Tim Sukits

Category: Business

  • Making money from scratch: How the Vinyl Music Festival is bringing Sarasota together to rethink its economic game

    Published in Creative Loafing Sarasota, July 14, 2010   Downtown Sarasota is not currently known as the heart of electronic music in Southwest Florida — far from it. But that title could soon be earned if the promoters behind Vinyl Music Festival stay on their current trajectory. Since last year’s inaugural celebration, VMF has more than doubled it’s number of performers, picked up a host of huge national sponsors, garnered the support of both city and county officials, and gained access to public venues that have historically been off limits to such party-oriented proceedings. But for the young entrepreneurs that put on this sonic assembly, it’s more than just a DJ convention or even a much needed summer tourism boost — It’s an attempt to give Sarasota a long overdue makeover. Is our fair city ready and willing to change? Rich Swier, co-creator of VMF and local tech biz incubator The HuB, believes it is: “Every year we’re going to add a little more, just to see what this town can do.” VMF 2009 was reasonably well-attended, which was quite a feat considering it was conceived and organized in less than a month with barely any marketing, few sponsors and a drastic equipment shortage. This time around they got the ball rolling in January, and that advance preparation has yielded substantial results. Thanks to Swier and VMF musical director DJ Drager, top-notch turntable talent is flying in this week from Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas, New York, South America, Europe and the Middle East; companies like Roaring Lion Energy Drink and Groove Cruise have pledged significant contributions; and Yamaha is bringing in $40,000 worth of rental equipment. (more…)

  • Arty pARTée: Organizations all over the Suncoast are joining forces to launch Festival sARTée in an effort to brand Sarasota-Manatee as a premier arts destination

    Published in Creative Loafing Sarasota, October 6, 2010   The Ringling International Arts Festival was originally slated to be an every-other-year event. But after the success of last year’s kick-off, the movers and shakers of Sarasota’s governmental, arts and tourism organizations felt they had to find a way to capitalize on the event again this year and started figuring out how to pay for it. Sarasota County had already committed $250,000 to RIAF, but after the city of Sarasota came up with $100,000 and Manatee County threw in another $250,000, organizers started thinking bigger. The final result is Festival sARTée, an arts extravaganza running Oct. 8-24 and stretching to every corner of Sarasota and Manatee counties, with events represented by nearly every arts organization on the Suncoast. The original concept behind Festival sARTée came from Charleston’s Spoleto Festival, which has grown into one of the biggest arts festivals in the world. “Spelato Fest started as a fringe festival,” says Sarasota County Arts Council Executive Director Jim Shirley. “Our arts organizations aren’t crazy about the word ‘fringe,’ so [the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Arts Councils of both counties] got together to talk about doing anything we can to come up with a Spoleto-type festival. We went out to all the arts organizations and encouraged them to do events during that time to create a lot of cultural activity, and start building what’s going to be a bigger festival down the road. We’re up to 60 events now. Some were on the schedule anyway and got souped up to be part of the festival, but many of them are built from scratch.” (more…)

  • Publisher’s clearing house: Even with a drop in book sales, local authors still strive to get their work in the hands of readers

    Published June 23, 2010 The Suncoast has a lot of the usual components that writers look for when searching for a place to hunker down and break their writer’s block: pleasant weather, ocean views and a solid community of other writers to edit, critique and discuss their works. But getting your ramblings and rantings in print form, or that first novel in the hands of the masses, can be a difficult endeavor for both novice and experienced authors. That’s one area where Sarasota can offer more help than just a good working environment, but the classic advice to authors everywhere still holds true — don’t quit your day job. There are two types of publishing companies. Traditional publishers choose authors whose books they think will sell, usually footing most of the bills for printing costs, cover design, publicity and distribution, then taking the lion’s share of the profits from each book. Non-traditional publishers offer services that authors pay for and are usually reserved for the rejection letter-weary or those looking for a guide in their self-publishing escapades. (more…)
  • Cheap trick: A business model tailor-made for economic recession has allowed the Sarasota Guitar Company to thrive in a hurry

    Cheap trick: A business model tailor-made for economic recession has allowed the Sarasota Guitar Company to thrive in a hurry

    Published June 2, 2010 The case of Sarasota Guitar Company is a textbook example of how to launch a business in a tough economy. First, find a way to provide products for a fraction of your competitor’s prices. Next, give your customers everything they could possible ask for, before they even ask for it. And finally, watch the money start pouring in. Selling guitars out of a 10-foot by 10-foot booth at the Red Barn Flea Market last year, Sarasota Guitar Company owner Scott Cook could never have imagined what his business would look like today. In December he decided to take a chance in a highly unstable economy and opened a 900-square-foot retail store at 4333 South Tamiami Trail, Suite A. Fortunately, Cook was armed with a brilliant concept, which is why last Thursday, less than six months after opening, he moved two doors down to Suite C, effectively doubling his retail space. Cook’s golden idea was to sell factory-second guitars — instruments with small imperfections that guitar companies deem, for one reason or another, unworthy to sell at suggested retail prices. “Basically it’s a factory-second with a small blemish on it, and they’re cosmetic, nothing physical, so the guitars play correctly,” says Cook. “Sometimes we can’t find anything wrong with them. But because of that they’re saving quite a bit of money — usually anywhere from 50-70 percent off the manufacturers suggested list price.” (more…)
  • ShamWow: How Shamrock owner Derek Anderson is helping turn around east Ringling Boulevard

    ShamWow: How Shamrock owner Derek Anderson is helping turn around east Ringling Boulevard

    Published March 10, 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Block Party Starts at 9 a.m. Wed., March 17, The Shamrock, 2257 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, 952-1730 orfacebook.com/shamrockpub, free. Head east on Ringling Boulevard and look to your left: You may spot a lonely hole-in-the-wall Irish pub with a green Volkswagon bus parked in the front. Iconic Sarasota watering hole The Shamrock has sat at this location since 1988. It’s a great spot to grab a quality craft beer, chat with some friendly bartenders and even catch a local live original band. But three short years ago, the pub served a vastly different scene. “It was basically a hangout for the homeless,” says neighbor Cristy Owen of Cristy’s Custom Sewing. “The smell coming out of it was God-awful. You couldn’t even walk by the door. It still smells like a bar but it’s much cleaner. … It’s not like people sleeping in the back and getting drunk and passing out so I can’t get in my back door in the morning.” (more…)

  • Making its case: How Mattison’s City Grille convinced the Sarasota City Commission to change its tune on downtown outdoor live music

    Published February 17, 2010 Since the Downtown Partnership asked Paul Mattison to open his outdoor dining venue on the corner of Lemon Avenue and Main Street seven years ago, Mattison’s City Grille let live bands play until 11 p.m. during the week and midnight on weekends. The restaurant had received a half-dozen or so sporadic noise complaints over the years, but the city never took action. Which it could have, since city code states that the cutoff time for live music at a non-enclosed structure is 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends. When an anonymous noise complaint targeted Mattison’s in early November 2009, though, the Sarasota Police Department intervened, delivering a blow to the business’ bottom line. “We’ve been there for seven years and we’ve always done those hours and we never had an issue,” says Mattison. “Then out of the blue we got this one complaint and they were on us like white on rice.” The move had such a negative effect on business that Mattison felt the need to go before the City Commission to make his case for a legal extension of the cutoff time. “The other thing that I tried to get them to do, but they didn’t, is that you can’t complain anonymously,” he says. “It could be a former competitor. It could be anybody. … That’s the most frustrating part. You want to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Let’s talk about it.’” (more…)