It's critical that owners and managers understand Human Resources (HR) practices. This three-hour seminar will be divided into three 45-minute segments with a ten minute break between each segment. In segment one, booksellers will receive a foundational understanding of what HR is, what it is not, and clarity on federal HR rules and regulations that are in place to protect a business. Segment two will provide booksellers with more specifics on HR hot-topics in the small business space including onboarding, employee record keeping, termination, communication and more. The seminar will conclude with a panel discussion with plenty of room for Q&A.

Part 1

• HR Essentials for Small Business with Martin Patrick, GTM HR Consulting, Inc.

Part 2

• HR Talent Lifecycle with Randy Egolf, VP, Human Resources, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
• Health and Heart with Chonteau McElvin, Director of Conscious Culture, Spiral Circle

Part 3

Panel Discussion with Q&A, featuring:

• Randy Egolf, Joseph-Beth Booksellers - Cincinnati, OH
• Chonteau McElvin, Spiral Circle - Orlando, FL
• Eileen McCormick, Green Apple Books - San Francisco, CA
• Martin Patrick, GTM HR Consulting - Clifton Park, NY

Files & Links

• Video Recording
• Slide Deck
• Handbook Policy Checklist
• ABA Bookstore Resource Library
• HR Talent Lifecycle
• Joseph-Beth Culture Committee
• Joseph Beth Leadership Competencies

Recorded February 11, 2024 at Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati, OH

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

The heart of a bookstore is the bookseller in the stacks, on the floor, behind the counter, or in the back room. These are the dedicated professionals who create the welcoming environment your community experiences every day. How do you keep this team? This session will cover important factors that impact employee retention today. You will be asked to consider your store culture, the openness of store-wide communication, your diversity and inclusion efforts, and conditions around compensation, among other important factors that drive employee satisfaction and retention. Come prepared to listen, engage, and leave with the beginnings of an action plan.

Speakers

• Suzanna Hermans, Oblong Books - Millerton, NY
• Jamie Thomas, Women & Children First - Chicago, IL
• DJ Johnson, Baldwin & Co. - New Orleans, LA
• Lyn Roberts, Square Books - Oxford, MS

Files & Links

• Video Recording
• Slide Deck

Recorded February 14, 2024 at Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati, OH

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

Channeling ten years of feedback from booksellers, IndieCommerce 2.0 is an entirely new platform built from the ground up with new features and a fresh new design. Learn how you can harness the power of IndieCommerce 2.0 in this panel discussion with three booksellers who are using the new platform. Each panelist will showcase their site and share their first hand experiences with the new platform. They will discuss strategies for effectively matching their IndieCommerce 2.0 site to their in-store business model, highlight their favorite new features, and offer tips and tricks for maximizing the potential of IndieCommerce 2.0.

Speakers

• Geetha Nathan, ABA - IndieCommerce - White Plains, NY
• Kazemde Ajamu, The Black Dot Cultural Center & Bookstore - Lithonia, GA
• Steve Iwanski, Charter Books - Newport, RI
• Sophie Nogar, Second Star to the Right - Denver, CO

Files & Links

• Slide Deck

Recorded February 14, 2024 at Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati, OH

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's American Booksellers for Free Expression celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read.

In this episode, ABA's Advocacy Associate Manager, Philomena Polefrone talks with Moira Marquis, Senior Manager of the Freewrite Project at PEN America.

Follow the American Booksellers for Free Expression on Instagram at @ABFEFreeExpression to keep up with ABFE's advocacy efforts and tune into their Free Expression Friday series. Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme by Constant Companion

ABA's Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On April 11, 2024, Robin Stern (Books Inc.) discussed Creating a Sensory-Friendly Store Environment to improve Autistic inclusion in your store.

Files & Links

• Video Recording
• Slide Deck
• Better Community Business Certification Digital Brochure
• Better Community Best Practices Guide

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme by Constant Companion

Nearly half of small businesses fail within the first five years, and only 25% make it to 15 years or more - and bookselling can be a particularly tough industry to crack. This makes it all the more impressive when a bookstore manages multiple decades in business, with no sign of stopping. This panel features five indomitable booksellers with more than 100 years of combined bookselling experience. They will share their stories and the ups and downs of their careers in bookselling, what motivates them to keep going, and their hopes for the future of the industry. Come learn from our bookselling veterans!

Speakers

• Kris Kleindienst, Left Bank Books - St. Louis, MO
• Janet Jones, Source Booksellers LLC - Detroit, MI
• Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company - Seattle, WA
• Brein Lopez, Children's Book World - Los Angeles, CA
• Shirikiana Gerima, Sankofa Video and Books - Washington, DC

Files & Links

• Video Recording
• Slide Deck

Recorded February 14, 2024 at Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati, OH

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

Edelweiss Analytics, a tool created uniquely for indie booksellers, allows you to easily manage your inventory by integrating POS data into Edelweiss to analyze your stock, view order & sales history, and access aggregate market data without missing a beat. Whether your store uses Square or a bookstore-specific POS system, this conversation is for you. An Edelweiss team member in collaboration with bookseller panelists will examine each tier of Edelweiss Analytics and explain the value of utilizing these tools for better collaboration with publishers, and for amplifying the power of the indie market as a whole. If you're not currently signed up, remember Edelweiss Analytics' base tier — Basecamp — is free for ABA members the first year so come check it out! If you're already signed up, come hear best practices and ways to optimize it for your store.

Speakers

• Jeanne Costello, Maria's Bookshop - Durango, CO
• Jenny Cohen, Waucoma Bookstore - Hood River, OR
• Dan Brewster, Prologue Bookshop - Columbus, OH
• Nicolette Siclare, Edelweiss by Above the Treeline - Ann Arbor, MI

Files & Links

• Slide Deck

Recorded February 14, 2024 at Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati, OH

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

You've meticulously curated your inventory, designed the perfect displays, and developed an events program for your community — but how will you know if what you're doing is working? Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will give you the answer. KPIs are specific outcome-based targets that support your strategic plan and can be measured quantitatively, such as inventory turnover ratios, sales per square foot, and average transaction value. By the time you leave this session, you will: (1) understand the meaning and value of critical retail KPIs and how to track them, (2) understand how to compare your store's KPIs against financial metrics found in the ABACUS report, and (3) be able to apply this data to create an improvement plan for at least one area of your store's performance.

Speakers

• Cynthia Compton, MacArthur Books - Carmel, IN
• Melissa DeMotte, The Well Read Moose - Coeur d'Alene, ID
• Candice Anderson, Tombolo Books - St. Petersburg, FL

Files & Links

• Video Recording
• Slide Deck

Recorded February 13, 2024 at Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati, OH

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's American Booksellers for Free Expression celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read.

In this episode, ABA's Advocacy Associate Manager, Philomena Polefrone talks with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, an acclaimed Children's and YA author and one of the organizers of Authors Against Book Bans. Read the full interview on Bookweb.

Follow the American Booksellers for Free Expression on Instagram at @ABFEFreeExpression to keep up with ABFE's advocacy efforts and tune into their Free Expression Friday series. Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme by Constant Companion

Investing in the leadership skills of your staff has both short-term and long-term benefits, from building a better culture for your team to identifying potential successors when you retire. In this session, Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor and the forthcoming Radical Respect, will teach you how to nurture staff into leadership roles, and evaluate the process for success!

Speakers

• Kim Scott, author of Radical Respect : How to Work Together Better

Files & Links

• Video Recording
• Slide Deck

Recorded February 13, 2024 at Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati, OH

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion