📖 OUR FOUNDER OF THE WEEK — Every Tuesday, Founder of the Week looks at how a successful member of Egypt’s business or startup community got their big break, asks about their experiences running a company, and gets their advice for budding entrepreneurs. Speaking to us this week is Somaya Salama (LinkedIn), founder of Egyptian independent bookstore Cherry Blossom Books.

My name is Somaya Khaled Salama, I’m the founder and owner of Cherry Blossom Books, an independent bookstore curating recent releases typically not found in Egypt. I graduated in 2009 from the British University in Egypt — the first class to ever graduate — with a major in marketing. I never got to pursue my major professionally, with my first job after graduating having nothing to do with it. I quickly realized that traditional work didn’t fit my expectations, and I thought, “why not open my own business?”

I quit my job in March 2011, and I launched Cherry Blossom Books in September. It wasn’t something I planned on doing, to be honest. When I was in university, I never thought I would open up my own business. I love reading, but I couldn’t find the books I wanted in Egypt. I would usually shop off of Amazon, but the books would arrive damaged, late, or even get lost in the mail. I wanted to address these problems and do something that I loved, and offer other readers a way to get the books they wanted, but couldn’t.

I wasn’t really thinking about how to enter the market, I just did it. I prioritized new releases and picked books that weren’t readily available in the market. That’s what sets Cherry Blossom Books apart. We’re also different as we obtain all our shipments from the US market, whereas most bookstores ship books from the UK as they’re cheaper and easier to come by. While US editions are more expensive, they’re better than their UK counterparts in terms of aesthetics. Diversifying our selections brings us lots of new customers and ones from different backgrounds.

The first time I felt successful was when we opened our second store. We had a very small store in Porto Cairo Mall’s basement in 2015, and no one would visit. A year later, we moved to a bigger store two floors up. On the opening day, there was a very long queue all throughout the store. I had bought a very large shipment a month prior with all sorts of new releases, and as soon as the doors opened, everyone came in to pick up their orders. This was when I realized that this is working.

We had to shut down our physical store, and looking back, it was the right decision — especially with Covid. A lot of people were ordering online, and we were able to cut down on costs. I wouldn’t have it any other way. In five years, I see Cherry Blossom Books expanding further and offering a wider variety of books to readers across the country. More books is my main goal, and so are different product channels, including merchandise and “bookish” items to supplement the main offering.

With the recent economic challenges, it’s been tough — especially the past three years. The devaluation of the EGP and our pricing approach was difficult to navigate. We don’t want to lose money, yet at the same time I cannot overprice my books. In 2016, when the first devaluation happened, we hiked up our prices, and we realized we were losing money and customers. I was stuck with a lot of stock that I didn’t know what to do with.

I learned my lesson back then. With the recent devaluations, I began slowly increasing prices in small increments, until I reached a satisfactory balance that is fair for both the customer and myself. Other bookstores are more expensive, but you can’t blame them. Overhead costs add to prices, and that’s why I appreciate operating online.

The main thing I would like to change about the book market in Egypt is getting rid of all counterfeit books. It’s not fair to the authors, the publishers, and everyone involved in the making of a book that’s being pirated. I understand that books are expensive and not everyone can afford them, but there are other ways to obtain books at a more affordable cost aside from piracy. I also want to change the dependency on BookTok. So many of the books being hyped lack substance, and it’s become a toxic place where the book community — both in Egypt and abroad — focuses on the negatives, forgetting that at the end of the day, reading is about joy.

Seeing customers with their books makes my day. I’d say that’s the most rewarding aspect of running Cherry Blossom Books. Whenever they come to pick up their orders from the main office, we always chat about what we’re reading, and that’s amazing. The most difficult aspect of the job is the logistics. Shipment delays, customs, and unnecessary paperwork that delay shipments cause me anxiety, especially having to convey that to our customers.

In the early days, I was very committed to my job and did not differentiate between it and my personal life. While I’m still committed, I’ve managed to separate the two and take a break. Sometimes it can get very overwhelming with the amount of customer requests and shipment issues. So, I made a decision that whenever I went home, I would not check my emails or do anything until the next day. I’ve felt a difference since I started doing that.

I’m currently reading The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen. It’s a fun “romantasy.” Epic fantasy is my favorite genre and something that I’ve always loved. I love going to different worlds and meeting different people in new circumstances. If I weren’t the brain behind Cherry Blossom Books, I’d be a traveller.

If I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to be patient, and not let work overwhelm me. Everyone wants to take the easy way out, skip out on all the research and hard work it takes to start a business. But it’s not easy, and takes time. I didn’t have a lot of customers, I made — and still make — a lot of mistakes. The thing is, you need to learn from them. If you don’t depend on yourself, you won’t be able to make it.

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