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Building Punk
Community: The Tale of Mr. Roboto
from mrr
This is the tale of The Mr. Roboto Project, the show space/zine library
that we have started here in Pittsburgh. So far itÕs been an amazing trip.
The support from people within the local punk community has been great
and I think weÕve done some great things. Personally, I have accepted
a large portion of the business and legal end of this project, at least
during the start-up phase. IÕve learned a lot from this DIY business course
and I can hopefully impart some knowledge upon you to help you if you
are interested in doing a similar project. IÕm going to break down this
discussion into two main parts. The first part will be more philosophical,
discussing the importance of creating our own institutions and also the
importance of how we run these institutions. The second part will be a
bit more "practical." This will discuss finding a space, zoning, and other
legal issues. The idea of doing a project like this can be very daunting.
It took me over 5 years of rolling this idea around in my head before
I was involved in a community where the situation felt right. While I
certainly wouldnÕt encourage anyone to just jump into anything, I would
like to warn against being too hesitant. This experience has been extremely
rewarding and educational and if you proceed properly, there should always
be a good number of helping hands.
PART I Š COMMUNITY AND COOPERATION
The Mr. Roboto Project drew its influence from a variety of sources, some
punk and some non-punk. Obviously, punk institutions like Gilman St. and
ABC-No-Rio were influences, as well as defunct projects like Epicenter
and Blacklist. They laid the groundwork of community organization within
the punk community. Locally and outside of the punk community, there is
the East End Food Co-op in Pittsburgh, which has educated me greatly in
cooperative organizing.
From the beginning we knew we didnÕt want to run Roboto as a typical business.
Early on we discussed setting it up as a collective. Collectives are great
for some kinds of projects, but after some discussion, there was concern
about such a set-up. Too often, collectives fail because nobody is willing
to take on leadership roles because they fear that people will think they
are trying to control the group. Likewise, tasks donÕt get done because
there is nobody willing to delegate the tasks and an "itÕs not my job"
mentality pervades.
So we hopped up to the next level of community-based organizing which
is a cooperative. The cooperative approach improves on some of the drawbacks
of the collective. A Board of Directors is chosen and these individuals
are given a certain amount of control over the cooperativeÕs activities
(although they are ultimately accountable to the rank-and-file of the
cooperative). The Board is then responsible for the day-to-day operation
of the cooperative and also for mobilizing the cooperative members to
ensure that others tasks get completed.
The way we accomplished this at Roboto was the members voted in a 3-member
"Board of Directors". The Board is responsible for things like paying
the bills, coordinating the schedule, upkeep of the facilities, and other
general tasks. The Board makes the everyday decisions for the cooperative.
However, if any member disagrees with the decisions of the Board, they
are allowed to bring the item up for vote at our monthly membership meetings.
Another difference between collectives and cooperatives is that collectives
tend to have (though not always) free membership. If you show up at a
meeting, you have a right to make a decision. Cooperatives on the other
hand, tend to have membership criteria. This ensures that the person has
a certain amount of commitment to the cooperative. Most times this takes
the form of a membership fee, though it could consist of doing volunteer
work for the cooperative.
The way the membership deal at Roboto works is we have a $25 membership
fee. Aside from getting to be a voting member of the cooperative, members
get a $1 discount on all events at the space and are allowed to rent the
space. Of course, non-members are allowed to come to all shows and are
even allowed to come to the monthly meeting and express their ideas/concerns.
However, they are not allowed to vote on the final decisions.
Some people may look at the membership criteria as being elitist. Such
concerns are generally unfounded. The criteria are in place only to ensure
that those who take part in the decision making process have an active
commitment to the cooperative. Think of it like this, you wouldnÕt want
a group of people who havenÕt been active in your project or put any of
their resources towards making the project a success coming in and making
your decisions for you. If a person is really interested in being involved
with the project, a $25 fee is really a nominal amount to put forth.
Overall, so far IÕd say the cooperative form has worked out wonderfully
for Roboto. We have had a couple points where I donÕt think some people
understood the way the cooperative worked. Some non-members did call us
elitist, though I think most people are now understanding. At one point,
some members thought that the Board made some shitty decisions and they
really didnÕt understand their power to speak up and change those decisions.
