OK, it’s not been a week yet, but we’re pretty close to it. Anyone who tells you that running a shop is easy is either a liar, has a huge number of self-motivated/ managed staff or is a little bit loopy. I didn’t think for a moment that it would be ‘easy’, but equally, I wasn’t aware of quite how much goes on behind the scenes day-to-day.
I should have realised though. My parents ran a shop when I was a child and they worked their socks off. My father-in-law owned a garden centre and did the same. But seeing from the outside is very different from actually doing! I am not complaining. This whole experience has been a huge learning curve for me and Mr Frog, which I am sure will continue to get steeper over the coming weeks and months ahead.
You know what makes it worth it? The fact that we still get excited by what we’re doing. The fact that opening a box of books or a bag of goodies from a publisher fills us with glee; that’s magical to me. And the fact that children come in to have a good old nose at our glorious selection of books. They are interested in what we have to offer. Don’t get dragged into the media hype that kids don’t read, it’s a myth. They do read, they just do other things too.
The future is looking bright for Chicken and Frog. Long live the book!
Chicken and Frog Bookshop 