Stop Giving It Away for Free!

Collective Arts Think Tank (CATT) gets catty again with a rousing "Follow Up Letter to the field: small steps and current issues".

Some of my favorite blurbs are:

"Artists are stuck at the bottom of this food chain."

".. stop giving it away for free. THE ARTISTS need to recognize their own power, and use it. Control the supply; create demand; stop investing time, energy and money in pursuing empty opportunities. Art is a profession; and artists who do not get paid are not professionals. Period."

The letter includes steps we've each taken in our organizations and in our personal lives to change our relationship to money and power. It certainly isn't easy but if we really want the arts economy to be different, we gotta make it happen.

What steps are you taking to change your own economy and relationship to money?

Full disclosure: I am proud to be a part of this gaggle of artists, admins and presenters which includes:

Vallejo Gantner, Artistic Director, Performance Space 122
Aaron Landsman, Artist, Thinaar
Sheila Lewandowski, Artist & Executive Director, The Chocolate Factory
Carla Peterson, Artistic Director, Dance Theater Workshop
Brian Rogers, Artist & Artistic Director, The Chocolate Factory
Morgan von Prelle Pecelli PhD, Anthropologist, The Lost Notebook

new models again? innovate shminnovate!

Good conversation on the failure of our thinking on new art/business models over at Arts Journal. I added my three cents. Add yours.

Should we dump the 501c3 model as some Brits are suggesting?
What would it really mean to be a social enterprise?
Do most artists/companies really think that they are charities? That they are doing something deeply valuable to our society? really?

Crowdfunding and Fiscal Sponsorship? Oil and Water or Eggs and Toast?

How many Kickstarter campaigns have you seen lately? Yikes. Everyone and the sister is doing one.

Are people raising more money for their art at Kickstarter?

Are they keeping more money in their pockets too?

Are they giving away too many gifts with each contribution? (and thus losing money?)

Are the getting new donors/audience or is it just the same gaggle of supporters?

Recently I sat down with the super friendly folks at RocketHub - the new kids on the crowdfunding block. We spoke about crowd funding and its relationship to "traditional fundraising" like fiscal sponsorship.......Read it here first

Have you crowdfunded? How did it go for you?

Fundraising does not come in a box!

From the perspicacious Sara Juli and her current class at The Field: Project Budgets and Strategies

Your fundraising strategy should make sense for you and only you. What works for someone else may not be your best approach. Also, have you asked yourself, "do I even WANT to fundraise?" There is no need to spend time developing a strategy if you're not interested in executing it. Asking people and places for money cuts to the core of the issues. Before you begin designing your personalized fundraising plan, make sure it's the right way to go, and that you're interested in pursuing it.

If you do decide to fundraise, feel free to contact me for help!! sarajuli1@hotmail.com

The Equus Projects: Lessons Learned About Generosity & Listening

The Equus Projects

April 20, 2010

Lessons Learned About Generosity & Listening

As The Equus Projects dives deeper and deeper into creating hub sites for our work, we are making some very interesting discoveries about interfacing with the people who make our work possible.

The Hub Site
First, a definition of an Equus Projects Hub Site: A region of the country where there is significant interest in the work we are doing and a vested interest in having us return on an on-going basis.

Passionate Producers
In each of our hub site locations we are dealing with passionate people who want our work to have a presence in their region. Sometimes our projects begin with a big producer such as The Myrna Loy Center for the Performing Arts in Helena, Montana. But when we are asked to return, the people who are bringing us are often the small guys. These are not big producers or presenters. These are people who own horse farms. These are ranchers and horse owners, dancers, theatre directors, educators. They do not have a staff with PR people and professional fundraisers.

We are realizing how immensely important it is for us to fully acknowledge the generosity of those local self-appointed producers with no staff receive enormous accolades and appreciation for what they are doing.

Beyond Thank You
However just saying thank you, thank you and thank you again is not enough. There is more to understand. Let me explain by way of example.

In the Pacific Northwest our hub site supporters include a Sammamish, WA equestrian who is producing a clinic for us to teach. Not only is she offering her ranch and horses as the clinic venue but she is also creating the PR, taking registrations, and making sure we are housed and fed. This individual has a vested interest in having come to her farm. It is crucial for us to spend some time figuring out what we are offering her. How does our work feed her? Why?

