How I Did It: Michael Powell
Rather than open a used-book store, Michael Powell decided to start a business selling used books. That entrepreneurial point of view launched him on a path that ended in Portland, Oreg., with an enormous flagship store that's become a city landmark and tourist destination. And he still sells used books.
Published May 2004
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BUY A REPRINTAs told to John Brant
At some point in their lives, every liberal-arts major dreams about opening a neighborhood bookstore. The store sells a ton of books and, just as important, serves as a focus and catalyst for a community of passionate readers. Michael Powell has lived that dream. Powell's Books has become internationally famous both for its quantity--the flagship store in Portland, Oreg., occupies an entire city block and offers more than a million titles--and quality. Local booklovers, and visitors from around the world, flock to Powell's (and Powells.com) to find current bestsellers, rare first editions, technical manuals, out-of-print cult classics, and everything else in print. For all his love of the written word, however, Michael Powell remains an entrepreneur at heart. His heart, he insists, is undivided.
When I opened my first used-book store in l970 I was a grad student in political science at the University of Chicago. I had no business background; my only work experience had been as a commercial fisherman. My dad used to say that a fisherman made money only if his net was in the water. After I was in business for a while, he paid me a compliment. "I can see why you're good at this. Your net is always in the water."
If you say, "I want to have a great neighborhood bookstore," I think you're starting off on the wrong foot. I think you ought to say, "I want to exercise my passion for books by having a very successful neighborhood business."
I went into business by borrowing $3,000--some of the money came from Saul Bellow, who was teaching at Chicago. I spent $1,000 on a vacation and put $2,000 into an inventory of used books. We had 1,000 square feet. We built the shelves ourselves. I was able to quickly repay the $3,000. We kept increasing the inventory, expanding the space, taking on employees. At a lot of points I could have stopped and said this is my comfort level. But I liked to buy books too much. Then once I had the inventory, I had to figure out a way to market it.
My father came and worked for me that summer. He loved it and decided to open a used-book store back home in Portland, which he did in 1971. Gill's was the big new-book store in town those days. My father would watch people come into his store carrying these Gill's bags. And my father would wonder, "Why couldn't they buy that new book from me?" So he started stocking new books right alongside the used ones, which, at the time, I thought was a terrible idea. But he turned out to be absolutely, brilliantly correct.
In 1979, I decided to move to Portland and join my father's business. The lease on the store was up and the day after I flew out here I found a new space. Real estate was still affordable in downtown Portland then. We had a big store, dealing in used and new books, staffed by passionate book people, where a customer could find a title that was rare or out-of-print. When people came to sell us their used books they would be treated professionally and paid a fair price. It became a self-fulfilling cycle. People sold us books, we got bigger, they sold us more books, and so on.
