Posted by Charles
Sat, 24 Sep 2005 17:08:00 GMT
This is my first day of self employment, and it feels more like unemployment. I drank a lot at my farewell party last night, and don’t remember the alarm going off at 6:00 so I could make the 8:00 ride. I did wake a few minutes after 7:00, though, clearheaded enough to know I should continue to sleep. There was no way I was going to be on time for the ride.
Eventually I got up, got a little grief from one of the guys I was supposed to ride with, and got on with my day. I have been working on refining my business plan, cruising Craig’s List looking for good deals on tools and fixtures, and took the shell off my truck. I will have a lot of big things to move over the next month or so. I drove over to Milpitas today to pick up a lovingly used parts cabinet, 400 pounds of steel that will hold my spokes, bearings, and a thousand or so other small parts that left to their own would fill countless unlabeled parts boxes. I also picked up some hand tools, a shop vac, and a few office supplies (thanks again to Craig’s List).
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Posted in Shop
Posted by Charles
Fri, 23 Sep 2005 17:10:00 GMT
One of my regular customers today congratulated me on my last day ever of being an employee. I had to stop and think about that for a bit. “Yeah, if it works” was the first thought, then I thought about the amount of change. I mean, I don’t do change well, reluctantly when I have to, and not at all when I don’t. My life didn’t change this much when I got married. I lived with this woman for a while, got a marriage license, took a day or so off work, got married, then went on with things. I got a dog the same way. Not that big a deal, little change, in little increments, got used to it.
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Posted in Shop
Posted by Charles
Wed, 21 Sep 2005 17:06:00 GMT
After watching it ricochet back and forth between mine and my landlord’s attorneys, we finally called it done and put it on the table to sign. I’ll get the keys the day before I head off to Interbike, and start moving my stuff in on October 1. The walls and ceiling are being painted now, and I hope to have the floors done by the time I get back from Vegas.
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Posted in Shop
Posted by Charles
Fri, 16 Sep 2005 04:59:00 GMT
I got a copy of the lease from our prospective landlord late last week, and put off reading it while running around taking care of what seems at times like more pressing business. I did take the time, however, to run it by my Father In Law, a property manager by trade, and got a handful of useful suggestions for edits and potential pitfalls. I also ran it by my lawyer, who two days later called to say “you should come by.” Yikes.
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Posted in Shop
Posted by Charles
Thu, 08 Sep 2005 05:17:00 GMT
I am writing this while avoiding making a big decision. A woman owns and manages two buildings in Belmont, both for lease under market value, have good buildout potential, and are in a great area for me. One building is nicer than the other, and it just got leased for three months, with an option to lease for longer.
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Posted in Shop
Posted by Charles
Wed, 10 Aug 2005 06:34:00 GMT
(Note – this was written over a year ago. As Charles took Passion from idea stage to making it a reality, some things have changed a bit. But the vision he talks about here has largely been what was implemented.)
Passion Trail Bikes will soon be the source for the highest quality equipment, advice, and repairs for those that appreciate service over price, and desire 100% confidence in their shop and their bikes. All the bikes we will sell will come with rider specific fitting and tuning, and will be built to the highest spec available. Component inventory will be chosen using quality and value as criteria. The intention will not be to stock everything available, but to ensure everything in stock is a great product, either the best in its class, or a very good value for its level of performance. Clothing and other soft goods will also fit the high value, high quality theme of the store.
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Posted in Shop
