Back in 2002 I built a rehearsal and recording studio, all by myself. Literally. When I got there I only had brick walls, a ceiling, and a floor. Not even electricity. I named it World Sound Records.
For a month and a half (I believe that is how long it took) I went there every single day, by myself, and built extra wooden walls, added doors, installed all the electrical wiring (after a real electrician installed the main distribution board), painted, decorated, and more. The whole thing.
Today I was looking at the pictures of the process, and it is interesting to see all the feelings and memories that come from it. The friendships that were created and those that were lost or deteriorated, a strong love relationship that no longer exists (we don’t even speak to each other anymore), all the dreams and plans I had for that space, the “wrong” decisions that were made, but most importantly how it makes me feel looking at it 23 years later, knowing what I know today.
Key points:
- As much as I was still a kid at 22 years old, I was able to have an idea and execute it. I became an entrepreneur. Not only was I able to build the studio the way I had in mind, but I also found ways to get customers in a time where the internet was nothing like it is today. There was no social media, and just for context, my internet connection was so slow that it would take 30 minutes to download an mp3 song! All the promotion was made by posting flyers in strategic places and hoping for someone to see them, and then the good old word-of-mouth. I created new opportunities for other people to work on their music and I employed others as well: the electrician, the two guys who installed all the pipes, sink, and toilet for the restroom, and 3 other people who built extra brick walls six months later.
- Looking at the pictures I also noticed that even though I was already super organized when it comes to the business side of it, my room was always a mess because I had so much stuff. It’s hard to believe how much I’ve changed from that person to who I am today. Now, everything is always super organized, clean, and I only have what I truly need. What a difference!
Look at this mess! I can’t even comprehend…
- One thing I learned from a man who was supervising the process (the loan was from a company that would always connect a new entrepreneur with a supervisor, for 6 months), was that sometimes saving money by doing it yourself is not really a good strategy. The concept is simple and does not always apply, but it is worth considering: the time it took me to build it myself was six weeks, and I saved a certain amount of money. If I had paid someone experienced to build it in just two weeks, I could have opened one month earlier and profited from it. In the end, did I really save money? I will never know, but it made me look at the idea of saving money from a different perspective.
- Over the years, I learned about the concept of MVP (minimum viable product) and how people often get caught up in details at the start of a business instead of focusing on what truly matters. I mention this because I built the rehearsal space and my room at the same time, wanting everything to look nice. If I were to build that again, I would do it differently, focusing on what was truly important to open quickly to the public and start operating the business:
- Install the distribution board and build the restroom. Both are essential.
- Focus 100% on the rehearsal room, but without focusing on what doesn’t bring any true value. I would make sure it looked nice, but instead of spending time adding these styrofoam tiles to the ceiling or a beam I spent a long time covering with wood, for example, I would initially just paint them white to make them look decent.
This shift in focus would have saved me so much time, energy, and maybe even money. I could have opened the studio, then worked on all those secondary details during the day when no bands were there. Weekdays I was only open after 7 p.m. anyway, so I would have had mornings and afternoons to finish the rehearsal room first until it was 100% complete, and after that, build my room.
Looking back and remembering how unorganized my plan was and how it made me feel so tired, I can confidently say that with the knowledge I have today and the planning skills I have developed, I would be able to build everything in just a week (including my room) in a more methodical, productive, faster, and easier way. It was really not that complex. I was just inexperienced. Back then I got tired of doing the wrong things and approached them the wrong way.
Even with all the ups and downs, it was a very interesting moment in my life that lasted for almost three years, full of lessons and challenges. I learned so much, and having all these pictures to look back on and evaluate what really happened is fascinating. I feel extremely proud of what I built, the people I met and helped, and the person I became.
