Temple of the Moon Books - Business Plan

Executive Summary

Temple of the Moon Books is a mail-order and local-delivery occult supply and bookstore based in Kansas City, Missouri. We differentiate through a correspondence-based product discovery system that lets practitioners shop by magical intent, planetary association, or elemental correspondence—not just product category.

Status: ✅ LIVE at templeofthemoonbooks.com with 1,288 products and Liber 777 auto-tagging operational.

Mission: Make quality occult supplies accessible while building genuine community around esoteric practice.

Business Model

Revenue Streams

Stream	Description	Timeline
Product Sales	Books, candles, incense, oils, tools	Launch
Local Delivery	Free KC Metro delivery (loyalty driver)	Launch
Courses/Content	Paid educational content	Phase 3+
Events	Workshops, rituals (if physical space)	Phase 4+

Fulfillment Model

┌─────────────────┐     ┌──────────────────┐
│  Customer Order │────▶│  Order Router    │
└─────────────────┘     └────────┬─────────┘
                                 │
              ┌──────────────────┼──────────────────┐
              ▼                  ▼                  ▼
    ┌─────────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌────────────────┐
    │ In-House Stock  │ │ Azure Green   │ │ Future: Other  │
    │ (Books, etc.)   │ │ Drop-ship     │ │ Wholesalers    │
    └─────────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └────────────────┘

Hybrid Inventory:

In-house: Shadow’s book collection, curated items
Wholesale/Drop-ship: Azure Green catalog (incense, candles, tools, etc.)

Market Analysis

Target Market

Segment	Description	Approach
Beginner Practitioners	Curious, need guidance	Intent-based browsing, educational content
Experienced Occultists	Know correspondences, want quality	Deep tagging, ritual cart builder
Collectors	Rare books, curated items	In-house book inventory
Gift Buyers	Buying for practitioner friends	Curated bundles, gift guides

Kansas City Market Assessment

Challenges:

Not historically a strong occult market
Limited existing metaphysical community infrastructure
Midwest conservative demographics

Opportunities:

Low competition = establish brand dominance
Room to BUILD community rather than compete for existing
Growing national interest in witchcraft/occultism (TikTok, etc.)
College presence (UMKC, KU nearby)

Competitive Landscape

National/Online Competitors:

Competitor Type	Examples	Our Advantage
Big Box	Amazon, Walmart	Curation, expertise, correspondence system
Etsy Sellers	Various	Unified experience, local delivery
Azure Green Direct	Wholesale only	Retail UX, curation, community
Specialty Online	Llewellyn, Weiser	Correspondence-based discovery

Local KC Metro Competitors:

Private businesses don’t report market cap/revenue. Yelp reviews used as customer volume proxy.

Business	Location	Reviews	Focus	Online?	Threat
The Energy Within KC	Overland Park (JoCo)	13	Crystals, yoga, healing	Yes	Medium
KC Conjure & Botanica	1620 Locust St, KC	12	Hoodoo/conjure	Yes	Medium
Crescent Springs	Overland Park (JoCo)	19	Full metaphysical, classes	Basic	Medium
Gemini Shop/Salt Spa	Merriam (JoCo)	~10	Crystals + salt spa	Limited	Low
White Light Crystal	115 E Gregory, KC	~15	Crystals, reiki	Limited	Low
Elsewhere Apothecary	Kansas City	~8	Apothecary, books	Limited	Low
Cats & Crystals KC	Kansas City	~5	Crystals	Yes	Low
Spectrum	Gladstone (Clay)	?	Metaphysical	No	Low
~~Aquarius Books~~	—	—	Bookstore	CLOSED 2025	—

Competitive Gaps We Fill:

✅ Correspondence-based discovery — no one else does this
✅ Strong e-commerce — most competitors have weak/no online stores
✅ Local delivery — unique in market
✅ Product breadth — 1,288 SKUs vs. typical 200-500 for local shops

Key Market Shift (2025): Aquarius Books, KC’s longest-running metaphysical bookstore, closed after owners retired (80s). This was not a market failure — it’s a succession gap. Their hard-to-reach location limited growth. TOTM is positioned as the modern successor with online-first approach and local delivery.

Marketing Strategy

Brand Identity

Tone: Refined, knowledgeable, welcoming but not watered-down Visual: Grey/purple, Victorian gothic meets modern minimalism Voice: Educated practitioner speaking to peers (not “spooky Halloween shop”)

Content Marketing (Primary Channel)

Content Type	Frequency	Purpose
Moon Phase Posts	2x/month (new/full)	Consistent cadence, ritual tie-ins
Correspondence Deep-Dives	Weekly	SEO, education, product discovery
Book Reviews	2x/month	Showcase inventory, build authority
Local Events	As available	Community building
Sabbat/Holiday	8x/year	Seasonal sales, tradition content

Community Building

Phase 1 (Online):

Blog with comment engagement
Email newsletter (moon phase timing)
Social media presence (Instagram aesthetic)

Phase 2 (Local):

Partner with KC metaphysical community
Host or sponsor local events
Build delivery customer relationships

