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Revamped bookstore continues to deliver whimsy
âWeâre an awesome bookstore.â This is how Erin Dalton describes the Cranbrook store she owns: Huckleberry Books.
âThe tagline I like using is âYour Community Bookstore.â We try to be really community focused.â
Dalton purchased the store in 2012. Since then, the business has gone through a huge, transformational journey. As she took this on, Dalton relied on the guidance of Columbia Basin Trustâs Basin Business Advisors (BBA) program, which provides free, one-to-one, confidential business counselling and assessment services.
She said, âI could not have done it without that support.â
Dalton began working with a BBA Advisor in 2014. Over a few months, she improved how she marketed the storeâthen called Lotus Booksâand learned about âcost of sales.â The program provides advice and tools so that entrepreneurs can make informed decisions based on their unique situations, resources and visionsâwhether the challenge involves managing staff, streamlining operations or planning for succession.
In 2018, Dalton decided she could use BBAâs support again. Wanting to âkick it up a notch,â she figured she could learn more about something sheâd heard of but didnât understand: cash flow projections.
Just before the initial meeting occurred, though, she found out that the building the store was housed in was up for sale. Uncertain about whether sheâd be able to stay or not under potential new ownership, she took action. âI couldnât wait for things to happen and then figure it out,â she said. Her focus with BBA shifted to how to relocate.
The advisor walked her through the steps, from finding a unit, to planning the space, to affording the move. Since the program began in 2000, well over 3,000 businesses have benefited from support like thisâfrom sole operators to those with several employees. The program also offers advice tailored to agriculture businesses and social enterprises. The goal is to help strengthen businesses in the Basin.
Another adjustment Dalton had always wanted to make was to rename the store and align it more with her values. Again, BBA was there, including finding support to help pay for a graphic designer. âI could not have done the job that they did without some financial help.â
By February 2019, the newly located Huckleberry Books was born, with an ever-expanding childrenâs section and a growing range of diverse voices.
As for the name, âI love huckleberries,â Dalton said. âI think theyâre very emblematic of the area. Itâs a bit of an adventure to go huckleberryingâyou never know what youâre going to quite find. And I feel like a good bookstore should be like that.â
Then the pandemic hit. âThe first little while, it was pretty freaky,â Dalton said. In March 2020, she locked the doors and laid off her staff.
Once again, BBA helped her get throughâfirst with moral support, and then by connecting her with the BC Tech Associationâs HyperTech Digital Audit. With this aid, she greatly enhanced her online store, which had been around for years but only occasionally garnered sales. She learned how to do analytics on the webstore, improved her social media efforts and set up an e-newsletter. Books could be shipped by mail, delivered locally or put aside for curbside pickup.
âOur online sales really took off,â she said, and have continued to flourish since she reopened the store, with reduced hours, in June 2020. Despite the pandemic, âWeâve had one of the best years since I bought the store.â
A previous full-time employee rejoined part-time, plus Dalton has hired a couple of people part-time to help with the newsletter, social media and online eventsâa move that BBA suggested. Dalton continues to work with BBA on topics like marketing.
She also continues to serve the Cranbrook community in this time of stress. On the store window, she has printed the words âbookmongers and purveyors of whimsy.â She says, âI think thatâs what we offer the community: a sense of fun and play and exploring and adventure. We can provide a little bit of escape, a little bit of a sense of normalcyââalongside, of course, the perfect book.
The BBA program is administered and managed by Community Futures Central Kootenay. Connect with an advisor and sign up for a program newsletter here.
âThe program advisors help a business work through its options; the business owner then makes the decisions and implements them. It is very rewarding work,â said Alison Bjorkman, Program Manager, Basin Business Advisors.
This article was originally published in Columbia Basin Trustâs Basin Stories.
Photos by Nicole Leclair Dodd Photography/Columbia Basin Trust photos