How public facilities are an entry door to entrepreneurial projects

In my life, I lived in different types of cities. For studies first, but also traveling. 

Here is the list:

• Condrieu (My native small french village)
• Lyon (the biggest town next to my small village)
• Vancouver (as I wanted to improve my English)
• Melbourne (as I wanted to visit Australia)
• Växjö ( the city where I did my Master’s in entrepreneurship)
• Linköping (where I am currently living)

As one says, the important is not the destination, but rather the trip. And during this trip, here is how I discovered that public facilities could be an entry door to an entrepreneurial journey.

What are public facilities?

What I call public facilities are those places where one can practice activities or make stuff for free or for an access fee. For fun, but also in a workable way. For instance, media studios, recording studios, or maker spaces.

From town to town, I understood the importance of those places. I understood how they could help anyone achieve their goals and maybe dreams. From young people to older ones, it helps to integrate, get to know new people, and accomplish (entrepreneurial at its broadest definition)l goals.

My story

Now that those elements are described, let me tell you my story and how it can relate to you too.

I come from a small village in France. Nothing to complain about. Except maybe that we didn’t have those facilities as easily as they could be present in bigger cities. So when I was younger, I wasn’t used to visiting them. If I wanted to record music, I needed to buy all the equipment and learn everything almost by myself. Most of the activities I did were the ones my older brother bought back at home. Like the software, mics, cameras, and such. If I wanted to build something, I needed to ask my stepfather how to do it. Yet, there wasn’t youtube to help me learn at this time, so I still needed to buy equipment before operating it.

Hence, when I moved to Lyon, which is the second bigger city in France, I didn’t have the habits to look for public places or public facilities to do and make things. I might have been to the library once but that’s it. I remember that it was at that time I started to mix. I, of course, bought turntables and started in my apartment, but that was it. I didn’t know how to go further. I had some friends telling me: “We are also recording together but we don’t accept new people, sorry”. As if nothing was welcoming a motivated young guy to do and make stuff.

It was when I moved to Vancouver that this whole process started. I was hanging out with a friend when once, we figured out it was possible to rent a recording studio. “Wait, what? Are you telling me I don’t need to pay for that?”

The answer was no. I could go there, create a card, book a studio and make my music. A dream that came true almost 10 years after I started recording rap music. Yet the studio wasn’t professional, but I was at peace and could record something I was proud. Something I wasn’t ashamed of. Compared to when I was recording in my bedroom with my mom downstairs.

Later when I moved to Melbourne, it was even more impressive. The library there had real recording studios spread in the whole town. Facilities were designed for engineers and of course, they were free and accessible. Even for someone who wasn’t Australian. The most impressing was that anyone could record a professional album there. With a bit of organization only. For me that was insane. And of course, the recording studio wasn’t the only thing one could rent.

Again later on, when I was studying in Växjö, there were some public facilities where one could go to mix, record, and even film. There was a whole stage, a special room for DJing, and 3 or 4 recording studios. The people there were very friendly. More than hanging out, it was also a place to meet and talk with people. A place where, if you had an idea, you could work on it, execute it and get helped to realize it.

When my studies were done and I moved to Linköping, this is where I managed to mix on real CDJs for the first time in my life, again in a public facility. This was my dream since I was young. I know, people could have told me “and why didn’t you just work to pay those turntables?”. Believe me, in my family, no one is spending between 2 000 and 5 000$ on turntables without earning a more than decent salary before. So having access was more of the only solution I could have. And this is what this place did, they gave me access.

At the same time, Linköping is also where I register to the Makerspace and started to prototype Lesk. There, I had access to 3D printers, a big space to prototype, and mostly, the chance to encounter new people. The time when I was alone in my student apartment, waiting than my girlfriend would go to the university to do my thing was over. I had a space where I could do my own thing, get access to material I would have never bought, and mostly, had great discussions with people that were either working on something else that could inspire me or give me ways of improvement.

Why those places are great for an entrepreneurial process?

Now, let’s see why those places are great for the entrepreneurial process.

Entrepreneurship is all about finding opportunities. To do so, one needs to live, explore, have experiences and reflect on what is happening in the world. It is mostly possible by experience and access to equipment and knowledge. Public facilities are here to help. By providing equipment and possibilities to explore other subjects, people get the chance to know more and to first what they like. They get to try new things and see if they can produce value out of them. No matter the age you are. 

Most of the time, it’s the school’s role to do so. But not everyone has the chance to find a good school where all the facilities will be provided. Most of us who don’t follow the right curriculum can miss opportunities easily.

Parents and family can also provide such an environment but again, not everyone has the chance to have wealthy parents having enough equipment or enough time or knowledge to transfer. Also, it is possible to have parents lacking entrepreneurial knowledge, which can lead to a hard time understanding such simple concepts such as doing something out of passion and trying to be sustainable with that.

In another approach in the entrepreneurial process, it is also a frequent tendency to limit ourselves because we are not possessing something. I can’t do this because of this. I can’t do that because of that. When having an idea in mind, this is the invert that should be applied. People should question “how can I do this?” instead.

Public facilities are here to answer the question. At least, they provide part of the answer by helping people to discover new subjects, to get them access to things. When a camera costs at least 500$, it’s better to try it before buying it. When a recording studio charges 200$, getting one for free is a precious gift.

When I was younger, I didn’t even dare to look for this kind of facility. Now, they help me pursue my dreams and my deepest desires. This is why they are worth visiting or being part of.