How To Announce A Project Change To Followers

Again, let's take a quick break from my current project to share an excerpt from my upcoming book, "Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity."

Life happens, and we all have to make changes as we go, but when you are doing a public project and have followers, you will have to share the changes you are making with your audience. This is how I went about mine during my project. Look forward to the launch of the book soon. 

Enjoy.

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Change: 30 to 21

With Day 4 done, week 1 is in the bag. But change is needed.


I have to alter the project a bit. I will be altering the project from 30 days to 21. So officially, it's now a 21 day project.


My original intention was for a hard end on December 17. To get in 30 days of work---including meeting owners, setting appointments, and delivering values---interviews, copywriting, and others--- by that date, I will have to work 6 days a week within 5 weeks to meet my deadline.


But thinking it over carefully after week 1, I will be better off with a 21 day project that still meets the deadline and delivers better value to owners, which is and should the main reason for the project.


Let's take a look at the calendar for the next two months.


It just shows all the days I have marked for meeting owners and delivering values. I have purposely left some days off for personal time, days off to rest, and to make time for prepping for appointments and gathering requirements.

 The project will be over by the 12th of December, as marked on the calendar, and the 13th, 14th, are days to warm down and to unwind.


The 15th and 16th will be days to call up and thank owners for their time and reception, and you all for coming along. But also will be time for turning in my report and to pen down my reflections on it all.


So here, below, is a short list of my reasons.


1. Saturdays are mostly often rest days for owners, and I'd like to take a few of mine, too, to pace myself and avoid burnout.


3. Prepping materials and values to deliver at the appointments, and to prepare them very well.


4. Factor in Thanksgiving weekend.


5. Time for other gigs.

6. Time to write my weekly reviews.


Thanks for listening, and see you all on Monday, the 17th, for Day 5, when I meet with "Oh Boy! Print Shop" and "Aces Jiu Jitsu Club." for my first interviews.

Have a good weekend, you all.

Peace.

You can do the same with yours. Just don't make too many changes, though. If you are in school, you can explain why your school schedule may clash with project days, and why you will be doing the project on non-school days. Your reasons should be reasonable, they should make sense, if you will.

This eases people in to the change, and keeps them from thinking you are flimsy, and can't be taken seriously. Believe me, if you give good and genuine reasons, people will understand. We are all humans, things happen, and almost nothing goes according to plan. Even my recent project in New York City which didn't go as planned required a change, and I announced the change on my blog and gave reasons why.

Learn this skill now, and it will pay off going forward for all other changes to projects/ plans you make in the future which involves other people.

The Mr. Cassette Interview

My interview with Jeff Bender of Mr. Cassette, an audio and video services company in Austin, Texas. Mr. Jeff Bender, who owns the company took some time to share his story with me, starting from how the business began from 1958 to now. 

He shares the story of ownership change that ended up leaving the business in his hands. Jeff's a man passionate about records, music editing, sounds,  and file conversions. 

Here's a short description of what he does, from his website:

"Whether it's recording and pressing records in the 60's, or building a custom BluRay today, Mr. Cassette has been providing the highest quality audio and video services for over 53 years.

We specialize in all old and new media conversions, duplication of many formats including CD's and DVD's, and film transfer using some of the best machines available..."

In the interview details we delve into different topics:

1. How he joined the company and later bought it

2. The resurgence of old cassettes

3. His passion for conversion and sound editing

4. His relationship with customers

5. What he enjoys the most about the business

6. New developments in sound quality and others.

Take a listen.

Building Community

Again, let's take a quick break from my current project to share an excerpt from my upcoming book, "Get To Know Your Backyard Opportunity."

This chapter is about the use of projects like the one I do in helping to build community. Look forward to the launch of the book soon. 

Enjoy.

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Building Community

I have listed a number of benefits to do something like this [my interview projects], but the chief of them all is building relationships and connecting people. When I say this, it's not only for the relationships you build for yourself but the relationships you could build among others. And if you build relationships among people you are actually building community, your community.