However, with a good amount of communication, such barriers can be hurdled
without any problem.
PART II Š REAL WORLD ISSUES
All this talk about community and cooperation is fine, but does not help
much if you canÕt find a place to put this stuff into practice or if you
have the cops knocking down your door every night or if you are too financially
inept to keep your heads above water. In this section, I hope to offer
you some resources useful in finding the necessary real estate, doing
what you need to make it legal and hopefully keep the authorities from
shutting you down, and keeping the bills paid.
The first necessary step and one of the most difficult is finding a location.
There are a number of factors to take into consideration. First, you need
to find a neighborhood that wonÕt mind the noise levels and crowds of
funny looking kids hanging around. Secondly, there is the issue of size
and availability of exits. This is important in order to meet the fire
code. Although you think 200 punks can squeeze into a room with one exit,
the fire marshal is likely to disagree. Fire code violations are a quick,
easy and convenient excuse for the authorities to shut you down. DonÕt
make things that easy for them. Then there is also the issue of cost.
Of course there are other factors such as aesthetics, proximity to restaurants/convenience
stores, parking, ease of finding, etc. Finding a location with the proper
mix is difficult.
Finding commercial property isnÕt quite as easy as finding residential
property. The local newspaper usually wonÕt have extensive listings. Most
properties for rent may not even have signs posted on the outside of the
property. So how do you go about finding the property that is right for
you? A good first step to try to contact the city or town where you live.
Most have people or departments that handle properties that the city owns.
Most of these properties can be bought or sold very cheaply. It is not
likely that youÕll find something that meets the needs of a show space,
but itÕs worth a shot.
Another method is contacting the local Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber
has people who can help find a property to match your needs. We contacted
the Chamber and simply explained to them that we were looking for a "studio"
type space for art shows and small music events. Within a couple weeks,
our contact had located several properties that potentially could meet
our needs. Depending on the economic situation in your city or town, the
Chamber of Commerce may be more or less helpful. If the neighborhood you
are looking is not in good economic standing, the Chamber will probably
be very willing to help you get started. If the neighborhood is booming
economically, they might not prove to be as helpful.
While looking at properties, there are several main factors to keep in
mind in order to gain the seal of approval from the fire marshal. Since
you will be having gatherings of people, the building will need to meet
higher standards than that of a regular store. You will need to have at
least two exits, one at each end of the building. The exits will need
to be easily accessible. Check all the exits. Just because you see a door
marked "Exit" does not mean it really is an exit. Prior to Roboto moving
in, our storefront had been a used furniture store and the rear exit had
been closed off. Luckily our landlord had no qualms about re-opening it,
but it could have proven to be a roadblock to us gaining occupancy.
If you find a space that looks like a good size and has the requisite
number of exits, it is a good idea to ask if a zoning officer or fire
marshal could come out and examine the property before you sign your lease.
We didnÕt do this (well, we tried, but the code enforcement office kept
blowing us off) and we almost ended up paying for it. Once the fire marshal
and code enforcement came in, they told us that our ceiling would not
meet the fire code for "assembly" usage. The space had a tin ceiling and
they were telling us we would need to put a new ceiling in the room. Luckily,
our landlord once again came to our rescue and redid the ceiling while
only raising our rent nominally. Had we not had such a helpful landlord,
we would possibly had been shut down until we could have raised the $3000+
needed to replace the ceiling. So try to have them inspect it before you
sign anything and it should hopefully alleviate some potential aggravation.
Keep in mind that aside from occupancy permits, your municipality may
require other permits, such as a "nightclub" permit. Luckily for us, Roboto
is in a dry (no-liquor licenses) borough and there really arenÕt any clubs
in Wilkinsburg. However, most cities do require additional licensing.
Price is something that is unfortunately going to be an important factor.
You are going to need to determine how many shows you plan to have per
month and how much money you can expect to pull in from each show. When
working on these figures, be conservative. DonÕt say you plan to make
$100 from every show unless you really believe that is possible. For the
original figures, I was planning on 8-10 shows per month making $50 at
the door per show. This gave us an initial budget of $400-$500 per month
for our monthly expenses. Thus, we were shooting for a space with rent
of no more than $400.
