Learning on the Fly: Small Business Lessons in Real Time

When you run a small, independent bookstore like Grumpy Book Seller, every day is a new lesson. Some lessons are useful. Some are expensive. Most are both.

We realized our pricing software glitched and sold several Grumpy Monkey books at a loss—we're talking 69 cents. Ouch. The silver lining? Someone out there got a really good deal, and we're now aware that our software can go too low at times.

Then there’s inventory. We’ve officially maxed out our summer stock—mostly fast-moving titles like popular beach reads, kids' series, and baseball-themed books—and are putting the brakes on new orders so we can save for holiday inventory. Christmas might feel far away, but in bookstore time, it's practically tomorrow. Planning ahead while staying lean is part of the juggling act.

We’re also asking ourselves some big questions about used books. We love the idea of giving books a second life, but we’re still figuring out how to handle them efficiently—especially when it comes to storage, sorting, and what to do with the ones that don’t sell. Recycling might be part of the answer. We’re even exploring ways to turn unsellable books into something useful (and maybe even profitable).

And then there was the box from our supplier that showed up with books we definitely didn’t order: a handful of Japanese-language titles and some religious materials. They aren’t a fit for our shop, and they made us pause and think about brand identity. As a small store, we can’t carry everything. We have to be deliberate. Every book we offer is a little piece of who we are, and sometimes, that means knowing when to say "no thanks."

Running this business is a constant process of learning on the fly. Sometimes it means scrambling to fix a pricing error. Sometimes it means wondering how to recycle 40 pounds of books. But every bump in the road helps us get better, sharper, and more prepared for what’s next.

Thanks for being on this wild ride with us.