And in this case, When I say among others, I mean the relationships among the business owners you interview for your project. Since they all reside in your local community, connecting them with each other goes a long way towards building your own local community. Let me explain how.

When I started my project, I had no idea of the kind of local business owners that were in my local community, and never thought I'd get to know some of them. Not only did I learn from them and add value to their businesses and my blog, but at the end of my project I sought to add value to my community as well.

At the end of my project, I put together a list of all the owners I had interviewed and shared their information with each one of them. In a sense, I introduced each of them to each other. That way they will all, in a sense, get to know each other.

Why? This not only builds the community of Austin, Texas, through building relationships withing a very important component of the city, the merchants of the city, but each owner though avowedly in business to sell a product or render a service could be a customer to another business owner, in a different setting. So they are sellers in one setting, and are buyers in another.

For example, one of the owners I talked to, Rob Almaguer of Oh Boy! Print Shop, could be in need of a hosting space for a t-shirt demonstration/promotional event, and that space could easily be supplied by Mr. Matt Lacy of Cafe Java, who has a nice restaurant space that could host a 2 hour t-shirt event in Austin. If this need arises for Rob's business, and Rob reaches out to any of them for a quote on using their space it will not be a first meeting between them. Having been connected by me through my project, the conversation and bargaining could be friendlier, easier, and possibly discounts could be for the sake of strengthening a relationship instead of making a profit. Rob, a business owner, is now a client of a restaurant owner.

Yet who knows? Mr. Matt Lacey could need t-shirts printed for an in-store event he may be hosting next time, or simply to give his employees a new look, and you know what could happen, or who he could call.

In another setting, Mr. Rehan of Silver Grill Cafe could be looking for a gym that could help someone his knows get fit and that's when Carey Kepler of Crossfit Central would come into play. But without knowing each other beforehand or that Crossfit even exists, Mr. Rehan is highly unlikely to think of Crossfit Central, though they all do business in the same local community.

Actually, in a real example, Mr. Rehan and I had a conversation lately of how he would like to somehow improve the décor of his restaurant. Speaking of interior decoration, he would definitely need the help of an interior designer. I told him of Tina Son, whom I knew was an interior designer from my interview with her husband, Steve Riad of Tomo Sushi. Both owners had businesses in the same strip mall, and didn't know this.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying they must by all means help each other or do business with each other, but having these relationships and knowing these possibilities exist go a long way in solving problems and building community. So knowing they are both busy and most likely would likely to n, I decided to somehow connect them.

In that same way, if you happen to do your own local interviewing project, you could be their connector, and help build your community this way by starting relationships.

For how I actually went about this, including emails, PDFs, and and how to seek permission, please look forward to the book's launch. It will be available on this blog, and from time to time before it's launch, I will share bits and pieces of it. Thanks for coming along.

An Interview: Nothing Bundt Cakes

Having completed, and posted my interview with Leif Johnson of The Nothing BundtCakes Franchise bakery in the Arboretum area in Austin, Texas, I want to highlight the interview itself and a few lessons from the conversation.

Nothing Bundt Cakes was actually started by Dena Tripp and Debbie Schwetz. Originally a sided project to entertain friends and family, it soon took off and is now a nationwide franchise opportunity for most.

This is the opportunity Leif and Caitlin saw in Las Vegas, and took it up after working in the corporate world for a while. Leif's story of how he came in contact with the opportunity is itself funny: A referral gift to one of the franchises.

And Leif goes into the details of that story, and a number of things like starting a franchise in it's early stages, the difficulties of running a franchise, hiring, what makes them special, and a few others.

I will not take it all away---Enjoy.

A Day In The Field

So I went out to prospect for the current project on Monday, February 29th.  Here's a list the shops I stopped at and the results of my interactions with each of them.

