No longer novel, but needed: This Ohio bookstore owner is on a digital journey

It’s unfair to describe the Kicks Mix Bookstore, in downtown Newark, Ohio, as a shop, since it’s a bustling marketplace, literary salon and local hangout all in one.

Book lovers can browse through thousands of new releases and secondhand bargains, sign up for “meet the author” events or just chill in comfy chairs and pet the resident cats, Edgar Allan Paws and Margaret Catwood.

“Small businesses are not only vital; they’re essential to building a community in a town,” says owner Diana Spain.

While Kicks Mix trades in premises, paper and people, Spain is acutely aware that she needs to deal digitally. “People do not travel with cash,” she says. “The easiest way for them to pay for anything is to use their cards or their smartphone.” Internet sales are also crucial for the thriving of local gems like Kicks Mix. “If you don’t have an online presence, as either a website store or social media, you are not going to be successful as a small business,” says Spain, who opened the bookstore with her wife Mary in 2014.

Digitally, Spain is making good progress: The Kicks Mix website allows users to easily browse and buy titles from hundreds of different categories. Physically, she and the cats are staying put. “The most exciting thing about running a business to me is the feeling when someone comes in and they tell you how much they love your business.”