So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
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So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
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Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#2The economics of hobby businesses, like bookstores and coffee shops and art galleries, are almost always such that you can either feed it the equivalent of a full time salary, or work there every hour it's open yourself, because the kind of business is one that other people want to do for free as a hobby.
This means that, unless you want to be a slave to your own business, you'd better have $50k a year minimum passive income in a cheap town to "give" to the business, plus $100k-$500k to set up the space, plus enough money to live on for yourself, or it's not worth it.
And forget about ever making a profit, even if you do work there every hour it's open.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#3Tim Harford covers this in one of his books - I think it was The Undercover Economist. Almost all the money you pay for an expensive coffee at a coffee shop goes to the landlord, and he explains the reasons why.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#4A recent experience from a hackerspace showed me how incredibly thankless people can be. After working really insanely hard to build an inclusive space with loads of features, every little hobby revolutionary in the community just shits all over the work and proclaims the people actually getting stuff done should just stop and leave it to them.
Even if I had the time, money and expertise I would never do something like that. These days you can't even ban assholes without everyone making like you're the one with a problem. And even a single person with a grudge can make you more problems than anyone can reasonably deal with while having a life.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#5Interesting writeup, but the Ghost Ship is an extreme example of what goes wrong - you couldn't make a place more of a fire hazard if you tried.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#6A recent experience from a hackerspace showed me how incredibly thankless people can be. After working really insanely hard to build an inclusive space with loads of features, every little hobby revolutionary in the community just shits all over the work and proclaims the people actually getting stuff done should just stop and leave it to them. Even if I had the time, money and expertise I would never do something li…
gallery house in palo alto has an interesting model - membership comes with a volunteering requirement - it can't obviously reach the level of NY MOMA but it works well for Palo Alto and is a nice little gallery that has launched quite a few careers.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#7The economics of hobby businesses, like bookstores and coffee shops and art galleries, are almost always such that you can either feed it the equivalent of a full time salary, or work there every hour it's open yourself, because the kind of business is one that other people want to do for free as a hobby. This means that, unless you want to be a slave to your own business, you'd better have $50k a year minimum passiv…
So how do coffee shops like Starbucks mange to support 20 working part time plus a corporate headquarters and make a profit, from the same small store you would operate as a hobby?
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#8I’ve always thought that a remote tech job/lifestyle business is perfect for opening an art gallery / niche bookstore. You don’t need to worry about paying the bills, you have a private office / desk, and realistically you won’t get more than a few visitors per hour, so you can focus on work.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#9The economics of hobby businesses, like bookstores and coffee shops and art galleries, are almost always such that you can either feed it the equivalent of a full time salary, or work there every hour it's open yourself, because the kind of business is one that other people want to do for free as a hobby. This means that, unless you want to be a slave to your own business, you'd better have $50k a year minimum passiv…
So how do coffee shops like Starbucks mange to support 20 working part time plus a corporate headquarters and make a profit, from the same small store you would operate as a hobby?
Higher volume, faster turnover, economies of scale, predictable customer interaction schedules. All the things that make a local coffee shop or bookstore attractive, both to own and to patronize, directly conflict with those factors.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#10The economics of hobby businesses, like bookstores and coffee shops and art galleries, are almost always such that you can either feed it the equivalent of a full time salary, or work there every hour it's open yourself, because the kind of business is one that other people want to do for free as a hobby. This means that, unless you want to be a slave to your own business, you'd better have $50k a year minimum passiv…
So how do coffee shops like Starbucks mange to support 20 working part time plus a corporate headquarters and make a profit, from the same small store you would operate as a hobby?
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