 Hello there, welcome to why in the morning if it's Tuesday, you know It's entrepreneurship Tuesday at Y254 channel is where you can find us across all our social media handles at Michelle Ashira is where you can find me across all my social in this particular session I dive into an interview that looks at the bookstore Business. Oh, yeah So you and I know that bookshops are places of entertainment at least while I was still in high school and I'm so sure my team Which one do we call the millenials the millenials millenials have another defensive but and then I have people will be like Your team learn anyway so this particular conversation is all about the bookstore business and We are looking at different Aspects of it that is in into hard copy kind of books or into e-books So in student joined by Eileen Camunto who is an accountant by profession and she is the owner of book launch Alright, so hi Eileen. Hi Michelle. Happy Tuesday. How are you doing? I'm doing well. Alright, so Eileen Yours is an interesting story So you started this business after you quit at your job, right? Okay, I started before I quit the job Okay, so it's so you know when COVID started yes last year. Let's say around February there and then around March Companies and you know, they had started to be, you know, lots of news about the COVID thing People are so scared and then some organizations started sending people home, you know, the social distancing Thing like if you were for in the office, maybe now you have to be too So I was part of the two that had to be sent for And paid leave kind of because we were just getting paid just half the salary and it's the hotel industry And you know, the hotel industry was hit so bad. So Around April actually I started selling rice because I needed a backup plan Then by the end of April, I feel like crisis not even the rice business is not doing is not doing Yeah, it's not picking up because the profit margin when it comes to rise It is so small. So like you have to sell tons of rice to make good money. So around May I Start figuring out about passion and business because sometimes you will remember Motivations motivational speakers saying when you want to do business The business that is likely to work is the business where your passion is So and you wouldn't have to work. Yes. Yes. Yes. So I start looking for my passion Sleeping cannot give you money. You can love sleeping, but it cannot give you money. So eventually Towards the middle of May I feel like okay, I I read books people ask where buy my books and I'm like, why don't I just try? Selling books. So I do a post on my Facebook wall and tell people That one of these fine days. I'm going to just decide and sell books from my bookshelf I took a picture of a bookshelf and then the reactions who are like Outrageous, you know others were telling me or you don't have to sell your books Others who are like now I want that Hitler one. I want the that Gabriel Union. We are going to need more wine. You know, others are coming and I've not even said I'm selling the books. So I say so here's the thing So people in box me people want books that first day. I actually sold 16 16 books from my bookshelf people sent money. Yes, and It was during a lockdown During that period. So people are not moving around. We could call this a blessing in disguise. Yes Yes, so I sold 16 books the first day. I made around around 10,000 and So the next day I started working on sending the books to Nairobi most of the customers that bought the books are Actually my friends my social media friends because that is when I first made the first business So I started dispatching books. So I'm selling books from my bookshelf. So I'm getting orders from books lying on my bookshelf. So I say Let me let me talk to the guy that sells me books I tell him I want to start selling books. Would you mind sharing how I can get the supply and then She's a lady. She used to be my friend. She used to sell me books. Then she tells me it's okay I'll give you two three contacts and then you can work you can work it out so First I get a contact of a certain supplier. The supply is in Nairobi. I'm in Nembu. I cannot move But I want to start the business. So I tell this supplier I want to start selling books. So what is going to happen? I'm going to give you the orders And then you're going to find someone Who can be my delivery person? To be dispatching the books for me for me. It's about you know Getting to give you the details, you know I want the three books sent to Mombasa two books sent to Kisumu others delivered within the CBD and The supplier was first of all Was skeptical was like, how is this going to work? We don't work that way It's ever you come about do your business or ask someone to do it for you because we don't do that I Try to negotiate negotiate and the next day I give him orders of around 25 books We start there. So somehow he feels this is real business now we can start the business The demand. Yeah, there's the demand. So I realized people are in the house. They want to read So my first customers were actually my Facebook friends. So I decided I need to open a page So I created a Facebook page and then named it book book launch I didn't even have the business name. So book launch came from a the name of a book club that I used to run from Six years ago. We used to read books, you know share reviews something like that I said if I came up with this name for the Book club I can use it for for the book business So I create a page and then I start Doing paid for ads. They are paid for ads on Facebook. So the page starts growing and It's it's it's that to be more visible And you know once you like you invite your friends to like your page It gets to be visible still from the other friends So we start slowly from there And I ask my other friend who was in Sierra to help me run the page so that we can at the end of it All we can see how we can share, you