Libreria Martinez Books & Art Gallery From cutting hair to inspiring Hispanic readership, Rueben Martinez's novel idea is a story for all ages.
By April Y. Pennington •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Description: Spanish-language bookstores
Founder: Rueben Martinez, 65
Location: Lynwood and Santa Ana, California
2005 projected sales: $2.5 million
http://www.latinobooks.com
Shear Joy: Martinez loved that customers were interestedin the books in his Santa Ana barbershop and gladly lent them out.As his collection grew from two to 200 volumes, Martinez opened abookstore inside the barbershop in 1993, carrying mostlySpanish-language books and the translated classics of Tolstoy andDostoevski.
Book Smarts: In 1999, Martinez changed locations to focusexclusively on his bookstore. His mission is to ignite a passionfor reading in others: "The Latino population is growing sofast, our community needs to read, to digest more words."
Word-of-Mouth: His literary involvement grew withspeaking engagements at conventions in both the United States andMexico, a seat on the board of directors of Críticasand a live program called El Club de Libritos on Univision.He is also co-founder of the Latino Book & Family Festival, anevent promoting literacy, culture and education. In September 2004,The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a privategrant-making institution, awarded his activism with a $500,000grant.
Spreading the Wealth: Martinez opened the Lynwood storein 2003 and plans to expand to 25 bookstores by 2012. He hopes toincrease enthusiasm for literacy in cities with large Hispanicpopulations by hosting popular guest readers, author signings andshowcasing Hispanic art in his stores. "Are we going to getrich?" asks Martinez. "Absolutely not, but we are alreadyrich in the heart."
