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So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
71–80 of 251 posts
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
>These days you can't even ban assholes without everyone making like you're the one with a problem. That's been true since always. Speaking as someone that was in that position within a few online communities back in ~98 or so. Strange game. The only winning move is not to play.
Yup - first line of advice I give to family now is "shut your social profiles, and get off of the internet. Failing which here are the things you need to look out for" and the proceed to list a fraction of the issues that I know about, and see them get uncomfortable.
I'd be interested in seeing your list.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#73I was the owner of a retail store from '90 to '00. The ecomm version overlapped from '97 to 2007. Given that experience, I read this thinking: This person(s) was massively underprepared, as well as underfunded. They also seemed to believe that all their options (in growing the biz) were too difficult. Marketing was rarely mentioned.
I don't want to be negative but there are two life rules (not just biz) that apply here:
- If it were easy, everyone would be doing it
- Making it look easy is very very hard.
Pardon me for stating the obvious ;)
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#74A 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.
> volunteering requirement
Isn’t that an oxymoron?
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#75Earlier 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?
I have a friend who runs a brewery. They distribute a ridiculous amount of their product into stores around the world and have won many awards, yet they make very little margin from all that. He told me they make an overwhelming amount of money off of the tasting room attached to their physical brewery because the beer itself is effectively water in terms of cost so they make profit by not having to pay any middle me…
Especially the branding although process and scale probably help too. I used to think that, when Starbucks started selling coffee to every hotel that filled up urns for meeting rooms, it would be some serious brand dilution. But it wasn't.
Coffee snobs like those downthread notwithstanding, most people don't care. I don't care most of the time although I try to frequent local shops for the variety. So anything that gets a lot of people to default to Starbucks, especially for a morning caffeine fix habit, is a win.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yup - first line of advice I give to family now is "shut your social profiles, and get off of the internet. Failing which here are the things you need to look out for" and the proceed to list a fraction of the issues that I know about, and see them get uncomfortable.
I'd be interested in seeing your list.
[deleted]
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#77A 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…
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I've been chewing on an idea. Please bear with me.
A friend's MBA thesis (WIP) is on the business model of evangelical churches. How the players build their flock, manage the brand, shape the culture, revenue, run their meetings, etc.
Kinda eye opening.
I'm even going to church again, a new one every few weeks. To gleen the strategies and techniques that have been hiding in plain sight.
One of the volunteer orgs I work on (with?) is game. We've started making some changes, just to see how it plays out.
If I could share one takeaway:
The Field of Dreams "Built it and they will come" strategy doesn't work.
Non-profits, communities, etc. need as much intent and effort as any other startup to succeed.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I can't speak to Starbucks, a similar coffee chain in Australia is actually a property play. They don't just own their cafe, but also several of the adjacent stores as well, which they lease out to other retailers. Much of the value in the business actually comes from appreciation in property values.
Starbucks equivalent in Australia? The only company I can think of to fill that space would be Gloria Jeans, but they don’t have the same pull as Starbucks.
Starbucks is next to non-existent in Australia. Partly it's because there were already established local chains when they tried to move into the market, but mostly because you can walk into almost any cafe in the country and get a much better cup of coffee at a comparable price.
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#79A 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…
>These days you can't even ban assholes without everyone making like you're the one with a problem. That's been true since always. Speaking as someone that was in that position within a few online communities back in ~98 or so. Strange game. The only winning move is not to play.
[deleted]
Re: So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale
#80Earlier 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 ?!
That place was a matchbox waiting to get struck. And the electrical situation was a total mess... I mean that's why it burned down. How shitty of a landlord can you be that you wouldn't prioritize people's safety.
Probably not shitty, just oblivious.
A Hackerspace in Germany was proud of its smartphone-activated door lock.
I was less impressed on their open house event when I saw firsthand how they struggled to open it for several minutes (with no mechanical override on the inside!), while dozens of guests were there.
When I voiced my safety concerns they simply didn't seem to understand. I mean it's just a fun hack, right?