know the process Yes, like that is how basically book launch started somehow like a joke. It's totally interesting because it just feels like As we say that it's all about passion and from what I'm hearing it's like you're really passionate about reading Yes, because six years ago you had the whole community of readers Book launch came from that. So what is your niche in the market considering we have so many bookstores So what is your niche in the market? What makes you stand out? So what makes me stand out first of all is that Okay, I have a huge social media following and even before I started selling the books people knew Kimono as a bibliophile You mentioned Kimono that one reads. Yeah, that's a book. So and then now referrals So once they saw Kimono is a started selling books Any other time someone is asking for a certain book somewhere Doesn't have to be my friend. I get a mention You see and then now I had to I had to try and do some research What to do Kenyans love reading? You see so that I can stalk What what moves the books that move so Kenyan readers basically they love fiction and Motivational books. So that is what I started on But still going going forward. I Still encouraged people like you know, sometimes you don't have to read Patterson that you read when you are in high school or Daniel still You can advance and start reading about people stories read about Obama read about Michelle Read about Napoleon, you know so that you get to know about about history basically history because you know fiction sometimes it's Some something in a different world. It's not really We're encouraging you to live in a fairy tale in your in a bubble. Yes. Yes Oh, so when it comes to running a successful bookshop, what does it take? First of all, it takes patience It takes commitment and discipline because Because without without the commitment like You you have to take mostly our customers are actually online despite the fact that we have a physical store We have very few customers that work into our bookstore So you always have to follow on orders the orders that are left in in the instagram our instagram account Our facebook account and at the moment we're only two people running Those two accounts and then of course the business line, you know, so you always have to keep track of Orders and ensure that they are delivered on time because the moment a customer makes another because We've always told our customers that we do same-day deliveries so if a customer places another today and like You don't track it down and it's forgotten Because I have someone at the shop that works on the orders and the deliveries if it is forgotten You know that is also creating another business mess the customer will be like you don't offer what you promise Especially on timelines Yeah speaking about offering what you promise. What should we expect if you decide to walk to your book launch A walk-in What should we expect when we get in the book launch the bookstore? Once you get into the book bookstore the site of So many books, you know, if you're someone who loves books books, you know There'll be that orgasmic feeling, you know Wow all these books you mean And then the way we've you know arranged them Uh Because you know books are in different genus. We have the fiction books, autobiography motivation So if someone is going to tell ask me Uh about Where motivational books are I'll just tell them they're you're spoilt for choice You know and then of course the after-sales service. We don't just sell a book We'll sell a book. We'll give you a bookmark to use for the book because we don't want your book to have Dog ears So every other time you want to buy a book even if you see it at the street He'll be like, let me just come by it because of the beautiful bookmark All right, then we have readers who are more of looking at If they want to, you know, read a book they'll be far doing it Online the e-book e-books there is so does the book launcher for that? No, we don't we don't offer electronic electronic books Uh at the moment we are solely like Insisting on they had copy material so that the culture of hard copy books does not die Because personally as a reader I just love having my book in the physical Nature so that I can turn the pages I can feel the pages and even smell them You know and even maybe highlight And then Not only that I just want to see my book Beautifully displayed In my bookshelf, you know because I have like four bookshelves in the house. So seeing my books Lying on the bookshelf is like a lady seeing maybe shoes. Oh, yeah Yeah, so for me books are Unnecessary for me like just the beauty of seeing them so with An electronic book it's inside the phone So like okay to me there's no beauty of it, but there are those that see the beauty Do you feel like there'll be a time where technology just wipes away our bookstores? I don't think so. I don't think so. Maybe maybe to some extent, but not entirely not entirely So for someone who is You know here with us having this conversation listening to this conversation that you have And they're looking forward to you start Like a similar sort of kind of business of selling books What would be your advice when it comes to starting off? Okay, first the the advice is when you're starting of Sometimes people like see it and they they are least of uh, you know Like what can I say like? They are least of wanting to start It's so long. Like first of all, I must have capital I must have customers. There's the how much of it And then there's Expectations my friends are going to buy from me, you know, like don't even have you don't even have to have those in your list Like just start off like myself. I even didn't start with any capital I tell people that and they're like, no, you're not serious Yeah, just start and then I'm look for people to hold your hand so that you can get this The source because when you get from the source Not the middleman, you