Phase 3 (Physical - Future):

“Temple” space: retail + event venue
Regular workshops, study groups
Ritual space rental

Financial Projections (Rough)

Startup Costs (Actual)

Item	Cost	Status
Website Development	$0	✅ Self-built (Next.js)
Initial Inventory (books)	$0	✅ Already owned
Azure Green Wholesale Account	$0	✅ Active
Domain (templeofthemoonbooks.com)	~$15/yr	✅ Owned
Hosting (Hostinger VPS)	~$10/mo	✅ Active
Stripe fees	2.9% + $0.30/tx	Ready
Photography equipment	TBD	Pending
Total to Date	~$150	Operational

Revenue Projections (Conservative)

Month	Orders	Avg Order	Revenue	Notes
1-3	10-20	$35	$350-700	Soft launch, friends/local
4-6	30-50	$40	$1,200-2,000	SEO building, content
7-12	50-100	$45	$2,250-4,500	Established presence
Year 2	100-200	$50	$5,000-10,000/mo	Growth phase

Margins

Source	Typical Margin
In-house books	50-70% (owned inventory)
Azure Green wholesale	30-50% (keystone markup)
Courses/content	80-90% (digital)

Operations

Fulfillment Workflow

In-House Items:

Order received → notification
Pick from inventory
Package with branded materials
Ship USPS/local delivery

Azure Green Items:

Order received
Place wholesale order (or drop-ship if available)
Receive → repackage → ship
Or: direct drop-ship to customer

Local Delivery

Service Area: KC Metro (defined ZIP code list) Cost: Free (competitive advantage) Schedule: 2-3x weekly delivery runs (batch orders) Threshold: Minimum order TBD ($20-25?)

Growth Strategy

Expansion Decision Framework

Data to Collect:

Customer locations (shipping addresses)
Product category performance
Blog traffic by region
Search terms driving traffic

Expansion Criteria:

Cluster of customers in a city (organic demand)
Low existing competition research
Shipping cost analysis
Local partnership potential

Candidate City Types:

College towns with esoteric interest
Cities with active pagan/witch communities
Underserved Midwest/Southern markets
Places with good shipping logistics from KC

Physical Location Criteria (Future)

Must Have:

Affordable rent (not premium retail)
Zoning for retail + events
Parking or transit access
Storage space for inventory

Nice to Have:

“Temple-able” architecture (character)
Separate event/ritual space
Living quarters above (owner presence)

Risk Assessment

Risk	Likelihood	Impact	Mitigation
Low initial sales	Medium	Medium	Low overhead, patience, content focus
Azure Green issues	Low	High	Diversify suppliers over time
Platform dependency	Low	Medium	Own the website, build email list
Local market weak	Medium	Medium	National shipping, expansion plan
Inventory cash tie-up	Medium	Medium	Start lean, wholesale/drop-ship

Success Metrics

Year 1 Goals

Website launched and functional ✅ Live Jan 2026
100+ products tagged with correspondences ✅ 1,288 products, 777 auto-tagging
500+ email subscribers
50+ blog posts published
$2,000+/month revenue by month 12
Establish local delivery reputation

Year 2 Goals

Next Actions

~~Finalize website tech stack~~ ✅ Next.js + PostgreSQL + Vercel
Photograph book inventory (in progress)
~~Build correspondence tag database (from 777 + CMT)~~ ✅ Auto-tagging operational
~~Set up Azure Green wholesale account~~ ✅ 1,288 products imported
Design logo and brand assets
Write first 10 blog posts
Soft launch to friends/local community
Configure local delivery zones
Set up marketing channels (Instagram, email)

Quartz 4

Explorer

📊 TOTM Business Plan

Temple of the Moon Books - Business Plan

Executive Summary

Business Model

Revenue Streams

Fulfillment Model

Market Analysis

Target Market

Kansas City Market Assessment

Competitive Landscape

Marketing Strategy

Brand Identity

Content Marketing (Primary Channel)

Community Building

Financial Projections (Rough)

Startup Costs (Actual)

Revenue Projections (Conservative)

Margins

Operations

Fulfillment Workflow

Local Delivery

Growth Strategy

Expansion Decision Framework

Physical Location Criteria (Future)

Risk Assessment

Success Metrics

Year 1 Goals

Year 2 Goals

Next Actions

Graph View

Table of Contents

Quartz 4

Explorer

📊 TOTM Business Plan

Temple of the Moon Books - Business Plan

Executive Summary

Business Model

Revenue Streams

Fulfillment Model

Market Analysis

Target Market

Kansas City Market Assessment

Competitive Landscape

Marketing Strategy

Brand Identity

Content Marketing (Primary Channel)

Community Building

Financial Projections (Rough)

Startup Costs (Actual)

Revenue Projections (Conservative)

Margins

Operations

Fulfillment Workflow

Local Delivery

Growth Strategy

Expansion Decision Framework

Physical Location Criteria (Future)

Risk Assessment

Success Metrics

Year 1 Goals

Year 2 Goals

Next Actions

Related

Graph View

Table of Contents