Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

poetryfoundation.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 251 posts

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#61

Post by rpeden »

wayanon wrote: post #54
praptak wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about personal projects. It's just the fear that you will regret not having children when you reach the age when it's no longer possible. It's a shitty kind of motivation btw.

So did I get it the wrong way round, people have kids so they don’t risk failing in a business?

No, praptak was saying that some people start a business because they fear that if they don't, they'll look back on their life and regret that they didn't start a business, and that this is similar to the way some people decide to have children just because they fear that they'd regret not having them.

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#62

Post by clarkevans »

The author talks about this as a charitable (501c3) vs for-profit endeavor. I don't see any talk about using a cooperative structure. Cooperatives don't need IRS approval, since they operate commercially; any profits (and there won't be) are distributed proportionally to the users of the facility via 1099-DIV. Then, you run a membership drive to raise money. The membership then is used to select the board. Anyway, there's lots of experience doing cooperatives for stores like this. It is not easy, but starting a business of any kind is not easy. If you can't do a membership drive that builds enough grass-roots support and community buy-in, then don't do a cooperative. Here are some additional resources: https://www.nasco.coop/ https://www.ncba.coop/ http://www.uwcc.wisc.edu/

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#63

Post by SyneRyder »

dleclere wrote: post #57
SyneRyder wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm reluctant to say which company, as I'm not sure how public that information is. It's worth pointing out Starbucks has several competitors in the cafe-chain space in Australia. There are cities in Australia where Starbucks tried opening & then closed down because they were unable to beat the local incumbent cafe chains.

Shall we call this mysterious coffee chain Glorious Pants Coffee Company?

lol :) I am a huge fan of Gloria Jeans (especially their Mudslide Mocha), but it isn't them. Gloria Jeans run on a franchise model & earn their money from selling franchising rights, collecting franchise fees, advertising fees & requiring franchisees to purchase coffee beans etc from approved suppliers that in some cases are owned by the umbrella company. I understand they're considering a shift to a company-owned store model - but they only just started a franchising arrangement in Germany, so that's a long way from happening.

I suspect some Aussies haven't heard of this cafe chain, even though they have twice as many stores as Starbucks, and now have cafes internationally.

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#64

Post by [deleted] »

newnewpdro wrote: post #31
rwmj wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Wikipedia page is informative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Oakland_warehouse_fire As you say you could hardly make a more hazardous environment if you tried. Wooden pallets for stairs ?!

I'm sure you can find interior photos pre-fire. If I were on a high-speed link I'd find some to link here myself. It was a grossly negligent situation. The whole place was brimming with wooden crap mixed with electrical junk for lights and sound. Words can't do justice to how much of a tinder box it was, the photos left me speechless when I investigated back on the day of the fire.

[deleted]

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#65

Post by mtberatwork »

trowawee wrote: post #9
chrisseaton wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> economies of scale

Exactly this...which means Starbucks can then negotiate exclusive volume pricing from their provider/vendors anywhere in the product chain and force them to sell cheaper to Starbucks.

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#66

Post by chiefalchemist »

l0b0 wrote: post #4

A 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…

...incredibly thankless people can be...

I hear you. But to be fair can we generalize less and say __some__ people?

I'd also venture to say that the internet has educated more people in the art of self-expression. Like any art, doing it, and being good at it are two different things. Simultaneously, we're over stimulated, and have become less tolerant of "feedback."

I certainly not going to dispute The A-hole Factor. One of the reason I had shift from B&M retail + ecomm to strictly ecomm was I lost tolerance for being what amounted to an underpaid therapist. That was close to 20 yrs ago. I can only image the current state of things.

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#67

Post by antt »

tomcam wrote: post #28
l0b0 wrote: post #4

A 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…

Please write about your experience! Also, sorry you had to go through that.

Writing about it would drive you insane, here it is in image, gif and email form:

https://runningahackerspace.tumblr.com

shitnoisebridgesays.tumblr.com

A high point for me was getting my site ddos'd and ssh brute force attacked when I decided to run a course in another hacker space after being stuck for committee approval for 3 months. The saddest part is that I knew it would happen and scraped the site into a static html site served from nginx from a box that would could only be administered through a two hop tunnel. Then the guy who I know did it went around stalking me on social media telling everyone I ... I'll actually take my advice and just leave it there.

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#68

Post by raffael-vogler »

newnewpdro wrote: post #5

Interesting 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.

Actually I think the interior looked really awesome. Nonetheless some more thinking should have been put to a scenario in case a fire starts. But still I think the problem is that modern media coverage causes every hazard to be a reason to implement even more rules and regulations for how a building or room has to be designed to be fit for a public event. That's another reason why those non- or semi-professional happenings become rarer - it's just too complex and expensive. Too many laws that you need to keep in mind to do anything nowadays pretty much.

It's the usual question on how to balance the trade off between safety and freedom. I myself am more inclined towards the latter.

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#69

Post by antt »

l0b0 wrote: post #4

A 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…

>Even if I had the time, money and expertise I would never do something like that.

Invite only spaces. New members have mentors who are responsible for them. Anyone can be expelled for any reason at any time.

It's amazing how much the tone changes when someone is on the line for breaking a 10k machine and having to pay for everyone else using an equivalent machine commercially while they get it fixed.

Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale

#70

Post by teddyh »

antt wrote: post #67
tomcam wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please write about your experience! Also, sorry you had to go through that.

Writing about it would drive you insane, here it is in image, gif and email form: https://runningahackerspace.tumblr.com shitnoisebridgesays.tumblr.com A high point for me was getting my site ddos'd and ssh brute force attacked when I decided to run a course in another hacker space after being stuck for committee approval for 3 months. The saddest part is that I knew it would happen and scraped the site into a static…

OT: Regarding Tumblr, what cookies do you need to allow nowadays to be able to read it? I haven’t been able to see Tumblr links for months, at least. All it does is redirect to the front page and prompt me to sign in.
Post reply on HN