1. Mama Fu's

I made my first stop at Mama Fu's on Jollyville road. Mama Fu's has been in business for 9 years, and the assistant I spoke to wanted me to check their website for the management's email address, after learning of my purpose---an opportunity to meet the owner and ask his participation in my interview project.  

From her response, I got the sense it might not fall into my criteria of small businesses---independent and locally owned. I simply nodded, thanked the young lady, and left.


2. Brick Oven

At Brick Oven,  I spoke to Donnie, the owner, who was genial and open to hearing me out. After learning of my project, he asked me to follow up in two weeks since he recently signed a deal to have someone else take care of his restaurant's public relations. The deal, as he made clear, covers all affairs relating to public communication---blogging, social media, and email systems, and others. 

"Get back to me in two weeks, and see where I am with this new deal," he told me. I completely understood, and appreciated his honesty and openness. On to Great Harvest.


3. Great Harvest Bread Co.

Great Harvest is one of my favorite places to visit in Austin---you always get a free slice of their favorite bakes, and the folks who work there are friendly. Great harvest is a is chain of bakery shops who specialize in baking whole grain, muffin, cinnamon rolls, and smoothies. Their bread and muffin are made with Montana wheat. 

A review by one customer (credit Google): 

 

This time I spoke to Marty, a gentleman, who shared a few things he knew of the business and this particular store---it's the first to open up for business below the Mason-Dixon line, and in Austin, there are two shops---one north and the other south. Marty also works their Farmers market efforts besides working the north Austin store. 

To get an interview, Marty gave me the phone number for their south Austin, where  a manager could be reached to possibly set something up. But I did get a sample of sour bread and butter before leaving. Thanks, Great Harvest. 


4. Trulucks

Trulucks seemed like a high class restaurant tucked away in the corner of Research Boulevard and Great Hills. I have noticed it a few times, but have never walked in. A giant crab was embossed across it's front doors, giving a hint of a seafood bent to their offering. It always looked inviting with lights wrapped around some stout trees that seemed to surround it, giving it a woody and green tucking. 

I had to wait outside a bit upon finding the door locked. I stood and wondered why a restaurant would have its doors locked in the afternoon. But within seconds of my thought, a car drove up, parking in one of the slots right in front of the restaurant. A man with a package in hand walked up to the door, smiled at me, knocked a few times to draw the attention of folks inside, and waved to signal his seemingly familiar presence. 

"I deliver to them, and it's always like this," he told me, assuring me it's the fare with this restaurant. This restaurant may be exclusive to a select kind of clientele, thinking of it now, and true enough the website confirmed it when I checked online later. Well, we both walked in. He handed over the package, signed a receipt, and left. 

I introduced myself to the young lady behind the welcome bar and shared the purpose of my stop. 

"You would have to speak to the general manager, who doesn't live in Austin." I immediately knew I was in "corporately owned" territory. I took a card, however, thanked her and left, but not before going through my purpose again with a tall gentleman who may have been watching my interactions with the young lady, and wanted to find out exactly I was there.  


5. Promise Pizza

Promise pizza had a banner slapped to the right of it's front doors announcing it's new ownership. A friendly young lady welcomed me and asked how she could help, after walking in. I asked to speak to the owner, and followed that with who I am---a writer, a blogger, doing a project profiling small business owners in Austin, Texas. 

She took a few minutes to walk to the back of the shop to inform the owner. As I could see and tell, the owner seemed tied up with business in the back, but waved me over after learning of my purpose. 

We went over what I do, and how I could be useful to him.  Unsure of who I was and exactly how my project or blog could help him, he took my blog's URL and promised to follow up with me if he found a match, in value trade, between us. Before we parted ways, though, he made me aware he has only recently took over the ownership of the shop, and has been running it for 4 months. 

I'll have to wait a few days and see if he follows up. Yet this happens often with my projects, where you do not hear back, and have to move on to find the next willing owner, which was my next stop.


