Page 13 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘Tori, hi! Can I get you a drink?’ Bea asked, pulling her purse out of her bag.
‘A negroni would be great, thanks.’
‘Delicious! Can you make that two, please, Pete?’
‘Sure,’ said Pete, the landlord, taking two glasses and mixing their drinks.
‘Thanks so much for doing this, I really appreciate it,’ said Bea warmly.
‘No problem,’ replied Tori, waving a hand, ‘I’m intrigued to hear all about this business proposal of yours. I’m no expert, but if I can help, I will.’
‘I just want to pick your brain, really,’ said Bea, paying for their drinks and heading for one of the window tables.
‘Pick away,’ said Tori, pulling up a chair opposite her.
‘I love the Cosy Cat Café, you’ve done such a great job with it,’ said Bea, taking a sip of her cocktail. ‘All the cats are up for adoption, aren’t they?’
‘Yeah, we work with Izzy at New Beginnings Rescue Centre to try to find them their forever homes, and Grace at Brook House Vets helps with all the medical stuff.’
‘I love that!’
‘Thanks, it works well. We’ve rehomed over forty cats since we opened last year.’
‘That’s amazing,’ said Bea.
‘We do our best, but enough about that – fill me in on this business idea of yours. I’m dying to know all about it!’ said Tori, leaning in.
‘It’s all been a bit of a bolt out of the blue really,’ said Bea, quickly, ‘I’m not sure I’ve thought it through properly, if I’m honest. There’s so much to think about: budgets, logistics, insurance… I don’t really know what I’m doing—’
‘Bea,’ said Tori, softly.
‘Yes?’
‘Why don’t you take a breath and start at the beginning?’
‘Sorry, yes, I’m rambling…’ said Bea, flushing.
‘Not at all, just take your time and tell me everything,’ said Tori, encouragingly.
Bea explained the events of the past few days, from quitting her job to buying the horsebox. She showed Tori some screenshots of other mobile bookshops she’d found online and explained her vision for making Bea’s Book Wagon a success.
‘Looks like you’ve put a lot of thought into this, given the time you’ve had,’ said Tori, scanning the images on Bea’s phone. ‘These look great!’
‘I know, right? I’m hoping to create something similar, but there’s so much to consider and I don’t really know where to start. I know it’s not the same thing – a bookshop and a cat café – but I thought you might be able to tell me about some of the basics of running a small business?’
‘It can all feel a bit overwhelming when you’re just getting started, can’t it?’
‘Yes, exactly!’ Bea nodded. ‘Jess mentioned that you’ve got a business degree, too, so that must’ve been helpful?’
‘It was and it wasn’t,’ Tori laughed, taking a sip of her cocktail. ‘I knew where to start when it came to putting together a business plan, but the animal welfare regulations were a lot to get my head around, and then I had to get Izzy at the rescue on board with the idea, too, not to mention the rest of the village. Not everyone was keen on the idea of a cat café at first…’
‘Gosh, that’s an awful lot to sort out,’ said Bea. ‘I hadn’t really thought about that.’
‘Well, of course we already had Mum’s premises and an established café business, but I’ve got a business plan template I can email to you – that’ll be a good starting point.’
‘That would be great, thank you.’
‘Considering you only came up with the idea on Friday, I’d say the fact you’re already starting to get organized is pretty good going.’
