Portside Books Collective has been discussing internally whether we should disband and give up on the idea of trying to run a radical, community-centered bookstore in Corpus Christi. Even after we agreed to relocate our store to the Corpus Christi Trade Center and ramp up the thrift, things just aren't panning out. There are a few reasons why this is the case, but I won't get into them. Basically, our main problem is that any plan which involves us paying rent is doomed to fail. This is a point Sandra put to me the other day -- that most businesses simply fail during their first year.

I tend to think that Portside has suffered as a business mostly because of things we did wrong, but that's beside the point. What matters right now is that running Portside is draining us of time, energy, and money that would be better spent on other radical projects/causes our members are involved in. This is the problem that needs to be addressed, and in a way that doesn't repeat the same problems we currently face.

As a founding member, I'm trying to imagine scenarios in which our collective does not disband. I realize that things are pretty grim, but I really don't want to see the store die out during its first year, after all. 

Since most of us agree that things need to change, I've asked others for ideas as to what we might do with the store. This is mine. Assuming we agree to keep this thing going, the scheme that I currently favor runs as follows:

First, we quit paying rent. Fuck landlords, period. If the Progressive Center will let Portside camp out rent-free, then I'm for this option. Assuming, of course, that the Center does not try to assert unreasonable control over the store.

If we cannot find a rent-free space, we maintain a mailing address, that way we're still in contact with AK Press, other infoshops, prisoners, and radicals who send us snail mail. Currently, CHR Media has a PO Box that receives Portside mail. I'm moving to Austin soon, but it would not be hard to transfer the name for the PO Box to Tara or another person committed to Portside.

Second, we set up a savings account and place whatever money we still have into this account. Then, of course, we begin saving. This does not become the "Portside Books Savings Account," however. If the idea is to preserve the bookstore, then of course, for all practical purposes it should be treated that way. However, we shouldn't rule out the possibility that it might be worth saving up for setting up something else. "The future is unwritten," as those bastards at CrimethInc. like to say.

Designate a few persons to act as treasurers, that way not everyone dips into the fund. If we use one of those really evil corporate banks--Bank of America, for instance--then Portside members could actually deposit to this account from pretty much anywhere in the country. It would certainly make it easier on those of us living in Austin to raise funds for the store.

Third, we start saving money. Lots of it. One of the things we've done that was unwise was that, we rushed into this project before giving ourselves time to really get our financial footing. More to the point, we rushed into it with no financial footing, and have insisted we stay open at all costs - even if that has meant, in practice, that we did not give ourselves a chance to shore up enough cash to see ourselves through rough times. What we've done as a business is comparable to hyperventilating. So long as we keep the store running, we're just making things worse. It's not enough to just pull in rent, after all. In order to function, we need to be able to pull in rent with money to spare -- to spend on new books, MSN products, advertisements, flyers, and so on.

Instead, we should have read about how other radical groups got started. What I've noticed is that most of the projects we're trying to emulate did not simply scrounge up enough dough for a first month's rent, scramble about for some product to sell, and then hit the ground running. Of course, we have a better selection of product now, but we're still suffering from our premature grand opening in November 2006. We have not had money to order new books, new clothing, new stickers, new anything. Maybe we would have had repeat customers if we'd had new products every once in a while. We should take a break for a while, and look at what Blackstar Pub is doing in Austin -- saving up cash, throwing parties here and there, but really not spending lots and lots of money on a physical location.

Rather than divide things up, we hang on to whatever thrift/books/clothing we still have. Then we sell our wares in a way that does not cost us hundreds of dollars every month.

• To unload thrift: We throw a few garage sales, but we don't spend any money on advertising them. Some of us have yards, after all. We might also work something out with Treasure City Thrift in Austin whereby we provide them with thrift and they funnel back into our account. Or maybe sell some stuff on consignment. We'd have to talk to them about it.
• To unload books: We organize book sales through the Progressive Center, MonkeyWrench Books in Austin, as well as table at shows. We should contact MonkeyWrench Books and see if they're down with letting us throw our book sales at their store. It's hard to imagine they'd be opposed to this.

We could also arrange to have a Portside Books Caravan of sorts, that sets up at a different spot in the city each month. We might even tap into Rockport and surrounding towns, assuming there's a crowd for that sort of thing. If we discover that there's not, then no biggie: our failed fundraising becomes failed outreach.

That brings me to a corollary: a Book Caravan would also allow Portside to perform outreach.

Fourth, we get volunteers and the community involved. Infoshops are notoriously bad at developing their own in-crowds, which alienates the people they should be reaching out to. To some extent, we were guilty of this. We have some insight into what people like about us: We have cheap, nice clothing for people who need it. Portsiders work with Food Not Bombs. We've started giving away children's books. Some of us openly acknowledge that betraying the white race shows loyalty to the oppressed.

We should extend this message. It's not a bad one.

Fifth, we start coming up with a business plan. We map out expenses -- advertisements, books, rent, all that jazz. We find a good location, one where thrift and books would sell really well. We also get the goddamn realtors to actually sit down and have a word with us. For instance, there were a few spots that looked very promising when Jayson and I scouted out new locations for the store. One of these was right by Del Mar College, situated in a working class neighborhood. The space was huge. It was well-guarded by reinforced windows. It had an outdoor area that would have been perfect for a farmers market. And the realtors never, ever called us back.

Of course, we still would have had the same problem that we face at the Trade Center, which is a lack of funds. But this is why I'm suggesting we should save up and start planning.

As things progress to the point where they're pretty serious, this also means we should incorporate properly. Since it will probably take a while before Portside could save up enough money to attempt another storefront, this would give us plenty of time to hammer out the bylaws and articles of incorporation. It will give us more time, that is, to actually discuss how we want the group to function internally. That is an issue we never discussed sufficiently, which is why shifts were not filled, some people did more work than others, disunity was sown, and the decision-making process degenerated into practically nothing.

These are only the contours for a plan to move forward, and hopefully others will critique what I've written here or expand upon certain points. But bear in mind that we're running out of last-ditch efforts.

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