6. Nothing Bundt Cakes

I walked in to find a lady in a conversation with a customer over an order, it seemed. I waited patiently for the conversation to be over before introducing myself and my project. Nothing Bundt Cakes is a franchise owned by a friendly husband and wife team, Leif and Kathleen, I learned later.

After hearing of my project, Kathleen asked me to speak to her husband, whom she called over from the back of the shop. Leif arrived to hear me restate my purpose, and agreed to do a quick interview on Wednesday, March 4th, for a 20-30 minute interview. 

We set it up tentatively at 12pm, and agreed on a meeting place nearby. Glad, I thanked Kathleen and Leif and left.

8. Jersey Mike's Subs--Jersey Mike's corporately owned, I learned upon asking, shortening my stop there. 

A short day being today,  I quickly wrapped up things for the day, and headed to Best Buy to redeem a $50.00 Best Buy gift card I had from last year but had not gotten around to using it. I wanted to spend it on something useful before it expires. 

I made a few rounds inside the Best Buy shop in the neighborhood, and came away with a 7 inch quad core tablet, and called it a day.

I will be posting more updates on the project as I go. 

How To Confirm An Interview Appointment (Via Email)

Let's take a quick detour from my current project and talk about a skill: Firming up an appointment:

This post is an excerpt from my upcoming guide/book on how to start a small business project in your local community. I recently completed a similar project that involved me interviewing small business owners in my local town, Austin, Texas. Over 21 days, I interviewed 10 small business owners, profiling them: their stories, starting challenges, their passions, and their counsel for other would be owners.

This post details how I confirmed one of my interview appointments with one of the owners. Small business owners have a lot on their plate, so understanding how to make things easy on them goes a long way in making it easy to work with them, more so if they don't have a prior relationship with you.


It could help you in your own personal projects. You can use the idea and template in your own way to similar effect. The principles I stress here are these: respect, thoughtfulness, clarity, and ease of response.

First, I start with the assumption that you have an agreement in word ( verbal) to do an interview ( or meeting, in your case), and would like to firm it up.

With the appointment set, it's not over. This is life, and things can come up at anytime, or memory could fail people, by forgetting about the appointment. So I call or email the day before to confirm. At other times, I again call the day before as a final confirmation. I do this as a back up.

Below is an example of an email I sent out during the project to confirm an interview. Names and personal information deleted for privacy.

Hello [Sir],

This is Kingston. As part of my 21-day project of profiling small business owners in Austin, we set tomorrow, Tuesday, the 9th, at 11am for a 30 minute interview. [Thanks for taking the time.]

We will make the audio of high quality by recording in a quiet area, unless you would prefer your restaurant's sounds in the background. Some interviews are livelier that way, with the background sounds, like the one I did with Steve Riad of Tomodachi Sushi in his restaurant. Please let me know what works for you.

You can also take a look at my blog here: Myblog.

Also, please let me know if we can confirm before I head out tomorrow. Again, I have added the interview format below to help you gather your thoughts and help make the session useful to all.

Thanks again, and see you in the morning.

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

The Structure

30---35 minutes overall:

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

3-4 minutes:

1. Please share a little about your restaurant---what you guys do, 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 the restaurant business? 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, and collaborations that you use in your business.

3-4 minutes:

5. What are your current goals, why, and how will they be useful to folks interested in Thai Cuisine, both current and potential?

3-4 minutes

6. Do you have any new deals/announcements, opinions to correct, and dishes to release?

3-4 minutes:

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

Wrap up:

 

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

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

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So you notice how it talks about my project in the beginning sentence, and in the next sentence it offers an example of an interview I did previously. This is important as it gives the owner a chance to see an example of what this is all about.

The owner does not know much about you, so it's important to give him as much information to assure him he has nothing to worry about.

This is my approach, yet there are many others. What are yours? Share in the comments below, anonymous is fine too---the value is in the lesson.