Today we’d like to introduce you to Jane Estes.
Lark & Owl Booksellers grew from an author series that Jane Estes started in Georgetown almost a decade ago. Held quarterly for almost five years, this series was hosted at the homes of friends who loved books and was by invitation only. Successful from the first evening, authors found an engaged audience who bought lots of books! Georgetown had been without a bookstore for six years by this point and as Jane saw the response to the author events, she realized that Georgetown needed a bookstore again. So, she reached out to 9 of her friends who knew how to get things done and pitched them the idea of a community-focused bookstore run by women. This group of women had a breadth of experience and skills which were integral to forming a startup company and included: nonprofit management, small business ownership, writing and editing, legal and accounting services, book and retail industry experience, management, community outreach, municipal councils and boards, and much more. This was a stellar team to build a bookstore, not only because of the expansive skill-sets but because these women knew their community.
Lark and Owl Booksellers opened in April of 2019 to phenomenal response from the residents of Georgetown and beyond. The first year was successful by all metrics and the women were gearing up for an even better second year when the pandemic hit. Every aspect of the business had to change (at least temporarily) at some point during 2020. By this time, 7 of the 10 original co-founders had stepped down from the daily operations of the business, leaving three dedicated women to lead the bookstore through the uncharted waters of a global pandemic. Since then, the smaller management team of Jane Estes, Misty Adair and Rachael Jonrowe has been able to make swift decisions, address challenges, and reframe goals and objectives these last 2-plus years. They have worked diligently to minimize the ensuing economic impacts on a small business and reworked the business model from a successful startup into a lean, nimble organization that can pivot when necessary, thereby setting Lark & Owl Booksellers up for maximum success as the business grows.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The challenges were many, beginning with that the group didn’t have capital to begin the project. They knew they had to get support from the community, both financial and non-financial in order to bring the project to fruition. They tried several ways to find investors, including seeking angel investors beyond Georgetown. But no one outside of the town wanted to invest in a bookstore somewhere they did not live. At this point, the women knew that their community was the most valuable asset. The team decided to host small cocktail parties for potential investors where they outlined the business plan and pitched the idea to people who had capacity and interest.
The next challenge was finding a space that would accommodate the requirements for an independent bookstore. Originally the founders planned to find an adorable house in the historic district which could be remodeled to suit their needs. At the time, there were not any houses for sale or rent which were the right size or location. Then Jane Estes got a call from a local restaurateur who said he’d heard they were looking for a space and would they be interested in looking at the adjoining space to the restaurant which had been a market. The restaurant owners were closing the market and it was basically a shell of a space. Originally, the building housed a car dealership and the restaurant was located in the former showroom and the market was where the service bays were located. It was the perfect size, location and was basically a blank slate where to create the bookstore they’d dreamed of.
Other challenges included the amount of knowledge the group had to gain about startups in general and bookstores in particular but found many resources and people along the way who were generous with their expertise.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a team of 10, the founders had skillsets, talents and experience which provided a strong foundation upon which to build a business. This aspect was essential to the success of the project from day one. The team not only had a breadth of professional experience and knowledge but their creativity, resiliency, problem-solving approach and enthusiasm which created a perfect formula for success.
How do you think about luck?
We believe in luck and good fortune, but more importantly we believe that you need to be open and ready for new ideas, projects and challenges. You must be prepared to act when an opportunity presents itself. To that end, we kept learning and growing. We honed our vision and we sought connections, assistance and advocates wherever we could. Opportunity met luck when the right group of people were available to put, collectively, thousands of hours into this project and again when we were offered the space where our bookstore is now located. Along the way, there were myriad opportunities and strokes of luck, as well as incredible industry support and educational resources which were invaluable. We remained focused, agile and motivated. Those traits mixed with a heavy dose of persistence and a sprinkling of luck will get you where you want to go!
Pricing:
- Books: $5-$35 average range
- Retail: $1-$75 range
Contact Info:
- Email: salesfloor@larkandowlbooksellers.com
- Website: https://larkandowlbooksellers.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkandowlbooksellers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larkandowlbooksellers
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/larkandowlbooks
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZL0Ez16OHxejY1jr6rZnTw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@larkowlbooksellers?lang=en
Image Credits
Cullen Perry
