I have put in my prayer for the day, and also took in David and Job in the Bible again. I love reading good stuff in the morning---puts my head in the right place.
My first task is to stop by Frys Electronics to check out a microphone they have. I think it could be useful to me.
So, I just got back to the apartment. I ended up getting an affordable microphone. I don't have time now to really test it ( though I did a quick test in the store), but I will when I get back.
So, I am ready, and oh, I also set up my first interview with Mr. Michael Jackson of Triple J's Tire shop for Tuesday the 18th at 10 am.
For the weather, honestly it's a little too cold today (39 degrees Fahrenheit), but I have to brave it, you know. Got to keep going.
Off to Day 3 (See you in the evening.)
Back at the apartment, out of the cold. What do I think of today? It went well.
First, after getting off the bus, I stopped by "Q" Cleaners, a dry cleaning shop on the corner of Burnet and Rutland Drive. The attendant there was nice and courteous.
"The owner is not here," Ms. Jeanam---I later found the attendant's name to be---told me, after I had explained my project, and asked to speak to the owner. Okay, no problem, I thought to myself, and took a business card for possible later use---you never know. I may be in touch later with Jacob, the owner.
Again, just as in the previous days went past a few franchise companies, owned by big corporations---Rent a car enterprise, Simple floors, and the like. I am looking for the little guys, I kept in mind.
I came upon "Abraham's Shoe Repair" on the same business complex. I actually nearly walked past it, but turned a few steps after to take a closer look. It looked like an Asian business/restaurant to me initially, but I saw something like a stack of shoes, which stopped me. I walked in to meet David Abraham.
David is the owner of the shop, and was not in a position to do an interview at the present time. This was after I told my reason for stopping by. He is backed up for work now, and would appreciate I check back sometime after the new year. My feeling is that holiday season orders are piling up at this time of the year, and it's wise to pay full attention to that.
Abraham's Shoe Repair has been serving Austin for over 65 years, and definitely has established a solid reputation with many Austinites. This probably explains the loads of business he has on his hands.
But the story goes back farther than 65 years ago. As David made me know, upon my asking, his family has been in the business for over 100 years, and he happens to be the current son of the family running the business. His great-grandfather, I think he said, first start the business, which has been passed down to him over the generations.
And with that longevity has come worthy attention, too. A UT student recently profiled the business in a graduate class assignment. And this is after the business has been written about in many publications in the past. They are not new to the spotlight. All in all, a good, short visit with them.
I walked past "Speedy Cash" and on to my next slate of businesses, Burnet Road Business park. This business park is a little different in layout compared to the previous ones. The businesses were housed in something like warehouse structures lined up all the way to the back from the street. Decent structures, though, these are, and seemed to work well as offices.
First stop: "Cen-tex Upholstery." The name caught my eye and I thought of the possibility of an affiliate connection with "Centex Sporting Goods," a shop I stopped at yesterday. I later learned that was not the case.
But I introduced myself to a lone gentleman working on within the space allotted to the shop."Well, the owner is not here," he told me after hearing my purpose, "and I don't think he'd be interested in doing something like that, and he is also rarely here." My response? Thanks, a card, and on my way.
"XCHG" drew attention, after I saw the business logo of my next stop, "Gear Shift Exchange." Seeing the letters, I immediately knew it meant "exchange." I had never seen that abbreviation anywhere else---good use of letters.
I saw a young man, seemingly in his twenties parking bikes on the back of a truck. I asked if he worked with Gear Shift, and who the owner was. He pointed me to the entrance, asking me to look for Kevin inside. "He is the owner," He said.
Standing in front of their counter inside for about a minute, with "hellos" from me to draw attention, Trevor walked up with a friendly "Hey, what's up?"and called out Kevin for me. Trevor is their media/tech guy.
I took a full turn, and walked to a sort of back section of the shop to find Kevin working on a structure I didn't know exactly what. They will be using to display bikes for their grand re-opening soon, I learned. They are prepping for that now. Funnily, Kevin mistook me for someone who had stopped by last week with the city office." This is my first time here," I corrected.
Kevin listened to my reason, and suggested I get a card from Trevor to follow up sometime on Monday to possibly set something up. That I understood, for he was hard at work, and I even thought it very kind of him to hear me out. He seemed a chill guy, and was open. I thanked him, got the card, and on to the next.
I walked into a tailor's shop, afterwards. Pablo met me with a very welcoming demeanor. He listened to me, and made it clear it may be difficult to speak to the owners, for they are rarely at the shop. However, he will make sure to pass on my card to them, Luis and Patti.
Pablo explained the class of the tailor's shop I was looking to interview. They, the owners, had previously worked for Neiman Marcus, and after a while opened up G&N, Bespoke Tailoring and Alterations. They cater to clients in various parts of the nation, and make some of the most expensive suits on the market. But the reason behind the price was confirmed at my next shop: "Oh Boy! Print Shop."
At this point, I was getting bit a bit by the cold, though I had spent some time inside talking with all the folks I met. I was wondering how to wrap up the day, when I saw the "Oh Boy!" sign. It caught my eye.
"Oh Boy!"? I thought. What exactly is this, and why is it so called. The idea of a paper printing shop came to mind, until I stepped inside. I met a man seemingly gentle and soft-spoken. Rob, I later learned, is the owner of the shop, and upon my questioning, talked briefly about the business, what they do, and the price range of their t-shirts, based on the quality of the plain shirts. I was intrigued. This was after he had told me of their ability to even print hoodies.
This turned to be a long visit, as we went over my reason for stopping by, his interest in sharing his story with me, and a few other possibles based on what came of our interactions. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he said on a blogging possibility he introduced me to.
Rob and I talked a bit about when a good time could be had, and what my preference will be for an interview---whether it'd be at his office or a coffee shop somewhere. For audio quality reasons and noise reduction, I will prefer to have it done at his office, which seemed quiet enough.
There, I met with his social media lady and a few other friendly folks, who seemed interested in my project and wanted to know more about it.
Well, this was before Rob had a customer to attend to. The order was already sitting on Rob's table when the client showed up. Business time it was, and I was all fine with waiting so Rob can take care of his client---without customers I wouldn't be there at the office---they make the business.
With business taken care of, we sort delved into our various sport preferences, after I had met Jim, Rob's brother. Jim leaned toward soccer while Rob was more of a basketball guy, and I straddled the fence between them, since I loved and played both sports. We went over matters like our favorite NBA players, and a few back stories of how we both got into the game, and a couple good places in Austin to catch a good game.
Back to the project: It's Monday, the 17th, at 11am, when I get to meet Rob for a sit-down interview on his journey as an entrepreneur. We both agreed that will work, with Rob showing a good desire to work with my preference on how early or late I would want to have it done. All in all, a good visit Oh Boy! Print Shop.
Rob and I went over a few of the other owners at the park that I could talk to, and I really did appreciate it all. It saves me time and eases my meeting the other owners if I knew a bit about them beforehand.
With that side of the business park done, I wanted to wrap up the day, since night fall seemed to be on it's way, and I want my stops completed before 5pm, when most shops close.
I took a few notes at the same Jack-In-The-Box I finished up day 2 with yesterday. Done with that, I caught the 240 bus and headed home. I ended up playing with a little boy on the bus to ease my day off, and get my head in a different place a bit.
What to do now? In the morning, I will be following up with Coach Mikal of Aces Jiu Jitsu, and preparing the interview structure for both Triple J's and Oh Boy!.
On to day 4.
