Prosper by LASA Ezine

Ezine Fall 2021

PROSPER Prosper | 1

Table of Contents Meet the Editors

by Ruby Venkatesh Austin 2.0 8

by Ruby Venkatesh City in Motion 12

by Ameris basden Austin on the Market 14

by Ameris basden Is UT Right For U? Prosper | 4

by Ben Goodman Behind the Scenes: Music Festivals

by Ben Goodman Create Your Own Music Festival

by Laurence Murphy Austin’s Business Owners

by Laurence Murphy South Congress 30

By the editors Austin by the Numbers

32 Prosper | 5

Meet the editors Hello, reader! As Austinites, we love this amazing city, and we created this magazine for those interested in moving to Austin, living in Austin or just interested in Austin. We want you to know that we put time, sweat and energy into the papers you are holding right now. We hope you enjoy this magazine and find it filled to the brim with entertaining, but more importantly, useful information. Perhaps, if you are not living here already, you can learn a little bit about Austin life. If you already live here, you might learn something about your city or pick up a new hobby. We sincerely hope you have as much joy reading Prosper as we did making it. Happy reading! Sincerely, Laurence, Ameris, Ben and Ruby

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Ameris BASDEN Ameris Basden is a freshman at LASA. She enjoys listening to music and drawing. She loves how there are so many places that she can visit with her family in Austin!

Laurence MURPHY Laurence spends time talking with friends and playing video games. Occasionally, he goes scuba diving at Lake Travis, commonly found learning something new. Laurence is a music lover too and especially loves rock.

Ruby Venkatesh Ruby loves musical harmonies, following social issues and running with friends. She loves all of the beautiful outdoor spaces that Austin has to offer!

Ben Goodman Ben is a freshman at LASA. He enjoys video games, playing the bass clarinet in the LASA band and spending time with his friends and family. He also has a puppy named Farfel. Prosper | 7

Austin 2.0 Is Austin Becoming Silicon Hills?

trolling past joggers and baby carriages along Lady Bird Lake, one can’t miss the high rises and construction on the water’s edge. Venturing into the heart of the city, you see the young workforce hailing Ubers and gliding on scooters. Many of them are pursuing careers in technology. Austin, Texas, has become a center of technology companies, from tiny tech startups to massive

tech conglomerates. Many of these companies have come to Austin from a region in the San Francisco, California, Bay Area called Silicon Valley. Some call Austin “Silicon Hills,” comparing it to Silicon Valley, but David Brown doesn’t think that name accurately describes the city. Brown is the host of the Texas Standard on Austin NPR affiliate, KUT, and the host of the popular

By Ruby Venkatesh podcast Business Wars. “I think there are a lot of people in Austin who really don’t want to be Silicon Valley or Texas’s version of Silicon Valley. … Austin being Austin is what has attracted success to the city in the first place,” Brown said. What has attracted success to Austin? Austin is known for its unique culture of artists and

Downtown Austin enjoys the quiet after a storm. The city is bustling with economic advances in technology and construction. Photo by Ruby Venkatesh.

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innovators. Amos Schwatzfarb, the Managing Director of TechStars Austin Accelerator, describes Austin as an “open collaborative community, where everyone’s trying to make this a better place to live.” Schwartzfarb also remarked that Austin is “such an artistic and creative community it makes it so that [there are] lots of other things that are interesting and fun to do here when you’re not working.” The resources in Austin are appealing pull factors for tech companies. Mark Dewey is the publisher of Austonia, an Austin online news source that covers tech, among other prevalent Austin-based topics. “You’ve got a tech culture; you’ve got a workforce; you’ve got funding. And you’ve got all the infrastructure that you need to grow it,” Dewey said. Building and growing a tech company requires access to venture capital, the money loaned by investors to get the company off the ground. Austin has an abundance of access to venture capital, making the city conducive to startup creation and growth. The availability of venture capital was “what made it possible for Austin to suddenly get a lot of attention” as a place that would be “preferable to Silicon Valley” for people trying to start up a business, Brown said. Another resource that makes Austin a popular destination for tech companies is the opportunity for property tax rebates. Christy

Moffett is the Interim Director of the Travis County Office of Economic Development and Strategic Investments (EDSI). One of EDSI’s objectives is to make

