Punk Rock and the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Another from 2014

Earlier this year, I wrote on my now defunct personal blog about looking back on 1994. It was the year that punk rock returned to people’s consciousness and a year that changed my life. One thread of the punk rock fabric I touched on was DIY – Do It Yourself. Looking back I don't know if those of us with an entrepreneurial spirit were attracted to punk rock or if punk rock necessitated an entrepreneurial spirit. Either way, if you wanted anything to happen, you had to do it yourself.

Not every kid started something. As with a lot of things, especially things you start to see on (what was then influential) MTV, you had joiners. But a majority of kids created something. At that point in time we were disconnected even from scenes in nearby towns. Sure, we traveled to bigger shows, but on a day-to-day basis we had no connectivity to other punk kids. 

The result of that disconnection is we created our own things. We started our own bands. We wrote our own magazines. We put on our own shows in our basements and garages. We sold our own recordings, t-shirts and stickers. There was no place in town that wanted our bands to play there and for the most part, there was no place in town for anyone under 21 to see or play a show. We also had to do our own marketing and promotion as well as public relations when something didn't go as planned. We were jacks of all trades (and mostly masters of none), but I think it taught us all very valuable lessons we carry with us to this day.

In pretty much every industry today, especially in adult beverages, there are the giants, the medium guys and the little scrappers. They exist on every level: suppliers, distributors and customer. There are pros and cons for working for any of them and there isn't a “best,” there's only a “best fit for you.” Many of the men and women who start small businesses got their start working for the giants and realized they had to do it for themselves.

So, what did I learn in my punk rock youth that is applicable to me professionally today? Several things. One, don't be afraid to fail. Bands broke up, people stopped reading our zine. Our lives moved on and we were wiser than before. Two, follow your heart. We spend far too much time in our life working. If you're not doing what you're passionate about stop, and find a way to love what you do. Finally, don't listen to the haters. We punk kids got laughed at and ridiculed but we didn't care because we believed in what we were doing. We stood tall and fought on.

Don't be afraid to find inspiration and knowledge in places that might not be where one would normally go to seek it. Find it in whatever inspires you.