Another Northwest local supporter on Vashon Island is documenting our work and creating video presentations for local cable stations. His filming of our work provides a visually captivating subject that will gain his work visibility.

We are being housed. We will be fed numerous dinners. And this is not for a just a few days. We are on Vashon Island for 14 days! We have experienced similar generosity in hub sites in Florida and Texas.

Listening to stories
In the creative excitement (and sometimes maelstrom) of making a new work in a short amount of time it is easy to get distracted, to not fully acknowledge those who are bringing you water, offering hospitality, fixing your costumes, washing your laundry. They admire your work. They ask questions about you and the work. And in some important way they are asking you to listen to their stories, learn about them.

Motivation behind generosity
Beyond expressing our gratitude we must listen carefully and take the time to understand the motivation behind generosity. For some it will be a chance to perform. For some it will be about learning. For some it will be the opportunity to teach us something they know - a chance to share their knowledge. This is about the need to be recognized. If we do not take time to give that recognition we are remiss and will have missed an opportunity to sow tons of good will.

When to say YES, even when it costs
At one of our venues, our producer - and the owner of the horses we are performing with - asked us to pay for an equestrian trainer to be present for all our rehearsals. The price tag for this was very high. I knew the request carried with it important information. This was our second project with these horses. The first had gone well but there were some equine issues not fully attended to. The unexpected price tag for a trainer carried with it important information about our commitment to the well being of her equines. I believe she was indirectly asking us to financially commit to her horses. And I knew it was not my place to question this request or attempt to negotiate. Our company manager and I launched a concerted search for funding sources. We kept the producer fully informed of our fundraising. Update: We are still waiting to hear from The Arabian Horse Foundation and several other sources. More importantly our producer recognized our commitment. Update: The owner has offered to help us with this expense.

When to say NO
In another venue the producer asked that we title our press release: Dancing with the Stars. Now this was not acceptable to me. I was willing to go to the mat about this, as Dancing with the Stars was not at all what we would be doing!! Our objections encountered lots of resistance. I questioned how far the gratitude needed to be stretched. I worried that we were offending in sticking to our guns. But I also felt this was a necessary battle to fight.

Sharing Ownership of the Work
We are learning that we MUST give local producers ownership of the project. And with that partial ownership comes the freedom to promote our work in a way that will communicate effectively with the local population.

One step beyond the promotion is the content of the work itself. We must balance our own aesthetic priorities against the need to appeal to a local audience. What do Texans want to see? I am very clear that this question must be answered in a way that does not compromise the work. Then again there is the site-specific-ness of a project: What kind of piece do you make in a bull-running arena in Helena, Montana? It would be wise to acknowledge the cowboy energy that permeates a bull running arena.

Longevity
When a producer brings you in for the first time, the visit is surrounded by that first date kind of excitement. After the first date comes the Let’s see what else you can offer date. With our hub sites we are not on a first date basis any longer. Our current projects are in the 2nd or 3rd date stage. At this stage we must make an investment in a community.

During the making an investment stage the in-kind donations diminish or at least shift. Things that were gratis must now be paid for. We are discovering that the ASK must be different.

I am looking down the road and asking, what will this scenario look like after the 3rd date? That remains to be explored.

For now we are on our 2nd date and making sure we are doing some serious listening.

jms

The Equus Projects: Raising Money is Really Challenging But I am Still Excited

Every day that Michael Lonergan, Executive Director, and I work on raising money for our hub site projects we are struck by the many faces of this economic climate. But in seeking out funding we are exploring uncharted areas of income generating and fundraising creativity.

Here are some of our strategies and discoveries:

We make serious money teaching clinics for equestrians. Our enrollment for this spring and summer is down by 30%. So we have turned to reformatting. Instead of our previous format of two-day clinics for a set fee we are reducing our material to one-day formats. This is making us dig deeper into the material, offer smaller amounts of information but at greater depth. We are also teaming up for one-day presentations with well-known equestrian trainers. These trainers are generously charging us do-able fees for their time in exchange for attending other sessions we offer. We are all learning. We get to share information.

We are investing in some preliminary visits to communities were we have performances scheduled. This might sound like spending more money, but the preliminary visits are generating excitement about the company and the project. This excitement has led to In Kind donations, as well as –hopefully- some generous (even in this economic climate!) patrons.