“You’ve got a tech culture; you’ve got a workforce; you’ve got funding. And you’ve got all the infrastructure that you need to grow it.” - Mark Dewey

economic incentive agreements with corporations that provide rebates in exchange for certain community benefits. According to Moffett, EDSI looks for job creation and “investments back into the community” when making economic agreements with companies.

living for Austin residents. “While there’s always a benefit to having a company come in with investment and jobs, [there are] also tensions that a community can experience,” Moffett said. “Housing is really hard right now. We don’t have a lot of extra housing.” With housing inventory on the decline, it becomes harder for incoming Austinites and current Austin residents to find affordable housing. However, there are some services in place to ease the strain on communities that this may cause. One of such services is the expansion of resources, such as transit and fresh food, beyond central Austin. “We’re actively working to make sure that the people who want to live here can,” Moffett said. “There are lots of decisions that can be made to help allow certain types of affordability to remain in the city and in the

While tech companies can bring jobs to the city, they also contribute to population growth in Austin. Increased interest in a city puts stress on the housing market and drives up the cost of

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East 11th Street in Austin is part of a historically Black neighborhood that has experienced the effects of gentrification as fewer longtime residents can afford to stay. Photo by Ruby Venkatesh.

county.” A lack of affordability in Silicon Valley, with a median home price over one million dollars, is one reason that many technology companies are turning to Austin. Meanwhile, Austin is surpassing itself in population and growth

unlike ever before.

most people.”

“We’ve already hit our limits, and real estate prices are telling us that,” Dewey said. “The median home price [in Austin] now is around half a million dollars. That’s extraordinary. And Austin [has] really stopped being affordable for

Increased presence of technology companies in Austin may have negative impacts on Austin communities that cannot keep up with the pace at which the cost of living is accelerating.

“Austin has now established itself as an important tech hub. And it will be hard to take that away from it.” - David Brown Prosper | 10

“I do worry about communities of color and others who actually have a generational and historic stake in Austin,” Brown said. “It would be a tragedy if the price we pay for becoming a technology hub is the loss of those communities.” Gentrification of Austin is a concern of some Austinites. Some Austin neighborhoods and communities have experienced and are experiencing demographic shifts due to rising housing prices. At the same time, Austin’s growth as a technology hub could potentially increase diversity in the

city. “The growth of technology, more access to capital, [and] maybe more minorities and people of color having access to training and highly skilled jobs ... could mean an influx of minorities and people of color to Austin, which would be a wonderful thing,” Brown said. “It would make Austin far more diverse than it is today.” Austin may come to a point where there is not enough space for all of its inhabitants and their activities. As a remedy, Austin annexes neighboring places in order to grow and accommodate its growing population. The City of Austin defines annexation as “the process by which cities extend their municipal services, regulations, voting privileges & taxing authority to a new territory.” Schwartzfarb sees this as an asset of Austin’s not

found in places that are confined to a certain amount of space. “I think one thing that we have going for us, at least for the foreseeable future, is that there’s lots of space to go north, south, east and west, where if you’re in a place like San Francisco or New York or LA, [there are] no more places to go,” Schwartzfarb said. “I think that’s going to work to the benefit of keeping people coming here. And even though it’s become much more expensive to live near or in downtown, we have a lot of room for things to happen elsewhere and a lot of opportunity for other little hubs to pop up.” Brown believes in the potential of Austin as a community that embraces tech-forward economic growth. “Austin has now established itself

Increases in traffic accompany Austin’s growing population. Photo Ruby Venkatesh.

ics

Ru by as an Ve important tech nk at hub. And it will be es h. hard to take that away from it. And in the shorter far-term, I think Austin is going to continue to be a hub for technology and for technology startups,” Brown said. It is yet to be seen exactly how the growth of Austin, especially in technology, will affect the makeup of the culture and the community. Will Austin strike a balance between growth and quality of life or surrender to the nickname “Silicon Hills?”

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Zilker Park

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y Ruby V The temperature of Barton to b en ho Springs averages at 68 degrees Farenheit yearlong, making it a refreshing natural spring for taking a dip! Barton Springs is fed into by the Edwards Aquifer.

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Deep Eddy Pool has lap esy of Aust lanes and a in ur t o C recreational swimming area. Families and swimmers of all levels are welcome at Deep Eddy Municipal Pool.

