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Annikkia

By Annikkia,
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Annikkia

Annikkia

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Hi everyone! My name is Annikkia and I joined SL with a single goal in mind: to open up my own Book Nook/ Coffee House.

 

I know how it will work in principal but in actuality I have NO CLUE how to go about starting towards my goal. I have a look, and a dream but where do I go to locate storefront property? I have only a basic account so what are my restrictions?

 

In the mean time where can I go to earn some money?

 

Many thanks in advance for your answers and patience :)

~Annikkia

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Annikkia

Annikkia

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Hi everyone! My name is Annikkia and I joined SL with a single goal in mind: to open up my own Book Nook/ Coffee House.

 

I know how it will work in principal but in actuality I have NO CLUE how to go about starting towards my goal. I have a look, and a dream but where do I go to locate storefront property? I have only a basic account so what are my restrictions?

 

In the mean time where can I go to earn some money?

 

Many thanks in advance for your answers and patience :)

~Annikkia

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Sassy Romano

Sassy Romano

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There is a difference between a business that will earn money and one that will be a role play.  I rather suspect that you will fall into the latter.  The issue is that there is no reason to consume drinks in SL, it's the same reason that clubs fail over and over, there's just no revenue stream associated with running a club.

The whole of SL is pretty much assumed to be free access thus charging people to enter venues is usually treated with utter derision, an absolute cheek that someone paying $295 a month for a full region should dare to actually charge others to enter it!

As such, you can base something on tips but that's going to be very variable.

If you want to run a coffee house or similar, I really would suggest exploring the role play scenarios as they're usually sadly lacking in immersiveness.  The wild west role play regions comprising Tombstone were very active at one time (I don't know if they still are?) but had things like a tavern that was always busy, just to give you an idea.

Same as with any business though, why will someone visit, what will they do?  what's the revenue model?

With a basic account, you cannot own land on LL mainland that you direclty purchase but you can rent anywhere on private regions that are on offer.  Private regions vastly outnumber LL's regions anyway.  There are no other restrictions on a basic account that would affect you.

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Annikkia

Annikkia

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my main idea is to write short stories and novels and sell them in the shop. others could pay to showcase their works of literature in my shop and I could sell them and split the profit with the authors. Like you buy a book and the story opens up in note form. 

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Czari Zenovka

Czari Zenovka

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Annikkia wrote:

my main idea is to write short stories and novels and sell them in the shop. others could pay to showcase their works of literature in my shop and I could sell them and split the profit with the authors. Like you buy a book and the story opens up in note form. 

I saw a place in one of the Caledon (Victorian rp) sims awhile back that was a bookstore.  It housed a collection of books written by the owner and then placed out in a book store (or what a place selling books might look like in the 19th century).  I found it interesting because I love to read and have written a few things but, as Sassy said, making a profit with a coffee shop/book store might be iffy.  I love the idea though.

Oh, as for mainland, you can rent land there as well as a basic account.  I've lived on the same mainland sim for most of my 6 years in SL - sometimes owning parcels when I was premium, for the last 3 renting as a basic. :)

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Amethyst Jetaime

Amethyst Jetaime

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A nice idea but one that will not be profitable.  A search for book stores turn up only a few and those had zero to very low traffic.  Even the largest place with the highest traffic, Book Island, still has realatively low traffic for an entire island.  Books are available there.  Most are free or cost 1L with less than ten costing over 150L.  You'd have to price yours competatively and there is no way you can make money at those prices.  Book Island exists because its owners pay for it out of pocket with  a little bit of assistance from donors.

I love to read and can read a full length book in a day easily, but I am not interested in doing it in world.  I do all my reading in RL where it is much more convenient and comfortable.. I do ocassionally look at SL magazines but only if they publish on an outside website where lag isn't an issue.

I agree with the other posters.  You should only do this for your own enjoyment if you are interested in setting up for role play or have deep pockets to support it and won't get frustrated when day after day you have no visitors or hardly any visitors.  You may find it much more enjoyable to volunteer on Book Island.  I would suggest you go there and talk to them in any case to get a better picture of the book industry in SL.

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Annikkia

Annikkia

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I would be selling Books, magazines, nicknacks and such that you could expect to find. Things that help exemplify the bookworm lifestyle like comfy chairs and shelving. Sidenote: is it possible to link sound to a specific item? If that is the case then I may sell CD's of audio books of my own creation of course!