Our preliminary visits are not just sit at a table planning sessions. They include a live Demonstration with horses, riders and excellent cookies. Last year we did a Demo on Vashon Island and met fabulous people who offered to house and feed us for a week. This kind of willingness from the communities to open up their homes and kitchens allow us to continue our work at a minimal cost to the company. For this we are very excited!

We just did a very successful Demo on a chilly Valentine’s Day in Aubrey, Texas for a project that will be produced in late May. Despite record low temperatures 45 people attended - horse people and lots of dancers from Texas Women’s University, University of North Texas and community dancers from the Dallas/Forth Worth area. We are very excited to build upon this Demo a deeper community involvement with those people we met.

We are holding open rehearsals.

We do not eat in restaurants.

When people ask what they can do to help out we suggest they invite us to dinner.

We are bringing our non-profit paperwork so that rental cars do not charge us tax.

We are forging relationships with local businesses to work with us on use on everything from use of equipment to help with papering the community about the company.

We use members of the community to help make introductions to local government officials and other cultural institutions.

Phase One is the Honeymoon Phase

Phase One was our exploration and options for our hub sites. Everyone was tremendously excited about the work.

We are now in Phase Two; returning to our sites. Our communities have accepted us with open arms. They donated everything to make the hub-site come into being. But, we know these donations can’t last forever and sooner than later, our communities may suffer from donor fatigue. Nobody is more aware than we are at the cost of these services – and it continues to be our challenge to keep our communities motivated and expanded enough to work with us as ambassadors for the company.

Phase One we could create community through volunteerism. Phase Two: Where does it go from here? What do we need to do to facilitate the real engagement?

There is a message about accountability inside all of this. And I like that because that accountability for action exists in our work with the horses as well.

We come with a big initial splash. The second visit we must present something different and not just for the sake of variety. We are no longer a new flavor. Now we must dig deeper.

Here are some Phase Two Challenges:

The second visit we are accountable for the residue we left behind the first time: horses that got spooked, grass that got torn from overuse, items that were lost or misplaced.

The second visit we must answer to mistakes made: using equine halters that were too heavy, forgetting to throw the wrappers away that littered not only the rental car but the car our friend lent us!

The second visit we must really deal with all the things that were not working the first time. Rather than chalk up unworkable situations as a one time event – we will be looking for ways to work in partnership with our hub site communities.

Don’t get me wrong. We are having a blast and the projects we have planned are awesome. But we are also facing the harsh reality that come fall of 2010 we will not have another ERPA check in our mailbox!!

jms

ERPA Resource Guide

A Non-Exhaustive Resource Wiki for Artists, Arts Administrators, Philanthropists and Arts Enthusiasts across genres and across the board...

The Field encounters provocative information about the arts economy every day. The ERPA Resource Guide has evolved organically as a means for us to serve the performing arts community a menu of hot topic information across artistic disciplines; from The Field (us) to the field (you)!

Check out the wiki for a multitude of innovative resources and services we know will stoke your personal process of economic revitalization.

The Field's Economic Revitalization Implementation Awardees

The Field's Economic Revitalization for Performing Artists (ERPA) program awards $55,000 to entrepreneurial artists working to catalyze and sustain their creative economies! ERPA Implementation Awards provide grants of $10,000 to $20,000 to continue developing and implementing projects under the auspices of The Field. Watch ERPA Artists work their magic at WNYC, featuring coverage from September 2009's Public Display of Invention at The Greene Space...



Thanks for watching, let us know what you think!

Who likes you?

There is so much to learn from the music business!!

NPR did a brilliant one hour On the Media on sampling, girl talk, making $, and fans. I love what Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls has to say about selling tshirts ($11,000 via Twitter in 2 hours when she was bored?). And this Band Metrics thing? delineates single-users, fans, and supporters? Helps us understand the full spectrum of who likes us and why.....(Band Metrics beta site is down it seems but stay tuned!)

And here's our own Nick Brooke, music sampler extraordinaire, at WNYC explaining how he is using music samples to raise some dough, build his fan base, and create his next show.

ERPA Clip 4 Nick Brooke from The Field on Vimeo.

The Field Awards $55,000 to Artists!!!

Economic Revitalization for Performing Artists (ERPA) asked, "How can artists make new money for their work?" ERPA challenged artists to propose inventive, replicable, and sustainable models to help revitalize the creative economy.

