If the experience of being the founder of Glitter Records has taught me one thing it is this. Having a vision for your business is vital. What is more, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely goals supporting this vision are essential. The more I use S.M.A.R.T. goals in running my record store the more I see the benefits.
However, as I do this another voice in my head, the adventurous thinker in me, is asking questions of another kind. “Well, what about the things that can’t be measured?” If we limit ourselves only to what can be clearly defined and measured, such as money, sales data and digital metrics, are there important things we miss?
While a 30 per cent market share of recorded music sales in Brisbane Australia is a worthy goal to work towards, the ideal of a glamorous and intelligent record store is what gets me out of bed in the morning. Am I doing myself a disservice by overemphasising concepts like market share and underemphasizing artistic brilliance in my decision-making simply because one is more measurable than the other?
As a result of this questioning, there are qualities I realize I desire for my record store that do not easily fit into managerial criteria for a S.M.A.R.T. goal. For a long time, they were consigned to my diary where I often revisited the page I had written them. And as with many things we know we cannot have, constantly looking at them made me want them more!
What can I say? A niggling feeling remained. And my brain continued to turn over on these immeasurable desires. After all, had not the ancient philosopher Pythagoras believed that deeper cosmic truths could be reduced in numbers? That the universe is in fact a great big mathematical puzzle? One we can eventually figure out?
How to measure anything
After many months of wrestling with these questions, I came across the work of Douglas W. Hubbard. And the floodgates opened. Hubbard’s How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business came as a revelation. I will give you my interpretation of his work.
Hubbard believes that many things we dismiss out of hand as immeasurable we can in fact measure. And the first step to doing this in a difficult case is to gather information. His logic is that if we continue to learn about these intangible things we can find a gradual pathway into bringing even what appear to be the most spontaneous and irrational of concepts into the world of the specific and measurable. Observation reduces uncertainty.
My brain reacted! Hubbard’s work had given me permission to advance into areas I had thought unmeasurable. The until-now esoteric qualities I wanted for my record store were begging to be explored. And while I am still whittling away at them like a master craftsman – famous Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo after all spent four years bent over backwards painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling – I want to share them with you.
I Want my record store to be romantic
A romantic story is a wild adventure in love and strife. In this respect, epic novels, myths and Hollywood films all give us a ready supply. As do our great concept albums such as those by Pink Floyd, Radiohead, more recently Tyler, The Creator and The Weeknd.
I want this same elevated and epic quality for my store’s own story as it unfolds. And in the stories those who visit tell about their own lives and emotional experiences. Reflecting on this point I have written in my diary that recorded music from bygone eras is in itself romantic. And this romance may have led me to the life of a record store owner long before I realized I was under its spell! Assuming that much of what goes on in our brain concerning romance of this nature, especially the emotions, relates to physical sensations such as neurological and other bodily processes there must be elements here that can be quantified.
I want Glitter Records to ignite imagination
Imagination is the power of forming ideal pictures. Walt Disney is a great example of applied imagination. He spent his adult life making things that had not existed before a reality. There had never been an animated full-length movie until Snow White. Later he made his movies and even his idealized recollection of his childhood neighborhood into a real place with Disneyland.
Look at John Lennon and Paul McCartney as another example. Before The Beatles found fame these two boys from England began writing songs together after they re-imagined themselves as a pair of Tin Pan Alley songwriters. Examine the track record of teenagers from Liverpool who became iconic songwriting duos before them! Not a hope in hell! Yet they made it happen!
These stories captivate me. What is more, they have inspired my own journey in opening a record store. They assure me that inspiration and determination can lead to the creation of opportunities unimaginable to others. I now ask myself how I can promote this imagination in others!
I want Glitter Records to be visionary and fantastic
A visionary is someone with the power of presenting things absent in the world to others. People often start businesses because they feel there is something lacking in the world around them. I wrestle with this feeling. What if a modern record store can be even more incredible than many are now? Is there a way they capture even more of the energy and excitement of music? What if a record store can do so in new ways?
