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Store & Operations Management

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Store & Operations Management is designed to cover all of the operational needs of an independent bookstore, considering both high-level and long-term management topics as well as the everyday tasks that go into running a bookstore.

Operations are the foundation of your business. After you've completed this course, you will have created or updated many of the core documents that help to make things run as smoothly as possible, such as an operations manual, staff handbook, financial metrics, marketing plan, and more. With so much material to create, the homework for this class is substantial. Students should plan on devoting an average of roughly two hours a week to class assignments, in addition to the hour and a half of class time. 

Classes in the SO course include instruction from an experienced bookseller, peer-to-peer small group time, interactive elements, and Q&A. Registration is limited to 30 students and one person per store.

2026 Store & Operations Management Course Syllabus
2026 Course Instructors

Dean Anna Thorn, Independent Bookstore Consultant, Washington, D.C.

Instructor Carol Price, Dean of Inventory Management and former owner of of BookPeople, Moscow, ID

Instructor Candice Huber, Owner, Tubby & Coo’s, New Orleans, LA

Instructor Julia Davis, Owner, The Book Worm, Powder Springs, GA 

Instructor Tim Smith, Schuler Books, Ann Arbor, MI

Instructor Elizabeth Jordan, Nowhere Bookshop, San Antonio, TX

Guest Instructor Nathan Halter, Batch

Guest Instructor Angela Trigg, The Haunted Bookshop, Mobile, AL 

Guest Instructor Michael Newton, Asbury Book Cooperative, Asbury Park, NJ

Guest Instructor Lily Clay, Eagle Harbor Books, Bainbridge Island, WA

Membership

Being an active member of the bookselling industry is a critical step in growing a bookstore and shows commitment to your chosen profession. Stores with students in all Professional Booksellers School courses are required to be current members of their regional trade association and/or the American Booksellers Association. To enroll, students must also create a PBS account, which is free.

Course Components & Cost

This course consists of live classes via Zoom, office hours, and assignments that contribute to course takeaways.. Discord is used for course communication, office hours, and to upload homework. Homework is assigned for each class. Students are expected to attend the live classes and finish and pass all homework to be certified.

The course is $395, with registration discount codes available from most Regional Trade Associations. To take advantage of these discounts, ask your Regional for the code before registration opens. Some regional trade associations provide full or partial refunds for tuition; find out more here.

Course Content Overview

Store & Operations Management is designed to cover all of the day to day and long term operational and other business-related needs of an independent bookstore, considering both high level management topics and the daily tasks assigned to individual booksellers. The course is built to help managers and owners evaluate their stores and take steps to build and improve infrastructure such as budgets, staff handbooks, and emergency preparedness plans.

Coursework Overview

By the end of the course, students will have completed projects that help them create:

  • a store mission statement
  • a monthly budget folder with a cash flow analysis
  • P&L for the month, P&L for the year to date, and a balance Sheet;
  • a staff handbook
  • an emergency handbook
  • a marketing plan
Schedule

March 12      Class 1 – Welcome to Class and Syllabus Overview

March 19      Class 2 –  Store Systems

March 26     Class 3 – Inventory Decisions & Merchandising

April 2         Class 4 – Financial Systems & Batch

April 9         Class 5 – Budget

April 16        Class 6 – Staff Management

April 23     catch up week, no meeting

April 30        Class 7 – Staff and Human Resources

May 7          Class 8 – Staff Handbook

May 14         Class 9 – Define Your Store

May 21        Class 10 – Marketing Overview

May 28       Class 11 - Create Your Own Marketing Plan

June 4         Class 12 -  Websites and Digital Marketing

June 11        Class 13 - Emergency Preparedness

June 18        Class 14 - Leadership Discussion

June 25        Final day to turn in homework

Learning Outcomes

This course will provide a thorough overview of the systems, plans and processes for running an independent bookstore. At the end of this course, students will have relevant documents in place, including:

  • Store operations manual, including store systems and policies
  • Budget management systems
  • Staff handbook
  • Staff management systems
  • Emergency preparedness plan
  • Inventory and store layout plans
  • Merchandising plan
  • Supply ordering management plan                                                                           
  • Promotions and marketing plan
  • Leadership tools
If you have questions or need assistance, contact administration at hello@professionalbooksellers.com.