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esy of Aust Austin residents and tourists alike in ur t o enjoy spending time in Zilker park, C the center of many Austin outdoor attractions. Zilker park hosts a number of yearly festivals and events including Austin City Limits, the Trail of Lights and the ABC Kite Festival.

Deep Eddy Pool

Major Roads

Parks

Trails

Swimming Pools/Holes

Other

Other Bodies of Water

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Ann and Roy Butler Hike & Bike Trail nk

Walkers, joggers, bikers, dog-walkers esy of Trail Li ur t o and people C enjoying Austin’s great weather share the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail that encircles part of Lady Bird Lake. Gorgeous city and lake views can be found at every turn in the trail named after a former Austin mayor and his wife.

Boat Rental

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y Ruby V Several boat rental en to b ho companies can be found surrounding Lady Bird Lake, so you don’t have to own a boat to enjoy a great day on the lake. Kayaking, canoeing and paddleboarding are some popular water sports on Lady Bird Lake.

s Av e. Con gres

A guide to outdoor parks, pools and trails in downtown Austin By Ruby Venkatesh

Sou th

City In Motion

Congress Avenue “Bat” Bridge

culture of health is an important part of the Austin community. On any given day, many Austinites can be found enoying the outdoors and getting exercise in the heart of the city. The map to the left highlights a few of the city’s most adored parks, trails and pools, all encircling Lady Bird Lake, a part of the Colorado River, which divides South and Central Austin. With an abundance of outdoor options for exercise and recreation, Austin is the perfect place for people of all backgrounds who value spending time in the great outdoors. Information provided by Austin Parks and Recreation, Google Maps and KVUE. Graphics by Ruby Venkatesh.

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Austin on the MArket A deeper look into the real estate of the number one city to live in

By: Ameris Basden

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ou’re considering moving somewhere, but there are many contributing factors for such an important decision. You have to think about living expenses, diversity, the environment surrounding you and what’s best for you and your family. With COVID-19 happening and so many things changing, people have been moving a lot. Even with all the good and bad, many Austinites have said they wouldn’t rather live anywhere else. With that being said, here are some experiences of life in Austin. Austin has had rapid growth recently and has been attracting more people than ever. Austin is currently considered one of the best places to live. Within the last decade, Austin’s population has grown by 21 percent. Approximately 171,465 people have moved to Austin since 2010, according to the City of Austin. With so many people moving in and out of Austin, the people who know best are realtors. “When I started out in 2015, a house was around 180,000, dollars. Now, six years later, the average house is 350,000,” E-Lit Realty CEO Julie Galarraga said. “The drastic change in the market happened about 8 months to a year ago.” Right now, most of the people moving to Austin are from out of state. Jobs, diversity, and taxes are greatly contributing to bringing in people from out of state. According to Julie Galarraga, about 10 to 20 percent of people buying properties in Austin now are from out of state compared to the 5 percent of buyers

“

Real estate is about making connections with people. -Julie Galarraga

”

that come from different cities in Texas. “I do get a lot of first time buyers that are local,” she said. “Most of them are people that have met with other agents that are saying ‘no you have to wait, no you have to work on your credit,’’’ she said. “When they come see us at E-Lit, we say ‘no we got this.’” Galarraga started E-Lit Realty six years ago and is devoted to helping her clients find their “dream home.”

This is the logo for Julie Galarraga’s real estate company, E-lit. She worked together with a team of designers to create the logo. The bright orange is a meaningful color to her and she felt it could well represent E-Lit! Courtesy of Julie Galarraga.

“Real estate is about making connections with people,” Galarraga said. “Selling is what people think, but connecting is the fact, and what I mean by connecting is you meet someone’s needs based on what they tell you.” She helps people create the right plan to find a home even if they believe they can’t buy. Other than being a real estate agent in Austin, Galarraga has lived here for 30 years and considers herself an Austinite.

