Are you a book lover? Do you have a good knowledge of books, authors and publishers? Then, you may be on your way to find a cool opportunity to work from home. The Work From Home series brings you the success stories of many ladies who have made smart moves to earn as well as find the perfect work-life balance, thus, getting the best of both the worlds. Deepali R Patel is one such woman who has found success by running a library that is offering quality books exclusively for kids. Kids Kouch – the brainchild of Deepali and her husband, is a fully functional library located in Indiranagar, Bangalore. The Patels first opened the library in a small space with few books and toys. It initially had few members, but now boasts of good membership strength and a vast selection of children’s books and toys. Before running this commercial venture, Deepali was working as software engineer and also holds a MBA degree.
Deepali, in conversation with Suja Natarajan, shares her insights and knowledge on what it takes to setup a library.
For how long have you been in this business?
I have been in this business for three years and did a year of research for this setup.
What prompted you to explore the option of running a library?
My son loves to read, and I started looking around for good books for his age. When we were in China, we faced lot of problems in getting access to good children’s books. This made us think about setting up a library for children.
Can you share what kind of expertise is required to run a library?
One must have good knowledge about books for children, including context, authors, award-winning books, right books for appropriate age group, and intense researching skills. Academically, being a graduate and having basic computer skills, I think, is sufficient.
What is the type of investment involved?
You can start off in a small way and grow eventually. We started with two hundred books. If you have to setup a library at home, then the investment is quite less. There are many women who are running libraries at their balconies of the homes. Apart from the space, procuring good books by researching on the subjects are required to run a successful library. As I mentioned earlier, anybody aspiring to run a library must devote enough time in researching, as this profession includes offering superior customer service and there is a demand for books that are superior in content.
