Trying to gather people for a brainstorming

Next Monday is the day of the workshop/focus group/meeting that might sign the destiny of this project.
No matter what.
I will gather ten people: booksellers, librarians, readers, students, members of reading groups, ...
Up to this point I have 3/4 members, nevertheless I am optimistic.

On Friday, I went out to invite some more booksellers:

Bookstore n1: too crowded to enter
Bookstore n2: no, I am busy next Monday. I am sorry. ...but I'd love to.
Bookstore n3: I cannot next Monday.
Bookstore n4: There wasn't the bookseller I was looking for..

Today I went out to invite some more booksellers.

Bookstore n1: closed
Bookstore n2: closed (the good part is that closed still means uncertainty: 50% yes)
Bookstore n3: I can't.
Library: to invite a librarian I have to ask the library's director the permission
Bookstore n4: .... here it goes:

There she was: the bookstore's owner. Female, 40 years old, casual style, tall, not skinny. She did not look friendly. I recently had troubles describing the kind of activity that I am planning, so I decided that "focus group" could be a good term.

Bookseller: "A meeting?"

_"...a meeting where I will lead activities to get ideas for the project" (not the most engaging answer, I reckon. What to say? There will be markers, post-its and possibly some plaster? mph.)

_"It will be a kind of focus group" MISTAKE
_"I am not interested" She was more than cold, she was gaunt.
_"Can I ask you why?"
_" I did one once: I did not like it and it leads to nothing" COOL
It felt like a resume of a disastrous blind date.
_ "I am sorry" she closed the conversation with this, along with a gush of liquid nitrogen.
I left.

Nevermind.

I learned a couple of things:

Focus group isn't necessarily a good term.
When you try to gather people for a brainstorming without paying them, even if you're possibly working for them, one every ten might say "yes".