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Czari Zenovka

Czari Zenovka

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Annikkia wrote:

I would be selling Books, magazines, nicknacks and such that you could expect to find. Things that help exemplify the bookworm lifestyle like comfy chairs and shelving. Sidenote: is it possible to link sound to a specific item? If that is the case then I may sell CD's of audio books of my own creation of course!

Sorry for the confusion - my question of what he would be selling was directed to Porky to get more info on his bet. :)

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Czari Zenovka

Czari Zenovka

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Annikkia wrote:

Also, which location would you suggest is good to start scoping out rental property? I am still foggy to how the local works around here
:)

The best suggestion I've seen thus far is Amethyst's - for you to go to Book Island (I think that was the name), which is an established sim for people who love to read, and see if they have merchants there (now I'm curious - I may head over), speak to them, see how they got started, etc.  You might also want to join some of the book clubs in SL (just search in groups - I found a lot of them last time I looked), attend a meeting or two and bounce your idea off of them as this would be part of your target customer base.

One suggestion - I really wouldn't rent any property for your store just yet; first do some market research to see if the idea is at all viable.

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Czari Zenovka

Czari Zenovka

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Just checked out your profile - a few more suggestions:

*You just began SL (if this is your first avatar) on Monday.  I would strongly recommend exploring SL and getting a "feel" for the lay of the land as it were before beginning any kind of business.

*Especially if you plan on some type of business (and even if you don't) I would also recommend filling out your profile to reflect "you" - interests, what type of activity you enjoy in SL, etc.  Add some photos, even if just of interesting places you've seen in SL.  Many people in SL have met new people, found friends, discovered great places to visit, etc. from reading another's profile.  Over the years, and depending on the profile, I have had people IM me out of the blue to comment on something within my profile.  Especially with a business, that provides more exposure for it.

Oh and, "For the Alliance!!!!" ;)

ETA: Just saw a place in search called "Kinningly Station, Writer's Landing."  The description says:

SF themed disembarkation point for new writers and authors arriving in Second Life. Start here to learn more about the SL writer's community on Book Island.

I would make that my first stop if that were you.  Even though their theme is Sci-Fi, the bolded part would be excellent for your research.

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Porky Gorky

Porky Gorky

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Czari Zenovka wrote:

What type of books would you be selling and would you be *only* selling books?
;)

I would sell the type of book that looks awesome and interesting and unique when sat on the shelf or put on display. As for the content of the book, that doesn't matter....can stick any old tripe in there. I would also sell funky bookcases that complimented the varying style of books. 

 

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Czari Zenovka

Czari Zenovka

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So I checked out Book Island today.  (Thank you for mentioning that, Amethyst; it is someplace I will likely return.)  The entire sim and the one next to it, two estate sims ostensibly owned by the same person/group, were empty.  This in itself is not overly alarming; I was there around noon US Eastern time so many people in the US would be working, but it would be 5 pm+ in Europe.

Checking the teleporter at the landing point, I noticed a cafe called The Writer's Block Cafe.  Headed there first.  I would think it might be something similar to your idea except I didn't see any books there for sale; it appeared to a place people meet for book discussions.  I then strolled around the sim and saw a LOT of places selling variations on the book theme as well as several shops for rent at, imo, a very high rate (10L per prim) *but* located where a target audience would be.  A beach is located on the same sim with houses for rent so I'm assuming that is one method the owner/s use to defray some of the sim costs in addition to the tip jar I saw at the tp point.

If you haven't been there yet, it would definitely be worth your while.  Again, good luck to you. :)

 

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Czari Zenovka

Czari Zenovka

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Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

What your talking about is selling furniture and decorative furnishings.  That's a different thing entirely from what the OP means by bookstorein her first post.. 

Right, that's why I wanted to clarify what Porky had in mind.  I know of one shop/merchant who sells "adult" books as part of her business...but just part.  She also sells D/s themed furnishings, clothing, interesting gadgets (such as wearable books that one can place notecards or landmarks in), etc.  She also has an area that is a meeting place/discussion area for subs.

In other words, she is quite diversified and I doubt if the books alone in her store (she actually has at least two locations) would pay her tier, much less turn a profit.

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