Day 15

Today was a particularly short day in the field---I only stopped by 2 shops.


But a full day in the apartment.  I made the most of the day with calls, emails, and follow ups to confirm all my appointments and set more of them. I had to take the time to do them. 

Firming up an appointment is critical to the whole project, for two reasons: 1. It shows you mean business, and value your time, 2. It saves you from making a trip to the shop only to find out something came up, and that means you lost time to do something else---like meeting more owners, writing posts, or something. With that understanding, I like to firm up my appointments the day before the appointment.

I am scheduled for the first one, an interview, with Carey Keppler of Crossfit Central at 10:15 am and I also have an unconfirmed one ( because I couldn't reach the owner when I called---he had left the restaurant for the day.) with Silver Grill Cafe. I not only called Cary to confirm the interview, but emailed her the a few days before. 


Emails are critical in all this. I write my emails to give owners a clear idea of what my project is about, my motivation behind it, how it helps them and my listeners. The whole tone of my emails is to convey my desire, my initiative, my intent to help, and that it's a win-win.

With that clarity,  I realize most owners respond kindly to it. A win-win works for all.

For example, here's an email I sent to one to an owner recently ( personal sections culled): 

Hi Mr. Brown,

Thanks for taking my call today. Like I said, here is my email about my project.

And for the possibility of setting up a 30 minute interview session, I will wait for you to pick a time that works for you next week, in the afternoon.

Again, my name is Kingston, I am a writer. Currently I am in the middle of a 21-Day project of doing short profiles of small business owners in Austin, and I will like to hear your journey as the business owner of Roffler School Of Hair Design.

The project is for my blog to demonstrate a fundamental principle of personal initiative to folks who read my blog. But I also want this to be a win-win for all: the folks on my blog will learn about business from business owners and about personal initiative---which all business owners have---and you, the business owners, also gain exposure in the process.

So far, I have interviewed 4 business owners, and uploaded them to the podcast page on my blog and on my Sound Cloud account. Please free to sample them. 

Thanks for your time, and for possible meeting times, I am open to a 30 minute block of time to record an interview with either you. This could be anytime in the afternoon, between 2pm to 4pm, on either Tuesday, Thurday, or Friday of next week.

Thanks again, and I will look forward to hearing from you on a suitable time.

Kingston Temanu
A Couple Things For Owners
The 21-Day Project



PS: Please also take a look at my interview format to help you gather your thoughts.

I want this to be relevant to you and in some way serve your business goals while also giving others the chance to learn from you.

This format is in no way fixed; this is more than an interview, it's a conversation.

The Structure

30---35 minutes overall:

30 seconds: Introduce myself, the project, the owner, how I came to know you the owner, the owner.

3-4 minutes:

1. Please share a little about Roffler School Of Hair Design---what you offer, where you are based, and what makes you unique in the marketplace.

3-4 minutes:
2. What is the essence of your story---How did you get started? What got you into hair design? What are your thoughts overall of your journey as a business owner.

3-4 minutes:

3. What did you do to grow from the beginning? What were some of the early challenges, and how did you handle them?

3-4 minutes:

4. Share your cookbook---What has been the principles, personal skills, collaborations, and things of chance that has made you and your business stand so far.

3-4 minutes:

5. What are your current goals, why, and how will they be useful to your customers, both current and potential?

3-4 minutes

6. Do you have any new arrangements or offers for clients for the new year, 2015?

3-4 minutes:

7. What has been the most challenging part of running your own business? What has been the most rewarding or enjoyable?

Wrap up:

What would you tell folks who are looking to start their own shops?

Is there anything else you would like to share that we didn't cover?

Close and thanks

 So you notice how I acknowledge the call  ( I had spoken to the owner by phone earlier, and told me to expect an email from me.) and go on to break down my project for them. But before I make ti clear how short it is, and will not take too much of their time----it's for 30 minutes. Few people on earth will think 30 minutes is too long, and I like to make my interviews short and sweet, which works for time-strapped owners, too.

 Also, owners, even if you have met them in person and told them of your project, may not quite be sure why they should make time for you, and that can get in the way. They so much going on, they could forget. A written text spells it all out. 

An email gives them the opportunity to calmly consider what you are presenting, how genuine it is, how it affects them, and whether they should go ahead and make or honor an appointment. That's when you should make it clear its win-win.

 And for the time to meet, I also try to make it convenient for them to pick a time. Notice how  I try to save the times when I already have an appointment (which I do not offer) and offer convenient blocks of time when I can honor the appointment.
I realize owners are busy, and the last thing they want is someone who adds to it. Make it an easy pick.

Also, I add my interview format. Why? Well, first  I want the interview to be packed full of useful information. I do not mean useful information for owners alone but for you my listeners, and you can hardly get that if you go meet them cold. They will get through it alright, and answer your questions as best as they could, but it will leave a lot out. 

This is useful to them, so make it easy for them to put their best foot forward, and since they are not going to make up their own questions and I will largely control the conversation, I give them the format and questions ahead of time. This helps them gather their thoughts and does their business a lot of good, and you the listeners also get a lot out of it.

Also, they see the time factor, too. Time is critical in business. Only 30 minutes is okay for most, and to show how it will be spent also helps them think well of it. They know what will happen, will be relaxed, knowing when it will end, and can easily move on to the next thing on their daily agenda.

And probably more important than anything else is a link to what I have already done. I add links to my interviews with other owners and what I have posted on my blog. Seeing is believing for most, and in this case, hearing. 


Okay, let's get away from the email, and talk about the little  I did in the field today. I first went to It's A Grind Coffee House on Kristen's promise---she's the attendant I spoke to when I stopped there---that Sonia, the owner will be there today. She was not there, when I got there. Rolling with the punches, right? It's all good.

Next  I make a stop at Kolache Factory, and again, no owner. But I left my information for a follow up. Who knows?

I returned home, and called a small Taco Shop I would like to interview about setting him up. The man who owns the shop will like a call back tomorrow. Fine. 

With that, I wrapped up the day. Thank God.

On to Day 16.