After more than a year of entrepreneurial investigations, seven ERPA projects were adjudicated by a panel of veteran arts and business leaders to receive up to $20,000 in funds from The Field. The results are in...

Implementation Awards provide grants of $10,000 to $20,000 to continue developing and implementing each project under the auspices of The Field. Awardees: Connie Hall/ Conni's Avant Garde Restaurant, JoAnna Mendl Shaw/ The Equus Projects, Jon Stancato/ Stolen Chair Theatre Company, Caroline Woolard/ Our Goods

Replicability Awards offer stipends of $1,500 with additional professional development support from The Field, intended to help document and communicate each project's findings to the greater artistic community. Awardees: Kahlil Almustafa, Nick Brooke, Rachel Chavkin/The TEAM

View the full Press Release!

City money for who? for you?

My friends at Collective Arts Think Tank (CATT) published our 2nd post about NYC funding (Department of Cultural Affairs). It's concise and question-driven. We are hoping to speak with DCA in response.

I have another question to throw into the mix though:

The current multi-year funding process could benefit from some transparency so that the arts community can strive towards best practices in their applications for funding.

If you are a lucky recipient of multi-year funding from the DCA: your 1st year multi-year funding amount is announced and "contracted" at a certain $ level. (This is super and helps arts orgs plan for the future!)

But!

What happens the 2nd year? Multi-year $ is not set in stone alas. Your contracted amount can be cut or increased according to the rise and fall of the NYC budget. Last year and this year the warning that cuts were imminent was done well in advance so that you could plan (great!)

We got a tiny decrease last year and a bigger one this year. That's hard for us but I get it. I do. I just want to understand it so we can do better next year.

I called our kind Program Officer with these questions but got no real response except "there is no peer review of multi-years. We need to fill the gaps in the budget."

So who determines the cuts/increases? If not a peer-review process then it is ________? DCA staff, City Council, lobbyists? Is it across the board everyone gets cuts 2% or 8%? Nope. Some get big cuts, some small, some get increases!

Can we get feedback so we can do better in the future?

DCA is honorably committed to transparency and I love that. I'd love to see that transparency infiltrate the multi-year funding process as well so that grantees can endeavor to hit the highest marks possible.

On another note: look at what the odd city of Sacramento is doing for their arts community. Thanks Thomas Cott! It looks like Bloomberg is in for another round and with the anniversary of Lehman's demise and the crazy bonuses at Goldman (did I misunderstand??) maybe we can create a similar effort to support non-profits in this city who are still reeling from the crisis (and next year will only be worse for most of us??)

everyone laughing

This morning on WNYC's Marketplace the CEO of Netflix was discussing the future of movie watching (to paraphrase..."live streaming on your retina....think about a song and it starts playing in your head for 1 cent...").

When asked what his favorite way to watch movies he replied, (to paraphrase), "Live. In the theater. Especially comedies. You can hear everyone laughing together."

BRILLIANT! because even the CEO of NETFLIX knows that it's about the communal experience!!

And the communal experience is what (most) live art is about.

Thank you Mr. Netflix for reminding us to get out of our living rooms and into the larger public sphere to experience art tooooogether.

If it's broke, fix it. Recommendations from some savvy arts folks

A gaggle of us formed an ad hoc think tank (action tank!) to deal with the arts and the crazy world at large. Our first public action as the Collective Arts Think Tank (CATT) is now live. It is a dense but heartfelt analysis of the field and recommendations for the future. READ IT and don't weep. Comment, percolate, digest, take action, read it again. To whet your appetite, here's one of my favorite parts.

"Most artists and arts professionals do what we do because we love the work. That is, we did not enter the field of contemporary dance, theater and performance art because it offered a stable career, high wages or broad acclaim, although all three would be welcome. We entered it because we felt compelled, driven, liberated, saved, or any combination of the above. That deep sense of calling has also engendered, in some cases, innovative, organic solutions to longstanding shortages and roadblocks, and in other cases counterproductive and damaging habits, practices and mindsets within the field. Following are examples of a few strategies that do work, and a few prevalent notions that we feel are outmoded and unhelpful."

It's already getting comments on CATT and postings on WNYC.

I feel super proud to be a part of Collective Arts Think Tank and our efforts to get things moving in a proactive and positive way. Here't to the future!

Negotiation is for wusses?

I am not a screamer. But I was just yelling at a man on the phone about his carpet cleaning service! It was horrible, I am still shaking. And all for $50 worth of carpet cleaning.