know, at least your Revenue margin gets to be a little bit high. And what makes a person Be a good bookseller when it comes to this particular business I think what makes a person to be a good bookseller? First of all, you have to know your product You know, like, uh, I can say I am a good bookseller because I know the product that I'm dealing with Like today if someone walked into my shop and They asked me about a particular book I cannot lack an answer. You know, it's like you're selling cars and then This is a Subaru someone comes and is asking about the Subaru and you're so clueless About the Subaru, you know, because how I have organized my books. I know, okay These are motivational books. Okay from the title if someone asked me What is this about the book you can at least try To tell them what the book is about totally understandable So, uh, we are okay from uh, from your story when you started off zero capital, by the way Just selling what you uh your books that you used to read So there's this another I want to look at another perspective for someone who's watching this conversation And they're wondering why should I buy a book when we have apps that they offer free books Actually, I have I have actually customers that call me and for example they They tell me I've seen I've seen a book on your page But I want an e-book You know, do you have an e-book? Can you sell an e-book to me? so you'll you try to get into a conversation like Why don't you buy the hard copy? It's actually like most of our pre-owned books, by the way They go at the price of an e-book Like, you know, most e-books are sold at a price of hundred chillings Most of our pre-owned books actually go at that price So you try to tell someone that they can get that Yeah, it's the same thing price also. Yeah, but now someone tells you when when it is an e-book I'm working with it You know flexibility and then Uh It's not heavy like the portability you get because for a book you have to maybe it's so many pages you have to carry it in a bag You know all those dynamics All right, so uh From a point of you being a lover of books and now into this business What are a couple of mistakes that people actually do when buying a book? Or When buying a book the mistakes that people make yes book lovers. Yes Oh first of all when someone says there are book Lava actually just cancel Book lover and say just a book collector like a bibliomaniac Most of them like they are so Addictive like I have customers. They just came maybe someone just walked in last week to my 10 books Next week there they've still they've still they'll still see Some other 10 good books So they'll still come to buy So, you know, these already is a mistake because you're hoarding so many books That you're actually not going to read even if you are given maybe a lifetime You see so So you you end up missing on reading even good books that you already have On your bookshelf Yeah, I want that I want that or there's a good review on some book group some book page About a certain book Oh, I have to get this one. You've not even read whatever tbr list that is Piling, you know, so so most most people even most readers even ask me like Like what can I do to just finish reading the books that I've already bought before I buy Another one then I realize I'm still the same person They are talking about and asking for advice from because I before even started selling books I used to collect books like so many books I like I have so many unread books too. Okay. So you also a collector I'm also a collector, but it's a good thing. You know, it's like you're you're just collecting Rare gems and then Because at the end of the day when you're collecting books, even if you don't read them Eventually, maybe there's someone your generation who is going to Pick it up and and read Yeah, a couple of challenges that you're facing into this business Uh, yeah, there are quite a number of challenges. First of all, uh, we are running the business online And most orders come from Of course the online platform. So trust first of all is the biggest challenge So we have customers that will ask you to send books to Mombasa Maybe worth eight thousand and then they'll pay when the books arrive So you tell them no, we don't run the business From that perspective, so for deliveries outside Nairobi a customer has to As to play first before we dispatch the books And then they're like, how do I know that your business is legit or you're you're just trying to call people So trust that's the first thing then, um The second thing is about, um You know, we even when we send the parcels sometimes they get lost with the courier service providers So when a customer's parcel gets lost It's another thing, you know, you're the one who still has to follow it up Maybe this is a parcel that uh That was containing pre-owned books that you don't you cannot replace From the shop. So sometimes when a parcel gets gets lost The customer does not understand how it got lost the customer feels like you actually didn't send the The parcel the question is your credibility. Yeah. So credibility is still trust Credibility and that also sometimes Meeting timelines. So someone is Someone is can be within Nairobi can be outside Nairobi. They have met their order at 8 a.m And they want their books Maybe in the next two hours, you know, sometimes you can really not deliver within that time But nevertheless, we we still Talk to our customers and Tell them what can work And what cannot work because you cannot promise a customer in Mombasa that yes We are sending your books in the morning at 8 and you're going to get them at 4 in the evening It cannot work. So you just tell them you have to be patient and when your parcel arrives You'll get our confirmation All right, in this particular space, there's a whole community of people who love to read Are there particular events whereby you guys do book reviews? Yes, we're