Help Bookland Get Out Of Debt

I bought the used, independent bookstore Bookland in Kingston just over 4 years ago. I converted it to a New and Used bookstore, and it's one of only three remaining independent bookstores in Kingston. My store is in the North-West end of Kingston, in a blind spot amongst a plaza filled with restaurants. I have major competition across the street with Indigo, Toys R Us and Mastermind Toys, all of which carry books, and of course Amazon. Of all the bookstores in town, and most of the small businesses, I own, run and operate this business all on my own.

The pandemic hit my store very hard. On top of little support from the government, which always arrived too late, the majority of my regular customers stayed away and spread the rumour the store was permanently closed even though I was here working harder than ever, doing curbside pickup and delivery. I even worked on an online store for eight months, which was crushed by giants like Indigo and Amazon. I had to take out personal loan after personal loan to keep going.

And now, despite having a new series of clientele and semi-regular foot traffic in the store, the store is slowly sinking under the pandemic-incurred debt. I work by myself six days a week, eight hours a day, and it's still a struggle to get into the following month. With the cost of living, rent, property tax and more having gone up in Ontario lately, I'm in danger of bankruptcy. And these personal loans could cost me both my business, home and livelihood.

All money raised will go straight towards paying off this debt, to keep my small business going. My store is semi-modern, with a strong presence on Facebook and Instagram, and unlike the big box stores and online stores, my store feeds back into the community. The store is designed for in-store shopping and browsing, with knowledgeable, friendly and personalized customer service. I love and am passionate about books, and this little store and I want to keep going. Paying off the debt will allow me to expand the book selections, give better credit for used books, bring in more help and, ultimately, show that small businesses can fight these corporate giants.

There are very, very few of us independent bookstores left. Please help us stay alive and offer people the real and tactile experience of browsing and buying books, conversing and relating to other people who share our passion for reading, and spreading the love of books and reading to each new generation.

Thank you.