Buying a home takes a lot of careful consideration. You have to know your mortgage options and total budget, what type of loan you need, if necessary, and find a top real estate agent that will meet your needs. Your real estate agent needs to have your preferences and goals in mind at all times. They will introduce you to possible future homes and help you make an offer. When you choose the location you would like to live, make sure you know the area well. With how large Austin is, you can go to many

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Julie Galarraga is pictured (center) with Johana Gervais, (second from the left) along with the other real estate agents on her team. Photo by Bridget Daehler, courtesy of Julie Galarraga.

different places in Austin and they will all have a different feel. Communicating with your realtor about your likings will ensure you find a great home in Austin. “When I thought about where I wanted to raise a family, Austin was my first choice,” Austin realtor Johana Gervais said. “I’ve made great friends here from other places that give us the opportunity to learn about other cultures and for me, that was important because we’re a multicultural family.” Austin is a very family-oriented

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place and is considered one of the best places to raise children. Raising children in Austin allows them to live in a diverse environment and visit nice parks or get a good education.

no other way for me to describe it because I’ve been able to help families that never could even dream about owning a home, and now their kids are growing up in a home.”

Gervais works for E-lit realty with Galarraga, based in Austin. Gervais has been a real estate agent for three years and has been able to gain a lot of experience.

With the growth in Austin, big companies have also started to move in. These big tech companies are setting the momentum for the area. With the new companies comes new jobs.

“What I feel in my heart we do and I do as a real estate agent, is we really help change people’s lives,” Gervais said. “I mean, there’s

For example, Tesla has recently moved to Austin. Rosemary Avila, an Austin city planner, oversaw the

plans set in place for Tesla and the new soccer stadium. “It was cool to see everything built out and be able to say I did my part with that,” Avila said. Rosemary Avila has worked for the city of Austin for 18 years and has lived in Austin her entire life. Her current position is a planning officer and she is the supervisor over the site plan city planners. They review commercial development for zoning compliance and case management. Being a case manager, she gets a lot of neighborhood input, is the face of the project and receives all the feedback. She loves her career and is happy to be able to tell people about the developments she has managed.

“

When I thought about where I wanted to raise a family, Austin was my first choice. -Johana Gervais

As of 2021, Austin is home to over one million people because it has so much to offer for everyone no matter what path in life you are on. Growing at 168 net new residents per day, Austin is the place to be. Austin’s entertainment, culture and jobs draw people, but the friendly community keeps everyone here!

”

This is the City of Austin Planning and Development Center (PDC) where Rosemary Avila works. Courtesy of Rosemary Avila.

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Search: X --

Is UT Right for U??

The University of Texas at Austin Campus.png X --

This is the UT Campus located in Downtown Austin where over 50,000 students attend. Photo credit-utexas.edu

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By: Ameris Basden

Campus Fun Facts.pdf

1. The University of Texas opened on September 15, 1883. 2. UT has one out of the 14 Presidential Libraries called the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library. 3. There’s a lot of popular restaurants around campus!

Education.txt

The University of Texas at Austin has 12 schools with over 170 fields of study. The schools are: • School of Architecture • McCombs School of Business • Moody College of Communication • College of Education • Cockrell School of Engineering • College of Fine Arts • Jackson School of Geosciences • College of Liberal Arts • College of Natural Sciences • School of nursing • College of Pharmacy • Steve Hicks School of Social Work Prosper | 18

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Sports.png

If you’re looking forward to playing college sports, you should definitely take UT into consideration! Everyone in Austin knows just how popular UT sports are. Many people dress up in burnt orange and white clothing on game days. UT has 17 varsity sports to offer and has won 56 national championships. A few of the popular sports they have are baseball, basketball, football and golf! Most of the sports teams at UT are high ranking, and the students still maintain a great graduation rate.

Thu 3:17 PM A short summary of what The University of Texas at Austin is like! X

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Asian Black Hispanic International Multiracial

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

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UT Motto.pdf

What starts here changes the world

Out of state International

UT has students that come from 123 countries and all 50 U.S. states. The majority of international students come from China, India, and South Korea.

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-https://blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpaadmissions/2020/11/12/9-facts-you-didnt-knowabout-ut/ -https://www.utexas.edu/about/diversity-equityand-inclusion -Graphic courtesy: Texas Tribune - https://www. pngwing.com/en/free-png-yybtg - https://test. universitycoop.com/Graduation-Cap

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BEHIND THE SCENES: MUSIC F A Look into the “Live Music Capital of the World“ by Benjamin Goodman Benjamin Booker plays at South by Southwest in 2017. Photo courtesy of Joshua Goodman.