In addition to your rent, donÕt forget that you will have other recurring
expenses such as electric, phone, gas, supplies (toilet paper, trash bags,
etc.) There are also plenty of start-up costs such as a sound system ($$$
varies on what you are looking for. We probably spent about $1000 on sound
equipment), down payments ($85 to get the electric started on a commercial
account. $195 to get the gas started. First month, last month and security
deposit for the lease.) All of these expenses should be figured into the
equation to determine how much you will be able to afford to pay for rent.
Of course there are those other niceties that make a show space all the
more viable. Good parking. Good public transportation and bicycle access.
Restaurants and convenience stores within walking distance. Access to
ATM machines. Friendly neighbors. Proximity to where the show-goes live.
These are obviously some other factors that you should logically be trying
to satisfy also. Realistically these factors mean nothing if the property
cannot be legally occupied or if the price is too steep. However, these
factors are exceptionally important in getting people out and having them
return on a regular basis.
A final point that I want to discuss in this section if financial planning.
Most punks tend to look at things on a very short timeline. Most punks
tend to live for today and forego in-depth planning of their future, especially
their financial future. Well, if you want your space to last for years
to come, the best thing to do is to plan for it. The initial financial
planning is probably going to be somewhat inaccurate. There are certain
things that you will know (your rent, for example) and other factors that
you wonÕt know until they happen (how much the gas bill will be in the
middle of January). You will be doing plenty of guess-timating on your
initial financial plans. DonÕt worry, you can always adjust the numbers
as you learn more and gain more information.
The majority of small businesses fail within the first year of their existence.
Thus, the planning for your first year is going to be the most important
planning you do. Remember, be conservative on estimating your income.
Like I said before, my initial estimate was we were going to do 8-10 shows
a month at an average $50 intake for the space per show. The reality is
we are now doing 14-15 shows a month with an average intake of around
$60 per show. Plan conservatively and you will be pleasantly surprised
when you exceed your estimates. The problem with most start-ups is they
plan too optimistically and end up in trouble when things donÕt go as
well as they planned.
Like I mentioned earlier, making estimates for things like utilities will
be difficult. When I did our initial planning, I just used figures from
my home utilities. I figured Roboto would use the electric less often,
but in greater wattage when it was being used than my apartment. I did
likewise with the estimation of the gas bill. I tried to create a worst-case
scenario for these bills and use those numbers for my initial planning.
Surprisingly, my estimates were very good. I was on the low end for the
electric bill, though I underestimated the mid-winter gas usage. Although
I didnÕt try this, you could call the utility companies and they could
provide you with some information to help you estimate these figures.
If you do your one-year budget and you show a mass surplus of money at
the end of the year, you are probably being overly optimistic. If your
budget shows you breaking even or having a manageable amount of debt at
the first year, it is probably safe to proceed. However, if your budget
shows a mass amount of debt, it may be a good time to reflect on whether
you should proceed with your plans. Perhaps you need to find a less pricey
location. Perhaps you may need to keep a larger percentage of the door
money to make ends meet.
Ultimately you will realize that good planning will help you overcome
bad luck a lot better than hoping that good luck will help you overcome
bad planning. There are plenty of books on writing up business plans and
starting a business. You might not want to read them cover to cover, but
donÕt be afraid to use them as a resource. Also there is SCORE, the Service
Corps of Retired Executives, a service of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
They offer counseling and information on a variety of small business related-topics
from legal issues to accounting to taxes. Look them up in your phone book
or check them out at www.score.org.
Well, I think that is about all I have to share with you today. There
is a lot to think about if you want to start a project like Roboto and
you want to keep it legit (I strongly recommend trying to keep things
on the legal side of things.) If you are attempting to do this, get in
touch and we would gladly help you in any way that we can. Good luck.
The Mr. Roboto Project, 722 Wood St., Wilkinsburg, PA 15221 412-247-9639
www.cenotaph.org/roboto therobotoproject@yahoo.com
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