Chris and Amber Blaine have been writing the incredible story of their lives in the business world for the past eight years, and now they’ve opened a new chapter and are welcoming you and me to stop by any time for our next great book.
The Blaines launched their fledgling book-selling business in 2009, literally operating from the basement of their home in Coloma. Most of their early work was institutional buying and selling of textbooks and technical manuals, however by May of 2010 they were ready to go out to the general public with their first storefront in the heart of downtown Coloma. Success breeds success and they were ready to advance again only half a year later when they opened up shop on the site of a former national chain bookstore that had closed up business in The Orchards Mall.
As luck would have it, shortly after establishing their first-class retail operation in the mall, their e-commerce business began to skyrocket. Chris says they found that though the Coloma Store was profitable, it required almost half of their total resources, so they closed that location while simultaneously renting additional vacant store fronts at the mall for e-commerce warehousing and processing purposes only.
The Blaines will tell you that while that plan seemingly worked in its own right, it was still very complicated having to work out of multiple spaces with a limited staff. Eventually, the successful booksellers partnered with Rich Remus at Chemical Bank, and set out in search of a more suitable warehouse space that would allow them to focus on the cornerstone of their burgeoning business growth — their e-commerce venture.
In July of 2014, Chris and Amber purchased the building at 3247 Territorial Road and began their relocation process. Having completed the move by September, they settled in to develop their next plan of attack, gaining a retail presence once again at their new site.
It all became reality when Lakeside Books Outlet officially opened to the public last week on April 3rd. Going from just the two of them running operations to now a Lakeside family of ten employees, they are ready to make it even more formal with a Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce hosted Ribbon Cutting celebration this Thursday, April 13th. Most of the current employees have actually been involved with Lakeside Books in one way or another from the very beginning eight years ago.
The general public, businesses, schools and anyone else is welcome to call the shop or stop in and see the new operation and meet the team. Lakeside Books warehouse offers more than 30,000 new and used books that you can search for immediate purchase.
Lakeside also specializes in full sets and collections, and their growth has allowed them to maintain a deeper catalog of new book stock, in addition to the access of 5 million titles at a 20-percent discount ready for pick up within 48 hours. Deeper discounts are available for larger quantities for schools or others in need of mass quantities by way of example.
The Blaines have also moved Lakeside Books into some bulk and freight purchasing of new books and other items from an array of publishers and distributors, worldwide.
Amber tells us The Outlet Store is quite a bit different from what you may have experienced before, offering an array of books and gifts from their own bulk purchasing, offering you very deeply discounted options in those cases. The stock will change often, and you never know what you’ll find inside, so make plans to visit not just once, but often. Even if there’s nothing of interest to you on an occasional visit, you can always grab a cup of coffee, watch the fish, or even sell them your own text books. Customers are encouraged to stop in or see their website for details.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 1pm on Thursday afternoon, April 13th at 3247 Territorial Road, which is at the corner of Territorial and Benton Center Roads in Benton Charter Township. The store’s number is 269-925-8339.
Here’s a link to their website: http://www.LakesideBooks.com