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ou are enjoying a music festival. The loud music ringing in your ears, bright lights blinding you, crowds as far as the eye can see. But something comes to mind. How was this put together? It takes a lot of work to create and run a music festival, and ones in Austin like Austin City Limits and South By Southwest are some of the best. A music festival is defined as an event that features performances from many musicians, usually occurring over the course of several days. Considering this, numerous things have to come together to make a music festival.

it’s well-run and the artists know they’ll have a great experience with their fans, as do the fans themselves,” Shamaly said. Take into consideration the November 5 tragedy at the Astroworld music festival in Houston, TX, where nine people died due to lack of crowd control when popular rapper Travis Scott took the stage. Safety is key. Shamaly, who has lived in Austin since 1990, notes that money can be a big issue when financing a festival. “... Be sure that you have enough money raised through tickets and sponsorships to provide all the infrastructure necessary for a great festival,” Shamaly said.

“The more you do [music festivals]... safely, the more that attracts artists that want to play there...” - Erica Shamaly Erica Shamaly, the Music and Entertainment Division Manager for the City of Austin, believes one of the most important things to prioritize when coordinating a music festival is safety. “The more you do [music festivals]... safely, the more that attracts artists that want to play there because it’s well-organized,

As an example, Austin City Limits has nearly 30 major sponsors, including Honda, T-Mobile, Vrbo, Intel, Uber and Twitter. This is most likely because considering the amount of people that visit Austin for music festivals each year, it’s a great way to advertise your business to many people quickly. About 450,000

ESTIVALS Prosper | 21

people who travel to Austin each year are coming for the music. Austin has a long history of music festivals. “A tradition [started] back in the early 70s’ of cheap places to have venues and lots of opportunities popping up because it was pretty inexpensive to do so, to have those types of businesses in Austin at that time,” Shamaly said when asked why Austin is considered “The Live

music festivals in Austin as this area became more developed. However, the rapid evolution of the music festival business in Austin comes with a problem. “The more artists are there, the more music is there. It makes people want to move there, which in turn makes the city more expensive, and then it gets too expensive for the artists and all the creatives that attracted the people

year from performances. “And so what has changed is that music industry people have had to figure out ways to earn more money, how to keep their costs down, and how to keep their fans happy,” Shamaly said. “But it gets harder and harder as it gets more and more expensive to live here.” Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, most musicians’ income was reduced to next to

Fans wait for Cage the Elephant to perform at the ACL festival in 2016. Photo courtesy of Joshua Goodman.

Music Capital Of The World.” One of the cheap places to have venues was the University of Texas located North of downtown Austin. This contributed to the success of

there in the first place,” Shamaly said. Texas Monthly reported in 2015 that 70% of Austin musicians make less than 10 thousand dollars per

nothing. Some resorted to online performances, but that did not produce enough income to live on. South by Southwest, one of Austin’s most popular festivals, was

“We have venues all over town, but Austin has a beautiful park system, and Austin City Limits was kind of a unique experience when it first started years and years ago with Zilker being available at that time to have a music festival” - Erica Shamaly Prosper | 22

cancelled in the very early stages of the pandemic, and there have been many, many more cancellations since then. This led the Austin City Council to designate 1.5 million dollars to support musicians after huge income losses. It hasn’t stopped music venues in the area such as Barracuda and Scratchhouse from closing permanently. This is a problem because the less small and independent venues there are, up and coming musicians will have more of a problem getting a start to their career. As music festivals start to make a comeback, there are still restrictions that were implemented due to COVID-19. “Especially for music, because of how close people need to get, you don’t necessarily always have chairs that you can sit in that are spaced out. It’s a venue where people are standing elbow to elbow. So when COVID restrictions came online, that pretty much closed venues … for months and months and months and a lot of musicians who were dependent on live music events - their income was cut horribly,” Shamaly said. The music festival business can not show its true potential, nor can people take advantage of all of Austin’s great aspects for festivals while the pandemic is still happening. From performers to venues to tickets, music festivals are a complicated and very popular type of event. The interest in music festivals has and will continue to contribute to the success of Austin, and the city certainly has the infrastructure to support music festivals. “We have venues all over town, but Austin has a beautiful park

system, and the Austin City Limits, it was kind of a unique experience when it first started years and years ago with Zilker being available at that time to have a music festival,” Shamaly said. Austin’s park system is beneficial to the city in a number of ways, but music festivals are able to take advantage of them to make something very unique. “It attracted talent from all over

