ABOUT THE NEW ROMANTICS

The New Romantics is a Romance-Only Bookstore featuring books from a diverse range of authors covering a wide range of romance genres. We are here to create a safe, diverse space for all romance readers and uplift the romantic stories we read. We value community, inclusion, connection, empathy, love, passion, respect, and gratitude. We are the dreamers, the romance readers, and the positive forces in our communities, and we hope to instill that energy here.

ABOUT JANE

Hi there! If you've seen my videos you know...my name is Jane Rodriguez and I'm opening up Orlando's first Romance-Only Bookstore. Bookstores and romance have always been a safe haven to me. Even since I was young, Romance has been the genre that I have clung to and nothing will ever compare. Bookstores for me brought a level of excitement that I could not contain and I hope to be able to replicate that with my own bookstore. You see, The New Romantics is going to be sooooo much more than just a bookstore. I want it to be a safe where people find comfort and community, where they can gather, make friends, and get away from the chaos that is life. This is going to be a space for us to celebrate and uplift the stories we love to read and celebrate those who wrote them.

As a daughter of Cuban immigrants, my parents always taught me to go for my dreams and this is me doing just that. I hope that you'll join me in this beautiful journey of making this a reality and that you're able to contribute in some way. Thank you for being here!

MARKET SIZE & OPPORTUNITY

Orlando is in dire need of a romance-only bookstore. A bookstore that's sole focus is to celebrate the genre that we love so much and create a space for people to come together, connect, and share in their love for reading. Between 2019 and 2020, it was reported that about 1,700 independent bookselling companies were running about 4,100 stores. The rise of social media has seen a great increase in people wanting to not only support small businesses versus large corporations but an influx of support and content for the book community. With over 9.6 billion BookTok Views and 78 Million posts dedicated to books on Instagram, there is a clear need for more independent bookstores. Approximately 900 million books are sold in the US each year.

In addition to that, readers in Orlando are desperately seeking a space to find connection and community. We hope to make this a "third place" space where folks would want to spend their free time engaging and socializing or just curling up with a book and a cup of tea.

WHY WE NEED FUNDING

Opening and operating a small business can be costly. We have realized that we need about $100,000 to open our store. This money accounts for renovations, furniture, electronics, book inventory, merchandise inventory, food and drink inventory, payroll, and at least two months of operating expenses to support us as we grow. We should be able to make this a reality for our community without incurring a wild amount of debt that will keep us consistently struggling to make ends meet. Our team deserves to be compensated a livable wage and this will give us the means to do so without additional stress and fear.

Here is the full breakdown. We'll happily be as transparent as you need us to be when it comes to finances:

• $10,000: Estimated Space Renovations -- these would be funds that would allow us to paint the space, add anything that needs to be added like a countertop, and make sure everything is safe for our clients. This could also include any permit and inspector fees.
• $10,000: Furniture -- We need LOTS of bookshelves, but also seating space, tables, chairs, display items, etc. 
• $6,000: Electronics -- This includes a camera system, Point of Sale system, alarms, reach and go cooler for the snacks we want to serve, terminal, receipt printer, etc.
• $30,000: Book Inventory -- That's a lot of books. We're estimating needing about 3,000 to stock the store with books! 
• $5,000: Merchandise Inventory -- This includes stickers, bookmarks, shirts, hats, tote bags, candles, and anything else we can think of to stock the store.
• $1,500: Food & Beverage Inventory -- We plan on serving hot and cold teas as well as grab-and-go snacks, pastries, etc.
• $4,000: Miscellaneous Expenses --To account for all the things we didn't think of, but some of the things we did are: shopping bags, chalkboard signs, decorations, baskets, cups, utensils, tablecloths for events, etc.
• $33,500: 2-Months Operating Expenses -- We would love to have a cushion of support as we get our businesses off the ground. Our monthly operating expenses come out to about $16,750 and this includes rent, utilities, insurance, payroll for one employee (besides myself!), systems we need to pay for (such as website, payroll, QuickBooks, etc.), alarm fees, music license, etc.

THANK YOU

There are not enough words in the universe to describe how grateful we are to you. You are helping make this dream a reality not just for us, but for thousands of people who crave this community in Orlando. Every cent that you can donate makes it easier for us to do all the work that we need to do to make this a reality. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!