Independent bookstores make quiet comeback as big chains dominate retail

Small businesses fill a void that big businesses don’t. Big companies scale efficiency. Small businesses scale relevance.

The Barnes & Noble outlet near me has to meet their numbers each month and is focused entirely on moving product to make the most of every square inch of space. It’s not as profitable as a location to inventory slower-selling titles, even if there’s an audience for them. Small businesses fill in that space. They sell more obscure books that only a small percentage of people will buy. Big companies optimize for scale. Small businesses win by ignoring it.

Small business owners earn, on average, about $80,000 a year. Their businesses – particularly if they’re a single location – tend to be less profitable than a chain store because they don’t have economies of scale. But these business owners, as long as their bills are being paid, often times prefer the flexibility and individuality of being their own boss and are willing to take home less pay for that freedom. As a result, independent businesses can be more flexible with pricing and less bureaucratic about their discounts and sales policies in order to keep their customers’ happy.

Believe it or not, many suppliers and landlords also prefer to work with smaller companies. Big companies routinely take longer to pay, are difficult to penetrate for collection and retain a staff of salaried workers in their accounting departments that still get their paycheck every week regardless if a payment is late. Having a small business customer or tenant means dealing with the owner directly if there are any problems, and working with someone who is often more reliable in buying products or occupying a space that’s too small for a bigger fish to consider.

This isn’t to say that independent business owners aren’t at a significant disadvantage to their larger counterparts. Inflation, tariffs, regulations and taxes hit them harder. Competition is fierce. Ad agencies, PR firms, online platforms and social media sites give preference to larger clients with deeper pockets. Standards, processes, procedures and systems are harder to formalize. Technology is more disruptive. Resources are lower. Stress levels are higher. Economic shifts are tougher to endure.

But independent businesses can be more niche and focus on a certain type of clientele. They can pivot quicker, add or delete product lines, start or end a service, or hire and fire a poorly performing worker faster. Decisions are made quicker. If they want to expand, they can. If they don’t, they don’t.

All of these reasons explain the success of the independent bookstore owner, the retailer, the restaurateur. Whenever you read of the big corporate giant eating up its smaller competitors, don’t get worried. There’s plenty of room for independent small business in this country, and there always will be. Big companies will keep getting bigger. But they’ll never be everything – and that’s exactly where small businesses win.