Now that music festivals are finally coming back, musicians will be able to find more opportunities to perform and take advantage of Austin’s great venues and music community. The music festival industry can be a complicated one, but music festivals get better and better at what they do as the years go by. The COVID-19 pandemic may have impaired the industry for a

Erica Shamaly is the City of Austin’s Music and Entertainment manager. Photo courtesy of The Austin Chronicle.

the world to learn to perform here because it was just simply beautiful, the audiences were great, and we had a great promoter in C3 Presents, creating the festival,” Shamaly said. As Austin continues to grow at one of the quickest rates in the country, the music business here will surely grow and help the city grow in return.

little while, but people that host music festivals have learned from that experience. And despite some venues closing, music festivals in Austin are coming back better than ever.

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Create Your Own Music Festival

5 oversimplified steps to do it yourself By Benjamin Goodman

Step 1

Step 2

IDEA Time to brainstorm! What kind of music will you have? What will make people want to attend?

LINEUP Find some musicians to perform at your festival.

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Step 5 EXECUTE Put together all of the steps, and execute your idea!

Step 4

SPONSORS

Step 3

Music festivals are expensive! Sponsors will give you money to help the production of your festival in turn for advertising.

LOCATION Where will your festival be? Find a venue that is accessible to your target audience. Prosper | 25

Austin’s Business Owners The liberties and challenges of the local business owner

By: Laurence Murphy

s you walk down the many blocks of the Austin metropolis, great large concrete buildings

owned by megacorporations fill the streets. But not too soon after taking time to explore the concrete jungle, you come across a

different setting, one of quaint, yet elegant little shops. Here is where the local businesses of Austin can be found. These businesses, being

Many businesses, especially local, have faced hardships, leaving many to close their doors for a long time, perhaps for the last time.

The inside of Tom’s Dive and Swim, a dive shop. Inventory costs are often very high for local dive businesses. Photo courtesy of Warren Roseberry.

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the very backbone of the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ tradition, share and hold some of the most unique, interesting and eclectic cultures we all adore. It is unlikely that the first thing that comes to mind are the cogs behind running these businesses. The local business owners at the helm of their own companies often have to deal with very difficult situations. As larger corporate entities continue to move into Austin and the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the nation’s economy, many businesses, especially local, have faced hardships, leaving many to close their doors for a long time, perhaps for the last time. Austin local businesses are threatened by gentrification, and from that the very roots of our truly weird and unique culture are put at threat,

Warren Roseberry is the owner and operator of dive shop Tom’s Dive and Swim. Photo courtesy of Warren Roseberry.

In recent years, Austin has turned into a growing, sprawling and developing city. too. In recent years, Austin has turned into a growing, sprawling and developing city. One may even say that Austin has become a national hotspot and is one of the best places to live in. While the

real estate market in other cities may have suffered, the Austin market has continued to grow strongly, especially in recent years. Scott Nicholson is the founder and owner of Discovery Realty Group, a local real estate business in Austin. “I struggled coming out of the

crash of 2008, but since then, my business truly exploded,” Nicholson said when asked about his company’s success. Different owners from different kinds of backgrounds agreed, whether or not it was beneficial to them, Austin is a popular place today.

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One of these business owners is Warren Roseberry, the current owner of the family-owned business, Tom’s Dive and Swim. Roseberry took over from his parents and has run it for nearly 50 years. Roseberry reviews the expenses behind his business. “I think it’s pretty expensive, because we’re in Austin, Texas, and Austin, Texas, right now is an extremely popular place to be,” Roseberry said. Roseberry deals with a unique business model at the dive shop. The scuba industry is well noted for its expensive nature, primarily because of the cost of equipment and the cost of traveling, all of which is usually covered by dive shops in some way or form.

“Our inventory costs are going to be a little bit higher,” Roseberry said. Dive shops make most of their money off of people travelling to learn how to scuba dive. Due to this reliance, dive shops are also a seasonal business, making most of their bank in the summer when water is warm enough to comfortably dive in, and people have time to spend their holidays. “We make most of our money from spring break through about September 15, and it’s because scuba divers are typically these very adventurous outdoor people,” Roseberry said. However, despite the troubles all local businesses deal with, similar or unique, many owners

The outside of Tom’s Dive and Swim. Courtesy of Warren Roseberry.