The fantastic is often consigned to the realms of fancy or the unreal. Then, every now and again, the whimsical ignites our lives! Running a small record shop I have spent many hours looking at images of tiny shops all over the world for inspiration. Miniature bookstores in Paris! Clothing boutiques in Tokyo! Even tiny houses and buildings in the Accidentally Wes Anderson architecture book.
I also recall the feeling of visiting fairy villages in public parks when I was a child. When I run through these images in my head it occurs to me that there are many things in our world that should not exist but do! When somebody stumbles across Glitter Records I want it to feel magical in some way!
I want Glitter Records to celebrate the unpractical
Physical music is seen by many as unpractical in a digital era. And yet the tactile experience of vinyl has much to offer. Building a music library in your home, the joy of discovery as you are rifling through boxes of old records, the thrill of a needle slowly gliding onto a vinyl disc to play the voice of a singer beyond the grave! Man oh man! It’s otherworldly.
Studio Ghibli visionary Hayao Miyazaki’s sketches of impossible machines are another evocation of the unpractical I cannot resist referencing. Likewise, anime doodlings such as those by Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama have left a lasting impression on me since as a teenager. (And again more recently when I collaborated with artist Jake Machen to produce a number of artworks for my psychedelic fan magazine Cosmic.)
To close off the list before it gets overly long, reading J. K. Rowling’s fantasy world of wizards in her Harry Potter series when they first arrived also left an impression on me. Was there a record store in Diagon Alley? Enough! I digress. Each of these creative personalities brought uniquely unpractical visions to life. How can I bring more of the unpractical into the real world with my shop?
I want my record shop to be Quixotic
To be Quixotic is to be idealistic to an impractical degree. I feel this is a necessary qualification required for most record store owners. Championing the value of bygone musical eras and formats one does feel like Miguel de Cervantes’ half-mad hero Don Quixote. I have to confess I only have Vladimir Nabokov’s lecture transcripts and notes on Don Quixote as a reference point as I have yet to tackle Cervantes’ work in full.
Can we ever do more than tilt at windmills thinking they are imaginary foes? Are we all just grasping at straws in this divine comedy we call life? Perhaps the more modern articulator is Bruce Springsteen who asks on his single ‘Dancing In The Dark’ whether we are in fact doing anything at all but dancing in the dark? Part of my mission is helping you wrestle with this great theme of human existence! As lofty as this goal may seem if it can be measured it can be better managed.
I want my record store to be dreamy
Dreams are things that do not really happen. I can go no further than the work of film director David Lynch when expressing the feeling of being in a dream. Feature film Blue Velvet offers a concise introduction to his work in this respect. The writing of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung on this topic can give useful insights as well. (Although I must refrain from endorsing their theories about dream interpretation directly or many other ideas they express yet modern clinical studies so soundly refute!)
An idea that has romanced me since before I opened Glitter Records is the fantasy of someone walking in and feeling that they stepping into a dream. To feel like Alice going through the rabbit hole to Wonderland or Charlie entering into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory! I have always wanted this and don’t believe I am there yet.
I want my record store to project a sense of grandeur
Grandeur is splendour in appearance and a sense of magnificence. In a personal sense, it can be the elevation of sentiment. That is feelings, emotions and understanding. Vinyl records with their size and cover art are splendid objects. This often comes second to the power of the music itself. The lyrics, rhythms, chords and melodies of music can often lift our spirits and even our minds themselves. In my store, I want to communicate and amplify these qualities!
I want Glitter Records to be picturesque
When I first opened my record shop my neighbor was Helen of Helena Rose. One day she showed me a Lemax model village she had purchased on sale at a local post office. This led me to research model record shops. And while the Lego BTS Dynamite set’s record shop is a notable mention, an image of Lemax’s Rays Record Shop model remains fixed to my wall at home. I look at it every day with the hope my own shop will one day embody those picturesque elements of this humble miniature record shop.
