This question has come up lately. Yes, we are still here.
Anybody who manages a Bahá'í bookstore in their community knows
that this is not a lucrative endeavor, nor one that will generate
much income. At present, we are blessed with a setup where all
costs associated with maintaining and distributing inventory are
sustained by the business activity. While some may imagine a
buzzing office with staff, this bookstore is operated by one
individual in two rooms. As a parent of 5 children, there is a
financial cost to this service due to the need to hire babysitters.
For a few years, this situation provided an opportunity for very
flexible work to youth engaging in increasing acts of service to
the community. We learned much about subsidizing, bartering,
training in work skills, exploring creative work options
around service, and prioritizing the channeling of
youth's energies into meaningful service while ensuring that their
basic material needs were covered.
This year priorities have changed. Focus areas for teams of
youth on full/part time service have changed. We now have new
question: if we need to pay to perform a service, is paying to run
a bookstore the best use of our resources?
There are no easy answers. In the meantime, yes, our time in the
bookstore has slowed considerably and there are more questions than
answers: how many of the practices of popular business are to be
expected from a Bahá'í bookstore? How important is a Bahá'í
business in advancing community? Is it timely? What is most
necessary? Where are our resources most needed?
Your ideas and suggestions or thoughts will be most valuable in
advancing understanding about the role and purpose of this
business.