I turned my book club side-hustle into a six-figure business – I’ve doubled my income every year, it’s a dream come true
OPENING the doors to her very own book shop in Edinburgh, Rachel Wood couldn’t quite believe how she had found herself at this point.
What started out as a hobby has quickly become a roaring business that had now found a permanent space in one of the city’s trendiest areas.
Former copywriter Rachel started her company Rare Bird Books in 2017 when she found herself constantly recommending her favourite titles to friends and family but had never imagined it would take off.
An avid reader with a busy schedule, Rachel, 34, was keen to join a book club but didn’t have the time to attend a physical one and went on the hunt for an online equivalent.
Discovering that there was little in the way of virtual clubs, Rachel decided to start her own and Rare Bird Books was born.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Rachel says: “I came to realise that people often find selecting books quite a daunting process because there is so much out there.
from Bossing It
“It was never the case for me because I read so much so I always had a book to recommend and I quickly became known for it among my circle of friends.
“I really wanted to join a book club and have the satisfaction of discussing a book but I just didn’t want to get off my sofa to do it.
“So I started Rare Bird Books to serve people like me, it was an online book club where each month we’d read the same book before discussing it online.”
Already working full time, Rachel started the business on a small scale investing less than £10,000 initially with friends helping her to set up the website.
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Rachel's business tips...
Start small: You’ll read hundreds of business success stories that will tell you to re-mortgage your house or invest your entire savings but you really can just start a business with a few customers and grow from there without risking your finances.
Ask for help: You’re not expected to know everything. If you come across a stumbling block there will be someone out there who will have the answer.
And make sure they’re passionate! Starting as a smaller business meant I was able to find staff who really cared about the business and what we’re selling which is imperative!
Get to know your customers: Building my business up little by little meant that I got to know my customers and what worked for them.
Customers can pay £150 for an annual subscription, or £14 for a rolling monthly subscription, each month receiving a beautifully packaged surprise book to their door.
Subscribers are provided with two secret blurbs each month and choose whichever appeals to them, once read they can then share their thoughts in the Rare Birds Online Book Club, which now boasts 2,000 members.
And in November 2021 Rachel introduced the 24 Days of Reading advent calendar that sold out within a matter of weeks.
“I took a punt just to see what would happen,” Canadian-born Rachel says.
“In the first month we had just 12 subscribers and I was essentially related to all of them but as the months went on and our Instagram presence grew so did our customers.
“There was no marketing budget so I was relying almost totally on word of mouth recommendations.
“A few months in we were recommended by Stylist magazine and that’s when the business really began to take off.
“At the time it was still just a little bootstrap business and I hadn’t even considered trying to make a career out of it.
“For the first two years of Rare Bird Books I was still working as a freelance copywriter, putting any money I earned back into the business.
I had never expected the response we had, there was so much excitement and attention
Rachel Wood
“I had no business experience, I had a masters in creative writing!”
Despite her humble ambitions, Rachel, who lives in Edinburgh with her husband Michael, 36, found that Rare Bird Books became a very lucrative career at the most unlikely of times.
“The turning point for the business came during the pandemic,” Rachel explains
“Ahead of Mother’s Day in 2020 we were featured on This Morning which was a huge boost to the business.
“That and the fact that everyone was stuck at home with all this time on their hands that people that previously had neglected reading began to pick up books again which was an explosion in demand which we just weren’t prepared for.
“At that time there were just two of us working in the business and I found myself lugging 2,000 books up the stairs to my flat.
“We had 2,000 subscribers and it was taking us a week to gift wrap and send all of these books.
“We moved to a WeWork office space which luckily was pretty empty because everyone was still working from home so we could take over but it wasn’t sustainable.”
In June 2020 Rachel relocated her team to a warehouse in Glasgow and hired staff to take over the postage and packaging side of things.
And the following year the business expanded further when Rachel opened the Rare Bird bookshop in Stockbridge, Edinburgh in August 2021.
Scotland’s only bookshop dedicated to entirely women writers, the store has become a destination for book lovers across the nation as well as a healthy asset to Rachel’s business.
“Having a physical store had always been a personal dream,” Rachel says.
“Being a totally online business up until that point meant that we hadn’t had that personal relationship with customers yet and the shop gave us the opportunity to get to know the community.
“We had a really strong Christmas in 2020 which gave us the financial means to open the store.
“I had never expected the response we had when I opened the store, there was so much excitement and attention from the local community.”
Rachel's reading list
These are all subscriber and store customer favourites - the thing they all have in common is they're perfect to dive into if you've found yourself in a bit of a reading rut.
12 Days in May by Niamh Hargan – When heartthrob director Ciaran Flynn’s film is embodied in scandal, the one woman who can help is also the one woman he hasn’t spoken to in twelve years. This gorgeous rom com set in Cannes is an absolute treat.
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton – A music journalist tries to piece together the story of a trailblazing female punk rocker from the 1970s who was on the brink of stardom before it all came crashing down.
Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Sutanto – A woman goes on blind date – the date ends up dead. A hilarious story about a woman trying to find her place in the world without the help of her meddling family.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite – Probably our most beloved subscription pick of the last 5 years. It’s short, sharp and lots of fun, with some deeper themes to think on, too.
Rachel, who gave up her copywriting job in December 2019, has seen her business grow year on year.
“In the last 12 months we have turned over around £600,00”, she says.
“Essentially with each year of business we have doubled turnover, the growth is just getting faster and faster which is absolutely amazing.”
Rachel is certainly not blind to the fact that as an independent book shop she is up against some pretty giant competitors.
“You’re competing with the likes of Amazon who offer free shipping which is something that a business like ours simply can’t offer,” Rachel says.
“Amazon often offers big discounts on books which is not something we want to do because we strongly believe that authors should receive a fair price for their work.
“Having said that, I have really seen a shift in attitudes towards independent bookstores and even how customers think about books.
“I think people are more aware of how high streets suffer at the hands of convenience and there’s, I think, a lot more appetite for people to shop independent.
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“Shopping at Rare Bird Books gives customers a personal experience that they wouldn’t perhaps get at a chain.
“We can recommend books to suit every taste no matter how individual and that can be hard to find which is exactly why I started the business to begin with.”