I want to manage these scenarios better in the future. No screaming matches. But I want to get my way. Can I? I love "I Will Teach You to Be Rich". and his post today is chock full of smart, strategic thinking about negotiation, networking, writing effective emails, and exercise. And with a title like the one he used today, EASY SELL!

networking schmetworking: high school the musical

Last night I went to a going away party for a well-known local funder. The room was jam packed with many of the VIPs in the arts ecology including funders of all shapes and sizes, presenters, artists and those that love the arts.

I wore my favorite dress, I re-applied my lipstick and I did my networking affirmation "I am confident, charming and articulate."

I walked into the packed room.
I didn't see anyone I immediately recognized.
Slight panic set in.
I tried to look calm and interesting, not socially desperate.
I headed for the bar and I got a white wine to ease the pain (slowly! slowly!)

I saw two of my favorite art stars that I am confident know my name and I headed to them (LESSON = go for some low hanging fruit!) Luckily they opened their backs to me and let me in to their conversation. (Beware the unturned back! It may not open to you!)

With a bit more social confidence under my belt, and a wee buzz of booze, I headed for higher hanging fruit! THE FUNDER WHO SCARES YOU!!

She was in a tight duet conversation. I was grabbed (luckily) by a super savvy colleague who is a masterful networker and she parted the social waters for me (LESSON! make friends with good schmoozers!) She asserted herself into the duet, gracefully reminded the Scary Funder who I was and made an elegant entree for me. (LESSON: have a salient, intriguing fact at your tongue's ready to get conversations going. Know it, believe it. Be generous to others with it!)

Alas, the SCARY FUNDER duet conversation didn't really open up to me and my pal. We all stood there, the four of us, but the duet stayed a duet, and we were left hanging. SOCIAL TERROR! all my high school angst reared up. I am not worthy. I am not popular.

Now, 1) the SCARY FUNDER knows, in her heart of hearts, that her access to money makes her the most tasty apple on the tree. (This truism, I am sure, is both awesome and sad. Do they love me for me? or for my money?)

2) Be gentle with yourself. Don't give up. Remember your worth in the situation. Stay present to the conversation and gently insert yourself when it is appropriate. Also, know when to leave! If they are ignoring you (which could happen!), then excuse yourself politely, and move on.

Numerous times last night I found myself standing solo and looking for my next conversation. I scanned the room, I asked trusted colleagues where so and so was or who was xyz. The ballsy and generous ones (thank you!) escorted me directly to them and paved the way. (Lesson: don't mess up their largesse though! Make the most of it, thank them and return the favor!)

SCARY FUNDER #2: Upon introduction to a generous funder to the arts community, I said something idiotic but heartfelt like, "Thank you for helping so many artists." She nearly kicked my shins. It was very odd. "Oh, I am going to walk away if you say things like that again" she replied. (Lesson ??? Some funders don't want you kissing their arses? Some funders want to just enjoy the party and not be pestered for money all the time? OF COURSE!)

Overall tips for managing this social networking madness:
Be courageous
Have a small glass of wine
Stay present and focused and talk about real things, don't just try and get some $ from some folks.
Have a few good ideas, tidbits, thoughts on your mind.
Ask questions of your conversation partners.
Be real, don't fake it. If you love what you do (and you do!) then let that love and care and curiosity infiltrate your conversations.

Live theater streaming online? do I really want to watch this?

Thanks again and as always to Thomas Cott for pointing this out.

Apparently Pittsburgh beat the theater capital (aka NYC) to the punch and is premiering LIPLO (Live and In Person and Live and Online) in September.

How many folks will log-in to watch?

How many DSLs and T1s will time out and make the action unbearable to watch and the dialogue disjointed?

Will this make folks more likely to go to live theater?
Will it cut into ticket sales for the Company?

Did these guys talk to Chris Anderson about his new book "Free" (see our last post)?
What did we learn from the Met's freebie outdoor Hi-Def movie screenings in NYC last year? and what about TenduTV with its free and paid access to dance video? and MediciTV that streams esteemed music festivals like Verbier for $$$?

Would you watch a live theater show or dance piece on your computer screen? Would you skip the fee-based community experience? Would you invite friends over to sit in your apartment and watch? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

Tell me!

is free the new black?

