Susie’s Stories: Rockport bookstore born of couple’s entrepreneurial spirit and love of community
Banner Business Sponsored by The Boston Foundation
During one of the visits, Susie noticed that there were storefronts available. This led her to call one of the landlords, and after their conversation, she came up with the proposal of having a bookstore in the town. The landlord agreed with her, loved the idea, and after doing the hard work, Susie’s Stories bookstore came to the town.
When the Riches opened their bookstore, they credited the Small Business Administration and their SCORE Business Mentoring program for helping them to put together their business plan.
“We also had some legal support … because Susie’s Stories started as an idea. [We also got] an LLC because of publishing and then we moved over to opening the brick-and-mortar bookstore. … Other than that, we just relied on our own research, but those were the main sources that helped us get off the ground [and] get started,” Doug said.
What makes their bookstore unique in comparison to other local bookstores, he said, is the small size and the cuteness.
“It’s actually a very small bookstore, but we get comments all the time on how attractive it is. So [the building used to be] a small fishing shack located upright on the harbor … in Rockport. … It’s got a very nice, bright, clean feel to it, it’s small. We have a lot of books in there. We also get a lot of comments on the variety of books we have. You’ll often find things you might expect to find in a local bookstore. …We do a very good job curating our collection, and of course, we focus on diversity and a lot of titles by authors you might not find somewhere else, especially a lot of Black and brown authors,” said Doug.
He also discussed some of the obstacles he and his wife had to overcome when opening the bookstore, which included not knowing the industry.
“We came into [the industry], sight unseen, and hadn’t previously, before we decided to jump into it. We didn’t really know [about] the book publishing industry at all. While we both have an entrepreneurial mindset — my wife much more than I do in terms of wanting to start a small business — this is our first retail effort. So, we had to get into that mindset,” said Doug, adding “We had to learn some of the tools in the industry, what people were doing, how do we get started, [and] acquiring inventory. We all had to learn these things pretty fast, and so we did. And we’re still learning.”
Another challenge the couple faced was opening in June 2019, and six months after opening, they had to close the bookstore during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a seasonal business as well, so we had a good summer, then things slowed down in the off-season. In 2020, we had a store, we had inventory and could not even really open, which was a very strange feeling, considering we had just gotten off the ground, so we [had to] overcome that,” he said.
Opening their bookstore, he and his wife learned important lessons along the way, which included making themselves a part of the community.
“We’ve been successful because we actually realized that we need to really be a part of the community. So, Rockport is a very literary community. There are a lot of folks here who are book lovers and book readers. … Because it’s a small town … being a part of the community, the business community, and the community in general is something that we strive to do, and that seems to serve us well,” said Doug.
The couple also learned that the book publishing industry is non-stop, so it is important for them to stay ahead of the curve and know what new books are being released and what is coming down the road, along with strategically partnering with other vendors for events.
“Just being there as a brick-and-mortar bookstore is good, but it’s really not enough to actually just be there. So, we’re learning how to do that, even as we speak, … getting involved with other vendors to create events … [learning] how to manage the business, the systems we needed, and staying on top of finances. We’ve learned how to do all [of] that. I think we’ve done pretty well,” he said.
For one of their upcoming events, the bookstore is partnering with Fleur Cuisine Harborside, a Caribbean restaurant, on April 17 for “Dining with Authors,” where community members can “savor exquisite dishes crafted by our talented chefs while engaging in captivating conversations with acclaimed authors from various genres.”
This event takes place at the Fleur Cuisine Harborside and runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, you can visit the Susie’s Stories website.
They will have two authors and musicians.
“I’m excited because we’re doing this event,” said Doug. “It’s a dinner, so “Dining with Authors” is actually the title of it — [the] idea of [a] three-course meal and wine [is] served, along with an author talk and a book signing. … We have Carmen Fields, who’s a well-known journalist in the area. Her father, Ernie Fields, was a jazz musician with a traveling big band probably [from] the ’30s through the ’70s, so she tells his story in her book,” he said.
“We have a local author from the Rockport area, Krystal Demaine. She’s [the] daughter of a musician. She’s a musician … [and the] healing force of music is her specialty. They both have a story to tell, relative to their father being responsible for their love for music, but very different aspects of the music business. … We think it’s gonna be a great event,” he added.
Lastly, Doug and Susie offer advice for entrepreneurs of color who want to open a business of their own.
They recommend that aspiring entrepreneurs find and take advantage of the resources available, such as SCORE, business webinars, and other support, and understand the process of getting their business off the ground.
“From the first business plan proposal, look for the finances you’re gonna need. Your sources for funding, sources for grants, sources for loans, you need to understand all of that and really have a clear understanding of how much you’re gonna need to actually get the business off the ground,” said Doug.
He adds that if you are a Black businessperson, you are also in the Black community. While being a part of this community and the community where your business is located is important, he also recommends not being limited by geography.
“We didn’t think we’d end up opening a business in Rockport. The Black population is small, but the place is beautiful. The opportunity was here, and so we didn’t consider it a limitation that it was out of the traditional Boston Black community at all,” he said.
Make sure that aspiring entrepreneurs do not think about their business as a job, suggests Susie.
“It’s not easy work but have fun with it. We were excited to start a new adventure,” she said.
