a business. I would want to have significant savings, and consider it my 2nd income. Or maybe do it when I’m retired. I don’t think I would want to work in someone else’s bookstore. I like managing myself.

My mother told me of a store called Mythras that she remembered as a child living in southern california… I think it was in La Jolla, and I’ve always wanted to recreate the image it left me with. I thought I’d pegged it when I worked in a little women’s boutique in upstate new york… but clothing is peculiar and I’d love a broader audience. next door was a used bookstore, that sold the neatest things… and had a free box outside. I’d love to spend my days cataloguing new finds and introducing strangers to magical wonders. I don’t want to limit it to books, but perhaps have a consignment component for young and developing artists.

I don’t want to do food service but there would be unlimited hotwater, and a wide variety of teas available for a minimal contribution. If I got super motivated, I would partner up with an herbalist, and have a little white and glass apothecary where people could purchase herbs and spices, and mix their own creams, fragranced things, and poultices.