I want my record store to be a place of passion
Passion! Zeal, ardor, love and eagerness! Passionate people are often, despite their best efforts at self-control, excited by external causes. And the most passionate of the passionate amongst us often find themselves as career musicians. Is this any surprise given that our grandest human passions often surface in music? I want my record store to respect and value this passion.
Granted a level of respectful formality is required from a shopkeeper. Especially when meeting new people. However, I want to celebrate that the enjoyment of music is often an act of letting loose of all too often pent-up emotion!
I want to champion irregular beauty
Irregular beauty is untraditional or unconventional beauty. This is beauty that deviates from societal norms and standards. Images of punk rockers readily spring to mind however longer reflection on the subject reveals the manifold nature of irregular beauty. The sounds and images of many forgotten eras, genres, singers and records fit this bill for me. If mainstream and alternative culture has rejected a work of artistic expression I often find myself all more curious. As a result records of this kind often find a way into the shop. To the befuddlement of many yet to the delight of kindred musical explorers who visit Glitter Records.
I want my store to have a classical finish
When I think of classical finishes I think of the wood panelling in vintage recording studios in the 1970s. Or the finish on an acoustic guitar. To be clear with you, I don’t desire to cover my shop with polished wood as much as to express an evocation of craftsmanship and project a soft warm glow. Here I take inspiration from one of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories A Clean, Well-Lighted Place where the writer explores this idea of welcoming simplicity.
I strive to earn glory, honour and applause
Modesty is a virtue. And yet there have been times when I have heard songs such as Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions, Puccini’s ‘Nessun Dorma’, Lorde’s ‘Glory and Gore’ and even, one time during high school assembly, Survivor‘s “Eye of the Tiger” and my heart has jumped with excitement! Do we have an inbuilt drive to seek victory of some measure within our lives?
As the owner of a record store, I don’t see this as a drive to beat or dominate others. I see it as doing my work with excellence and over time making this something worthy of the respect of others. And yes perhaps even adoration. Another song comes to mind here. The Stone Roses‘ ‘I Wanna Be Adored.’
Honour can be thought of as high rank and dignity. I have a quote that captures this feeling that I recently found in Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language. “A man is an ill husband of his honour, that entertain into any action, the failing wherein may disgrace him more than the carrying through can honour him.” Please interpret this in a gender-neutral reading.
What is more, I do believe championing culture is a worthy cause. And take strength in Albert Einstein’s support of Folkways founder Moses Asch in his decision to start a record label, specifically Einstein’s endorsement of cultural preservation and education as a calling that can serve humanity for the better. I hope that in time I can earn a rightful reputation for expending my efforts on similarly worthy causes.
Finally, applause is approbation loudly given. I think all record stores get this once a year on Record Store Day. And I am grateful. However, I would like, in forty years, to earn a singular sense of respect for what I have done for others with Glitter Records.
Better measurement at Glitter Records
I confess these remain aspirational goals. These leaps of imagination remain outside conventional business metrics. My challenge now is observing these intangible ideas. In understanding them I can translate this information into practical strategies informing the critical decisions I must make in running Glitter Records as a business. In doing so I can improve customer experiences and ensure the financial stability of Glitter Records. Passion must walk in step with practicality, as creativity must walk with commerce.
Nonetheless, I remain hopeful that through diligence and hard work, I can move from the realm of the Quixotic to the practical. It’s a daunting task, but I draw courage from the many great minds who dedicated themselves to nobler pursuits and eventually succeeded. Just as Shakespeare’s plays offered profound artistic insights into human nature that have influenced modern scientific studies of emotions and neuroscience, I aspire to illuminate the practical dimensions of record store ownership and branding, transforming what may seem esoteric into actionable knowledge.
I wish you the same patience and persistence in defining your own inspirational goals.
