So Day 10 is in the
bag. Done. Thank God.
I started the day
around 2:30 pm, and worked the other side of the street---Burnet road---I
was on yesterday.
My first stop was at
my barber's, Roffler School Of Hair Design. Like I said yesterday, I
was not aware that they are not open on Mondays ( I almost always got
my haircut on Saturdays). The owner, Ron Bus, after hearing me out,
suggested I follow up with him next week Wednesday, since he
will close up shop throughout the thanksgiving holiday, and will
only open on the Tuesday, the week after.
Roffler is a little
different from most Barber Shops. It's a a school, and has been in
business for 35 years. It takes in apprentices and gives them the
opportunity to learn the trade through cutting hair at low
rates, as $5.00. This set, I realise, may not work for some, as they may see the
set up as unprofessional. But Roffler does business with the
understanding that you may not get the best haircut from their
apprentices, but you also pay a very low fare.
I have used them
for a while now, and most of the apprentices already have some good
experience working elsewhere as barbers or are naturally talented,
needing only experience to fine tune their craft, and the
certification that Roffler gives them after the training. This puts most of the apprenitices in position to give clients at least a decent cut, and their work is monitored, and more experienced barbers sometimes step in to give instructions to apprentices, or take over a cut for a while.
They also
have professional barbers there who give haircuts to folks who prefer
to pay a higher rate for a professional cut.
Most of my cuts have
been decent, and considering the fact that my hair starts growing
back the day after, and I then need to start trimming it myself, it's
not a bad deal. I get to help someone learn his trade, and save
some money in the process.
For the project, though,
I will be following up with Ron on Wednesday to see if I can
interview him for the project.
My next stop was at Images Of Austin a custom framing gallery business, where I met Robin Doerr. Robin is the owner of the
business, having taken over in 2007 from her mom, Mary, who owned it with her
partner for a long while before then. The business started in a garage, making it my second garage-founded business of the project, so far. Robin
took time to hear me out, and filled out my survey. We talked briefly
about her story as an entrepreneur, and discussed the possibility of
interviewing her, or writing a book on her journey.
"Let me talk to
my marketing director first, and see what we can do," Robin told
me, for she had recently hired someone to do her marketing. "That's
fine. I will leave my information with you, and follow up with you
tomorrow," I responded. I will be calling Robin tomorrow to get
an update. But overall, Robin seemed nice to talk to, and though
backed up with work, and preparing for a new opening on Dec. 2, was
willing to talk to me. I appreciate that.
I dug a little into
the story behind her last name, as we both firmed up our memory of our
names before I left. I tried to mention her name as spelt,
"Dooer,"with emphasis on the "er," as "doer,"
as in doing an act. But her pronunciation sounded more like "door,"
the entrance.
So in finding out, her family name has
German roots, and was changed sligthly in spelling when her forebears
first moved to the United States, and is pronounced as she pronounces
it. All this I find interesting, and gives me the opportunity to
learn things I never would have.
Martinez and Hood:
Watches to Jewelry was the next business I talked to. John and Paul
have been in business 3 months, and both left as employees of a
previous company to start their own after losing faith in the direction their previous company was headed in. Hearing of my project, John
wanted me to follow up with them later to see what could be set up,
since they currently have no employees and have to do everything
themselves. I granted it.
As is normal with the territory, I ran into businesses that were flat out not interested in what I was out
doing. Shops like “Violin, etc” and "Turqouise Trading Post"
thanked me and politely declined to be interviewed, at least. That's all good, though, for in seeking good, you will meet uninterested folks, who for sincere reasons will turn you down. But looking at things from their view point helps you understand that it's not necessarily about you. The timing could be wrong, they may not be in a place emotionally to take on anymore, and other genuine reasons. I just roll with it all, and keep rolling.
Also, like every report
that I write, today also had it's fair share of absent owners, which
led to my taking business cards and phone numbers to possibly follow
up. Tom's Dive & Swim, which has been in business since 1982 and
was owned by Warren Roseberry, and Kwik Ice, owned by James John
were among these.
I also met with Frank Bomar Home
Lumber Company, who is looking to get out of business. Frank has been in business a long time, and for the hefty
property taxes he has to deal with in running his business is considering closing up shop. I do not
quite understand how all that works, but it's the second time I have
heard an owner complain about that this week, and it raises questions
in my head. To the point of taking someone out of business, property
taxes may be something to take a closer look at.
I wrapped up my day
at Crossfit Central, after waiting to speak to the owner for a while.
I waited for a while, and chose to pass the time reading some of the
sporting magazines they have there. But after a while, Carey Keppler,
walked up to me. I shared my project, and took out my survey sheet
for her to fill out. She was interested.
She asked to check out my
blog, and had me write out my contact information for her to take a
look at later. From our exchange, we may do a sit-down interview sometime next week, but I have to follow up with her first.
Crossfit Central has been in business since 2005, as one of the first, if not the first, Crossfit businesses in Austin, and with them, I wrapped up my day.
On to day 11.
