-- Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire, "Jerry Maguire", 1996
The trappings of micronationalism are, sadly, not free. Scepters and crowns and capes and wax seals and medals all cost money. Even decent parchment for printing proclamations is not the cheapest of royal office supplies. If you're already independently wealthy, micronationalism can be a fine hobby! For the rest of us, though, it can be another expense in already-stretched household budgets - and unfortunately, it's not tax-deductible!
Queen Anastasia of Ruritania has presented at MicroCon in the past about embracing a DIY ethos in micronationalism, but unfortunately her talks are not available online. A lot of it comes down to re-using materials found at thrift shops, such as modifying a bread basket into a crown by removing the bottom, or "blinging up" furniture with gold leaf and gems to make them more opulent.
There are problems with this approach, of course:
- You are reliant on what you can find at your local thrift stores, where the selection can be sporadic to say the least. While We have found several good items locally, We have yet to find anything approaching a throne in Our local thrift shops, for example.
- You need some artistic vision and ability to do some of the more creative modifications that Queen Anastasia has demonstrated in the past (and kudos to Her for Her obvious abilities in this area!).
- While thrift stores are cheaper than buying retail, they are still not free. For micronational leaders under the most severe financial constraints, this may not be the best approach.
To that end, many micronations look to earn "hard currency" from any of several groups, including
- their own citizens
- other micronations
- micronational fans or "camp followers" (a specialized audience to be sure)
- the macronational world
One of the most obvious ways of raising funds for your micronation is by selling goods. There are a number of micronations that earn hard currency via this route. Some choose to sell "tangible" goods, such as the famous salt mines of Molossia. We have heard of other micronations who participate in small-scale agriculture, growing and selling fresh and dried herbs from their gardens.
Some micronations also sell what I would call "micronational-specific" goods, but care must be taken that you are not embroiled in "macronational" scandals or accusations of forgery. We must particularly caution against the sale of "citizenships" or "passports", which have been used in the past to prey upon the hopes of refugees. However, putting that concern aside, a market does exist for micronational goods, including:
- stamps
- coins/currency
- "war bonds" or other negotiables
- honours such as knighthood or a noble title
Additionally, the Internet has opened up a number of possibilities for revenue streams. For example, Slabovia has a small "kit shop" on the Cafe Press website where Our people (and visitors) can buy Slabovian-branded merchandise, and the state gets a small cut of the purchase price. Websites and blogs can participate in Google Ad Manager to get a small cut from every visitor. The micronation can become an Amazon affiliate, and earn a small commission every time one of their citizens buys something off that site. If you've got talented citizens, perhaps you can start up a YouTube channel and air videos, although monetization on Youtube seems to set a high bar for entry. Regardless, there are a number of online options that can generate revenue streams for the determined micronationalist.
Finally, there is the realm that nation-states tend to claim for themselves - taxation. Very few micronations embrace this in any meaningful way, but Slabovia has a completely voluntary 50% tax on lottery winnings if its people win anything in the lotteries in their host countries. It's entirely voluntary, as We said, and doesn't bring a lot of money in. But, if one of our citizens should come into a large windfall and tithe half of it to the state, We certainly won't say no!
We have also looked with small envy at Patreon, where you can literally have people give you money every month in exchange for "behind the scenes" extras. We suspect, however, that only the very largest micronations could aspire to build a following via this route.
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