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Kandi West has always been a huge reader.

With a background in information technology project management, West began working part-time at WordsWorth Books in 2020, while being a stay-at-home mom and caring for her parents.

When an owner decided to step back, West bought in.

Now, as co-owner and general manager of the Little Rock, Arkansas, independent bookstore, West strives to “preserve the store for the next generation.”

WordsWorth has been around for at least 30 years. In 2022, West became the managing owner and began handling the shop’s day-to-day. Two other co-owners, Lynne Phillips and Lia Lent, oversee other aspects of the business.

Since taking over, West has been dedicated to increasing revenue and putting the bookstore on a path to sustainable growth.

Independent bookstores are “resilient and a great example of the innovation, flexibility, and passion that is evident in many small businesses,” said Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association.

“The future is indie.”

‘We needed to be profitable to grow.’

The demand for independent bookstores is growing nationwide, Hill said. About 1,500 new indie bookstores have opened over the past five years, more than 400 in 2025 alone, she added.

In a recent ABA survey, 73% of its members said their sales increased in 2025.

To grow, the WordsWorth team has revved up its online shop, added more in-store events, and created new community partnerships. But West told Business Insider the mission goes further: “The decisions aren’t just about growth, they’re about long-term sustainability. Every day, there’s something we’re deciding based on those things.”

This started with focusing on inventory management to better understand what was and wasn’t selling, said West, who took a course on the subject. “I was excited to see what I could do with making it more profitable,” she added. “It needed to be a little more profitable before I felt like I could push it to grow.”

This helped her realize that the books are “literally like money on the shelf,” West said. She began closely examining how often books needed to be restocked and which needed to be returned to the publishers. “I’m still learning every day,” she said.

Adopting a growth strategy

West said hosting and monetizing events, including author readings, story times, wine tastings (in partnership with a local liquor store), book clubs, and puzzle contests, has created an additional revenue stream.

She said the store receives many event requests, and they’re becoming more selective and developing a process for choosing the events most likely to succeed. In November, the bookstore hosted the launch of the latest book by best-selling author Ayana Gray, who lives in Arkansas, which West said was a ticketed event that sold out quickly.

The bookstore has also expanded its e-commerce footprint. WordsWorth uses the ABA’s IndieCommerce platform for online orders. The store also gets a percentage of sales from Bookshop.org — when shoppers select it as the bookshop they want to support — and Libro.fm, the audiobook platform.

They’ve also started offering more non-book items in the store, such as cards and reading glasses, which West said comprise about 10% of sales. Hill added that carrying more products, such as art, games, and toys, is a trend that more indie bookstores are embracing to diversify their revenue streams.

“That has helped our profitability,” West said, but added, “We don’t want to be a gift shop; we want to be a bookstore.”

Marketing efforts, such as a partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System and a local TV segment, have also boosted awareness of the bookstore, West said.

WordsWorth’s sales have grown about 7% a year since 2022, which “for an indie, is good, but we’d love to get that higher.”

Hill told Business Insider that independent bookstores have faced a number of challenges recently, including “an uncertain economy, federal layoffs, the labor shortage, tariffs, free speech harassment, communities impacted by ICE raids, book bans, and Amazon’s chokehold on the book industry.”

WordsWorth has experienced some of this firsthand. West said some of its main challenges include rising book prices and credit card fees.

In 2023, WordsWorth joined a lawsuit challenging a state law on how libraries handle contentious materials. The court ruled that certain provisions of the law were unconstitutional, but the state is appealing the decision.

West said she tries “never to get comfortable” and stays focused on building a community.

“We want to enhance the reading community in central Arkansas and connect readers to authors, connect readers with each other, connect readers with literature-adjacent things.”