Leader0601b

Page 1B • The Leader • May 4, 2013 • www.theleadernews.com

Old school, new again

Could your or a loved one beneﬁt from CareBuilders at Home? • Companionship • Homemaking • Overnight Care • Meal Preparation • Live-In care • Respite Care Care Builders can assist you and provide you with peace of mind around the clock

Spin back to vinyl has Heights shops thriving by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com Two vinyl record stores in the Heights -- Heights Vinyl (3122 White Oak Dr.) and Vinal Edge Records (239 W. 19th) -- are reaping the beneﬁts of music lovers going old school again. Vinyl record sales increased last year, according to Nielsen Soundscan and Billboard, by a whopping 17.7 percent. “The older people have always been involved, they never left,” said Heights Vinyl owner Craig Brown, who lives in the Heights. “The Millenials, 24 and under age group, really got into it. You can’t show (someone) your MP3 collection. But you can walk into your house and show your record collection. They’re blown away by the sound difference. You can only hear 20to-30 percent of the music on an MP3.” Heights Vinyl opened in December 2011, and they also sell and repair record players and turntables. Vinal Edge owner Chuck Roast,

832-900-9416 • carebuildersathome.com

a Timbergrove resident, has oper- records, the two local ated his shop in 1979 but moved it shops have their own last year from its longtime location niche, but they have a at FM 1960 and Veterans Memo- lot in common as well. Vinal Edge, which got rial in far north Houston to 19th its name from a combiStreet. “We have a huge selection of nation of the words ‘final’ very unique music that lends it- and ‘vinyl’, also sells com self better to an inner city culture,” Roast said. “19th Street is the persee Spin • Page 2B fect area. In my opinion, it’s the best shopping and walking street in Houston. I’m so proud of the street and its many independent shops.” Roast agreed with Brown’s assertion that young people are eager to find out what’s beyond their MP3 files. “There’s nothing more uncool than a collection of music on an iPod, a text list of files,” Roast said. “‘Check out my record’ collection sounds better. I think (young people are) wowed by how cool records are. Vinyl has been making a comeback for five years, steadily growing and growing. Each year is Vinal Edge owner Chuck Roast, a Timbergrove resident, moved his business from FM 1960 to 19th Street in the Heights last year. better than the last.” Although they both sell vinyl (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)

��

Even work veterans proﬁt from training by Cynthia Lescalleet for The Leader

Rigorous, intense, useful

Encouraged by a colleague to apply, Beasley remembers initially thinking “Who has time for another class?” But when she made the cut for a session running November 2011 to February 2012, she made the time. Like most small business owners in the class, not being present for day-to-day operations was a challenge. Since her company’s original team has been on board since she took over, Beasley relied upon their abilities and commit-

Joi Beasley ment to maintain business as usual in her absence. Long-term employees wanted to see success, and she, in turn, had to trust her people. Shappro also acknowledged her “self-sufficient group”– there are five on staff now plus 20 contractors, as needed -- with knowing how to handle the work flow and clients as she ventured into the classes she described as “all consuming. The effectiveness of the session’s targeted content, she said, will play out over the next decade since she’s implementing some of what she learned. For example, when adding new employees to her core group that has worked together for so long, the company previously had no processes defined for consistency in dealing with clients and work flow. They’re fixing that. Since completing the class session held April to June 2012, Shappro’s business has hired more staff and landed more projects, and operations are running more efficiently, she said. One of Vision’s projects – a tourism video titled “It’s Island Time” and set to a modern interpretation of “Galveston” (made famous by Glen Campbell in 1969) -- just won the American Marketing Association’s “Best Commercial Campaign” and the special judges’ award for client Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. Beasley, meanwhile, had been considering adding a business partner around the time she began her training session. The program

610 T.C. Jester

Joi Beasley came to Houston as part of an out-of-state company’s team sent to shut down its print-on-demand operations here. Recognizing the remaining value of that business’s core – which included a trained team of loyal staff -- Beasley instead “hung up my corporate hat” and bought the venture, renaming it GOGO Business Communications. That was in 2006, before what she pegged as the cumulative assault of the recession, banking’s reduced credit lines, and even Hurricane Ike on her well-established clients and thus their demand for her company’s graphic design, copying, printing and related business services. Tired of “all the negativity” of that siege, the forward-looking entrepreneur successfully applied to – and completed – the intensive training offered by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses management training program through its partner here, Houston Community College. The business-boosting program was “an opportunity to try something new,” said the upbeat Beasley, a Mangum Manor resident. More importantly, however: “It was light in the forest.” The demanding course didn’t “rain down secrets on me,” she recalled. Rather, it prompted some “business soul-searching and led us down our path.” Tracey Shappro of Vision Production Group, based in the Heights, also turned to the program’s “education by immersion” as a way to further grow her leadership and operations skills. “You can’t take it lightly,” she said of the fastpaced coursework, ﬁeld work and discussion. “Your homework is your company,” she said. A skilled and seasoned producer, Shappro launched her award-winning production and event company four years ago after her previous employer shuttered its operations. She quickly realized “how much as a business owner you do.”

helped her do just that. Management-tweaking modules Beasley found particularly relevant included one on ﬁnance and accounting that made her feel stronger and more comfortable in those duties, and one on leadership that “reminded you who you are and added up your successes...It helped you ﬁgure out how to tap your specialty and move forward.” Participants also learned “when to grow and when to slow down and sharpen your saw,” she said. The process included brainstorming an idea and walking through the process to implement it. Knowing that process means it can be applied to subsequent ideas, she said. Shappro also found the leadership development content useful. It better instilled business-related self-awareness and underscored the importance of sharing the vision and keeping the talent happy. For her, though, it’s the vision thing. Growth is the vision, and Vision is her company’s name.

��

�� 18th Street

��

200 grads and growing

Shappro and Beasley are among the 200 graduates of the Goldman Sachs program at HCC, which began in May 2011, said Maya Durnovo, HCC’s associate vice chancellor for economic development and entrepreneurial initiatives and executive director of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. Last week, a fresh batch of small business owners began the latest session. July 15 is the deadline for the fall session, which starts in September. It’s a rigorous, competitive application process, she cautioned: “Not every business owner gets in.”

��

�� I can help custom-build a�� policy your new home. �� for �� home ��can �� insurance �� Finding the right be a lot of work, but�� ﬁnding the right home ��& �� is easy with new Allstate House Home. I can�� customize a �� policy�� and save you �� money with great features �� like the Claim-Free Bonus. Call me today! ��

��

�� **Member of the Greater Heights Chamber**

�� Feature is optional. Bonus applied as a credit to your next renewal bill provided no claims are made during the preceding annual policy period. Subject to terms, conditions, and availbility. Savings vary. Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance: �� Northbrook, IL. © 2012 Allstate Insurance Company

see Training • Page 2B

of the Greater Heights Chamber** ��**Member ��

Your One Stop for ALL your Auto Repair Needs

Harting Automotive “Working Hard To Keep Your Trust For Over 26 Years”

�� 2013 Pinnacle Award for Excellence 2009-2013 ��

We Feature:

We Provide: • FREE Shuttle Service to our local customers • AAA Member Discounts • Senior Citizen Discounts

• ASE Certiﬁed Technicians • Friendly, Knowledgeable Service Personnel • Estimates and Approval before any work is done. • 10 Service Bays • Modern Equipment • Quality Name Brand Parts • A Clean, Quiet, Comfortable Waiting Room

OPEN Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

4934 Acorn | w w w . h a r t i n g a u t o . c o m | 713-688-0967

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook