The Keeper's Letters — Twelve Letters on Keeping a Small Shop | Printable Guide

Twelve letters from the last Keeper of a small shop, to whoever takes it on next.

She tells you about the moon chart she launched with a typo in it. The twelve products she made in her second month, eleven of which sold nothing at all. The price she set at three pounds because she was frightened of being told it wasn't worth more, and what happened when she raised it to twelve. The fortnight she lost refreshing a copyist's listing.

A note on the second page, before anything else: the Keeper is not real. She is a device — an invented predecessor, and it seemed only decent to say so up front rather than let you find out. The advice underneath is not invented.

THE LETTERS

I. On Beginning Badly — and why it is the only way to begin
II. On What to Make First — and the trap of making twelve
III. On the Price — the cheapest mistake, in every sense
IV. On the Listing — what actually sells the thing
V. On the Silence — the month when nothing happens
VI. On Being Copied — and what is worth doing about it
VII. On the Seasons — the shop's year, month by month
VIII. On the Second Sale — which is cheaper than the first
IX. On the Difficult Message — refunds, complaints, and one rule
X. On the Landlords — platforms, rules, and never owning the ground
XI. On Making Too Much — the quiet way shops end
XII. On What the Shop Is For — the last letter

THE PRACTICAL PAGES AT THE BACK

• The Shop's Year — what sells when, and when to have made it
• The Launch Checklist — the file, the listing, the shop, and after
• An Honest Pricing Table — a starting point, not a promise

AND ONE PROMISE

Nothing in here tells you what you will earn, because nobody honestly can. Any guide that puts a figure on your first year is selling you the figure, not the guide.

WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE

A 19-page PDF in US Letter and A4. Instant download.

PLEASE NOTE

Not legal, tax or financial advice — rules on trading, tax and consumer rights differ by country and change often. Digital download; nothing is posted to you. For personal use in your own shop.