Hi Folks,
Honestly, I'm a bit at sea about what to write this month. The last few weeks have been kind of a blur. But, I do have something kind of neat that might interest some of you and I figure that an update on what's going on at the shop might be nice. So, here we go . . . .
Something Neat
As you'll see in the regular newsletter this month (which will be out shortly), Borderlands is partnering with a writing program called Anam Cara <https://writewithfriends.com>. Rather than go into it here, I'll just point out that sponsors are eligible for a bigger discount than "regular" folks. If you use promo code "borderlandsfriends", you'll get $30 off (rather than the usual $20).
Full disclosure: Anam Cara's side of the promotional deal is that Borderlands will get 15% of any signups that come in through our promotion codes. I'm not really concerned about the income (especially not with you-all) but, if the program is good and legit, it might be a nice little bit of extra income for the shop. The most important thing to me, however, is that it is, in fact, good and legit. So, if you do decide to try it out, please let me know what you thought about it. There is an option for a full refund, if you decide you're unhappy with the program.
How Are Things Going?
There are two answers to that question. There's the "considering current events" answer and the "compared to what was normal" answer.
Considering current events things are going pretty well. The shop is open, our systems to deal with the risk of Covid-19 seem to be working well (but <crosses fingers>, check with me in a bit less than two weeks about that), and the staff and customers are all happy with what we're doing. Sales, all combined, are looking like they're going to be around 65-75% of what we did this time last year. That is damn, very good and we're grateful.
Combined with the PPP loan, a bunch of new sponsors, and the other fund-raising events that people have put together for us (thank you, Annalee and Charlie Jane!) things are looking alright financially speaking.
Compared to what was normal, things are completely up in the air and probably going to stay that way. I don't think that I'm going to have any clear idea of how the rest of the year is going to go until the end of July. That will be the first complete month of having the store open and, by then, I think that the initial rush of people who are clamoring for new books will have subsided. I'll look at those sales and use them for a baseline moving forward.
Of course, that's making a bunch of assumptions. First, that the infection rate in the area doesn't get bad enough that we need to regress to curb-side pickups or even mail order only again. Second, that what we're doing to manage infection risks works and no-one at the shop gets sick. If someone does get sick, then we'll have to reassess and, most likely, close for two weeks or more. Despite maintaining social distancing as a staff, we all cross each other's paths enough that we'd all need to quarantine. Third, that . . . well, given this year so far, I'm allowing for more surprises. I think that a meteor is pretty unlikely but we are due for a big earthquake so; let's say I'm being a tiny bit pessimistic.
The last thing is what I think is going to happen with our move and the work at the new building. I don't have much to say there. The priority has been getting the Valencia Street store back open and operating safely, so the new building has been on hold. I hope to get back to working on that in July but . . . well, see the previous paragraph. However, I do still plan on moving and finances for the new building are stable for now. I told both of the tenants in the apartments that they should get in touch with me if they're going to have trouble paying rent and both have assured me that they're doing alright. I believe we'll get there, I just have no idea whatsoever what the time-line is going to be.
When it all comes down to it, just like everyone else, we're hanging in there, playing the hand we're dealt, and continuing to make the best choices possible. I hope that all of you are doing well and staying safe.
All Best,
Alan
No comments:
Post a Comment