Two Year Anniversary Update!

It’s been two years since I became part (and eventually full) owner of Outsider so… let’s have an update!

(Outsider has been around since 2016-ish, but I am considering this the store’s second anniversary because it was exactly two years ago when I signed papers and stuff. If you’d like to know The Full Story you can always check out our Story page.)

Because I was a teacher for way to long we’re gonna do this post as a poop sandwich: start with some good news, get some bad news in the middle, then end with more good news.

Good News

When we made the decision to lay off everyone else and I took over the shop at the beginning of this year, I posted about changes I was able to start making for the store including a bigger focus on indies, manga/manhwa/manwah, queer comics, and diversity and social justice in our curation, expanding our relationships with small indie artists, game designers, and publishers, and de-emphasizing single issue comics in favor of graphic novels and trades. And, well, it worked!

• We’re starting to carve a niche in the bookstore/boutique market and folks know Outsider as the store that carries comics that are weird and queer and indie and local and from folks who aren’t white.
• Much more of your money (and our purchasing) go directly to large indie publishers like Image, small publishers like Silver Sprocket, PEOW, or Radiator, or to artists and game designers who sell us comics and games and art directly. (Corollary: Much less of your money is going to Disney and WB and Hasbro.)
• It now takes around 25% less time per week to run the store in large part because of us shifting away from the traditional “stock every issue of every series” comic book store model. Plus we have a lot less dead stock now!

Starting in June we started doing extended hours on Thursdays for events and—in large part thanks to our partners GeekGirlCon and Villainelle Pink—we now have a rotating roster of regular community events as well as special events with local creators. Plus we have been successfully hosting our new series of Goblin Art Markets which gives a platform for independent local artists to showcase their work, with more markets and events on the way!

Bad News

The problem is that we continue to be financially unsustainable, and if we don’t start turning a steady profit by next summer we will have to close our doors when our lease is up in November 2025.

There are several reasons for it but the short answer is “have you *seen* how much eggs cost?????”

In 2024 we’ve managed to keep costs under control in large part by significantly lowering labor costs by restructuring so that, as a normal company and not a cooperative, we can morally and legally pay the owner (me) a salary that is sufficient to live on but definitely below minimum hourly wage. That plus wages for one to two part time employees (and food for a crow that doesn’t eat and a bunny that feasts on souls???) would be a sustainable level of expense…

Unless sales drop around 30% year to year because, well, eggs are expensive and, unfortunately, art is kinda a luxury for a lot of folks nowadays. We are now losing around of $1000 to $2000 a month and I haven’t drawn a paycheck in 2024.

To be clear, this is significantly better than 2023 when we were losing around $3000 to $5000 a month,

We are also seeing a lot less foot traffic, especially during large events in the area, since the city started enforcing the ordinance prohibiting businesses in Fremont from putting out signs on street corners or at the Lenin statue. The Theo Chocolate Factory closing was also a big hit to us.

But…

More Good News

We are starting to become a destination on our own, in large part thanks to you! You’re bringing out of town friends in when they come visit because you believe we’re a place that’s a “must visit” in Seattle. Folks from out of town (or even out of country) are reading your reviews and recommendations and seeing your photos when they’re looking for cool spots in town.

Fun Corporate Hellscape Fact: You telling your friends about Outsider has more of an impact on our business than us spending a hundred dollars on advertising. It’s true.

So yeah, I’m optimistic. With the increase of people who are coming specifically to visit us, folks learning about us at events like our Trans Pride mini-trans-comic-con, and the increasing turnout at our bigger in-house events, I’m optimistic. I don’t think Outsider will get the same highs from 2018 and 2021 we were chasing when I first signed those papers two years ago, but I think there’s going to be a different kind of vibe and a different kind of high and a different way for Outsider to become a financially sustainable (and mental healthily sustainable) business.

But in the meantime because I am not bound by labor laws and can work as much overtime as my weird brain wants: look forward to more event announcements and a revamped online experience over the next couple of weeks!

Side Note: We actually broke our one-day sales record (not counting FCBD and weekends Thanksgiving and New Years) at last Saturday’s Goblin Art Market. That’s not the number that made me happiest though. It’s when an artist talked about how they made twice the sales they were expecting. Y’all really showed up for local artists.

Let’s End on a Note