Clemo Books

What is your business?

Clemo Books, a bookshop on Newquay’s high-street. We opened our bricks and mortar shop in November 2023. We host events, a subscription book club and free children’s storytelling events with local authors and our bookseller (me).

How did you get started?

Before opening the high street bookshop, I set up Clemo Books as a pop-up bookshop. We popped up in cafes and farmer’s markets across the Newquay area. This meant we had little overheads, and I got to test if a bookshop would work/was wanted in Newquay – and thankfully locals loved the idea!

I made a small investment of my own money for initial stock as well as market costs which I think highlighted to funders that I was serious about this venture. I did the pop-ups at weekends whilst I worked full-time so it was a tiring time but I met lots of lovely people who are now great supporters of my business.

How did you hear about SWEF and what led you to apply for a grant?

I got in touch with a signposting service who suggested SWEF for a business loan however I wasn’t in the position to apply for a loan however luckily, I qualified for the under 30’s business grant and applied – it was a very good application process and a lot less complicated than others I had been through. I had an online interview and was successful.

How did the grant help you develop your business?

The grant was incredibly helpful at the start of the high street shop. I used the grant to pay for signage to make the frontage appealing to passers-by – Clemo Books is on the corner of the high street and so making it visible to everyone is a bit of a challenge!

I also used the grant to pay for a bookselling software that connects with wholesalers and reports sales data to national organisations– this means we’re able to do large scale events as we can report back to publishers’ sales data which informs bestsellers charts etc. It’s been invaluable in the first year of operating.

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How have you seen your finances change since you received the grant?

We have been open a year on the high-street now and it was a great help in the initial stages of the business. I think having that grant at the beginning has eased cashflow as those large investments were helped by SWEF.

How else might you have funded investment in your business?

As well as this grant I Crowdfunded to raise funds to start the business. It was a great PR exercise, and it meant people were involved in helping create the bookshop as it is today which felt really special.

Where do you see your business in a year’s time?

Still selling lots of books, and perhaps with an extra team member so I can take a proper day off!

Anything else you want to share?

SWEF have been a wonderful organisation to work with, when I see the case studies of people they’ve helped it makes me so happy that there are people passionate about helping small businesses thrive. Their team were lovely to work with and helpful every step of the way – so much so it gave me confidence in what I was doing (as sometimes when you’re setting a new business the confidence isn’t always easy to be found!)