I make no bones about how much I love Malcolm Gladwell. I just finished his latest smarty pants book, Outliers, and I am delightfully quaking in my boots about the death of the meritocracy. No spoiler alert here but suffice to say it ain't just hard work my friends. We may anecdotally and intuitively know it, but Mr. Gladwell shows us the proof in the pudding and that America has tons of work to do if we really want to pursue our happiness.

And we artists know it fully well I think. We see folks get grants and gigs and press that don't really "deserve" it. But they get it! What are they doing to get there? Tell me your secrets!! Even at PS122 for the brilliant Neal Medlyn's last sass factor I found myself wondering: how did these folks get to be the anointed hipsters and cultural hotties? Is it the raw pork? it must be the raw pork.

That said, I am way off track here. I wanted to talk about Malcolm's (can I call you Malcolm?) review in the July 6th The New Yorker of Chris Anderson's latest book, Free. To backtrack, for our ERPA grant application last fall, we got dozens of artists applying "to sell videos of their dance or theater work online". Overall the adjudication panel poo pooed this idea: it's gotta be free! no one will BUY your videos! not only does no one know who you are! but if it's on the internet, it's gotta be FREE!"

One of our panelists disagreed heartily and I wonder wonder wonder what he thinks of Free. Do tell! You know who you are!

The New York Times is moving from free to pricey apparently.
Youtube was, rumor has it, going to create a non-free, high-end, curated version of their super site.
The Wall Street Journal is fee-based.
Most artists already do so much for free that we struggle to have a realistic, mature money conversation that includes an honest and respectable fee for your own work! We know free!

What are you doing? What are you selling? What are you giving away? Do tell.

What do you think?

empower your money!!

Whatever you think of Mayor Mike one great thing he is doing the Office of Financial Empowerment. (I love the straightforward but kinda touchy feely nomenclature!).

GO THIS WEEKEND TO QUEENS for their pilot launch of Empowerment Services free free free! I can't go but tell us what you learn!

And then keep your eyes peeled for The Field partnering with OFE to bring you empowerment!

Art critics on the demise?

The ever-wise, sassy, and determined Elizabeth Zimmer says the cold, hard truth about the death of intelligent dance criticism. It's all scary but true. Thanks to my pal Wayne Hazzard at the hard-working Bay Area arts service org, Dancers' Group for pointing me toward Elizabeth's writing.

and to add to the Zimmer-ness: please give a listen to my perennial obsession, Studio 360 (Kurt Anderson I love you!), talk about "Reinventing the Critic: In today's scary media landscape -- full of layoffs and closing papers -- arts coverage is especially vulnerable. Arts critics must invent new ways to do what they do. Film critic Mike D'Angelo and visual art critic Lori Waxman are two journalists blazing that trail."

My favorite part of the Studio 360 clip is the truly innovative suggestion that FUNDERS FUND criticism and the education of critics. Yikes. Wow. Does anyone do this? Could they do this? Who funds the glorious and smart Movement Research Journal? My second favorite part is the clip about who lasts a long-time in the arts field. Any guesses? the young and the trust-funded! Oh boy. Classism and ageism are rampant, no? Please disagree.

If you are an artist you are a small business

Business lingo may seem anathema to the arts but we gotta get over that.

If you want a long-term, sustainable, and productive career as an artist, (do you? do you really?) then you are starting a business and you are a business person. Ack! Oy! Drat! It's not that bad really.....you don't have to sell out or become the devil if you start talking about "product" or "market share" or "demographics." It's just words. Know 'em, use 'em, love 'em.

Artists usually turn to service organizations for business training and we do offer all kinds of great services like that. BUT (and not to shoot The Field or any other service org in the foot!) there are other Small Business helpers out there that might just behoove you to tap into. Take advantage of any and all services that may help you succeed. They are here for you.

For example, SCORE!
One of our ERPA artists has been doing some stuff with SCORE and she says "SCORE has been very helpful. You can do individual counselling or take classes. We have done both. Classes give a good overview, and then you can meet with the specialists to talk about specifics. We found that it can be difficult to register for the classes...so we have just started showing up. We haven't been kicked out yet:) " Most (if not all) of their stuff is free and alot is available online.

"Also NYC Business Solutions Center is a good resource too. They also offer seminars and classes. We have made some good connections there too."

If you use either of these places, tell us what you think. We need to know how it works for you.