actually running a book club And we do a book every other month Because now, you know with a book club It means that uh For someone who joins the book club And maybe they have not been reading as much as they were doing before It's going to keep them in toes because they have to read a book every other month And in a year it means someone is going to read 12 books So and then with the the book club, we don't read Maybe Just one line of books. Maybe fiction. No, we keep Changing so that sometimes you find that this is a reader. They have never read fiction So that that particular month you're doing fiction There's a way it can pull the reader to start reading at least fiction the other month you're doing a self-help So as you keep rotating So you realize that every member of the book club has read from diversity. So like, okay, maybe my My my area of reading was so much inclined to fiction But at least with this uh book club, I've read history. I've read Uh self-help books I've read so many books Yeah, so your mind your mind grows and sometimes when you're having a discussion with other people So the way I would have looked at that book if I was to review it by myself It is so different. So you get to have to get different ideas from different people and different perspectives All right. All right. So a couple of financial lessons that you've learned along the way Sorry couple of financial lessons that you've learned along the way. So So many financial lessons but One is about saving when you're running a business, you know Especially for someone who has been on salary in their past, you know for salary If for example, it is 100,000 you're waiting for it at the end of the month You're always budgeting, you know, yeah, you're comfortable. Yeah, it's you're comfortable. I know rent is uh 10,000 You know this so you're just budgeting One day like actually it's on a constant most of the times But not for a business. There's a day you're going to make 500. There's a day you're going to make 10,000 so you cannot really like have Some distinct budget But you have to have a way of like, okay. I am an accountant. So In a business, you have to know this day Every other day you have to track your profit like you cannot wait for a whole month To track your profit. You have to know today. I sold 10 books. What profit did I make? What expenses did I incur and then you save for like you can also not wait for a whole month to save You still have to keep saving every day Tracking your profit and expenses every other day like you're just accounting every day for everything Yeah, because the month will come to an end. You don't have rent to pay for the business because sometimes, you know Cash flow when you have money, you may think you have the money the physical money So maybe I may overstock Yes, the money is there but Not there cash the cash. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So what are the measures that you have taken uh to scale up the business this year? so currently we are we are doing So much uh social media campaigns marketing instagram And then we even have what's up groups where we make marketing easier for people, you know, like someone can you know for what's up Market like we have what's up markets like for them You know, it's like when you walk along the street and then you see books displayed on the streets like you can check That is that title. So for what's up? Book markets, it almost works the same way because I someone shares A picture of the book and then you can decide. Ah, this is the book. I have been looking for this is the book I want to read and then you reserve so Like we're always just selling Like on the street, but virtually like here's the picture of the book This is what I want. Yeah, and actually it's way easier compared to actually walking in the streets looking for a particular book Yes, people shop so easily. So sometimes if you've stayed for two days and you've not done a market Your customers will be like What's happening? So what is your all-time favorite book? My all-time favorite book has to be but a crime by Trevor Noah Because it was have you read it? No, I've not read it. Oh, you should read it. I really should So have you ever thought of writing your own book? Yes, sometimes I've really thought about it, but sometimes I'm like, no, I'm not up for it So there's that You know, you're here. Yeah, maybe It's not it's not the right time Okay, we'll stick to that. So the right time. It's not the right time Okay, so I can just find on social media if the one that you know to get a book Just be part of the book club, which is still the same thing. Yeah, it's still the same thing Because now if they follow us on our facebook page, which is book launch they'll still see updates of You know, we have to find us for the What's up book market So facebook is book launch and on instagram. We are bb book launch And then our phone number our business line zero one one three six two seven nine three seven You're going to pay that again zero one one three six two seven nine three seven that is our business line If they have to reach us. All right. Thank you very much for creating time to be with us Then Turkey matters pertaining bookstore stroke bookshop business. Thank you, Michelle for having me around. You're welcome All right. So that is alien kimono An accountant by profession and she is the founder and owner of book launch So make sure you follow them across all their social media handles That is at book launch on facebook Be be is it be book launch, right? Yes. Be book launch That is Instagram. Yes. Yes. So we should follow them and get your latest book And uh, yes and getting be part of the book the book review, uh Club Yes, there you get it. So I'm working for your channel So you can find us across all our social media handles at michelashire so you can find me across all my social So make sure you don't tap that dial will be right back in a few