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enjoy their job due to the freedom and flexibility, or even just the positive atmosphere around their job. “Every day is fun, and the people that come in the door are so excited to see you and to share their stories with you,” Roseberry said. “Nobody tells me when to do anything,” Nicholson said. “I get to do what I want to do.” Mark Land is a business attorney who owns and operates Mark Land Law. He has had previous experience in the legal field for multiple corporations, and now runs his own business. “I get all the decisions and I enjoy that,” Land said when asked

what he enjoyed about running a local business. As well as speaking about his business, Land was asked about his daily life as a local business owner.

may even be more beneficial to success than simply getting rid of the problem.

the freedom to make my own decisions, and that time is mine,” Nicholson said.

“I just made a point to not be scared, to be cautious, but also being present and available, and it worked,” Nicholson said.

As local business owners continue to live the lives that they enjoy, and counteract the obstacles encountered or thrown

“I would like to retire within the next 5 years,” Nicholson said. “I work about nine o’clock and work till about six o’clock,” Land said.

“When I feel like I don’t have good staff, I try to make changes and go get somebody better,” Roseberry said.

“I’ve never wanted to quit,” Land said.

Nicholson, as a local business owner, agrees that flexibility is one of his favorite things about his job, and how he becomes his own boss.

at them, many businesses still are suffering from their difficulties and overall gentrification from newer residents and larger As the owner of his own law companies moving into Austin. firm, Land is able to choose his At this point in time, where These individually different, clients and cases to work with, business owners have been extraordinary shops and services pursuing the cases that he is most in the business industry for a are where Austin’s cultural effective at practicing with. while, some start to look at their backgrounds and experiences are retirement plans and other plans optically shown, and would be “There are certainly a wide after their career. missed dearly by many if it were variety of things that I would not to dissipate away. Whether anyone be effective at but I tend to not “I would like to retire within the is a hippie or a businessman, select those kinds of cases to take next 5 years,” Nicholson said. these places are loved by people off,” Land said. of many backgrounds, and need Nicholson plans to have a to be supported and protected. For Land, there are still a great business that does not require many difficult parts of running him to be present to gain revenue, People moving into Austin are respectfully called to embrace a local business. According to which surely will take some these traditions, and support our Land, the most difficult part of time, however this may be very local businesses and culture. The his business is trying to have beneficial in the future. immense amount of effort and consistent clients, meaning he is “I’ve got to build some systems, love from business owners and able to have a steady number of employees alike put into these cases he is able to take in. Despite but my goal would be to get my business to the point where it will businesses is worth keeping, to these difficulties, Land has taken Keep Austin Weird. opportunity by the hand whenever operate without me being in the room every time,” Nicholson said. it comes his way.

Local business owners have different ways of approaching and tackling their unique problems. Some of these solutions, in fact,

“I enjoy the flexibility. I enjoy

Prosper | 29

WHICH BUSINESS? Sometimes it can be difficult to choose where to get food, especially on South Congress. On this map, there are 5 selected locations one may choose. Take the quiz below to find your next location! SOMETHING SWEET?

YES

HOT OUTSIDE?... LIKE TEX-MEX?

YES

SOUTHSIDE FLYING PIZZA With appetizers and mains all made from scratch, Southside Flying Pizza is a great stop for lunch. Now in Houston too, this local business started in Austin and now holds 7 locations, 6 of which are in Austin.

Prosper | 30

TORCHY’S TACOS Starting from a small food truck in Austin, Torchy’s Tacos has grown an enterprise spanning multiple states. From a vast selection of flavorful tacos and other alternatives, there is no question as to why it is so popular today.

BIG TOP CANDY SHOP Big Top Candy Shop is one of the most well known and interesting shops on South Congress. Big Top sells an abundance and variety of different candy assortments, from Harry Potter-themed candy to your everyday skittles.

AMY’S ICE CREAM Amy’s Ice Cream is an Austin local yogurt store, consisting of a large variety of flavors and toppings to create the perfect ice cream. Amy’s is a wonderful place to relax after a shopping spree, or just for a quick stop-by.

South CONGRESS

UNIQUE LOCAL EATERIES TO SHOP AT By Laurence Murphy

FREEBIRDS Freebirds World Burrito sells delicious burritos, both great and small. Although not exactly local, Freebirds is a perfect place to have burritos anytime in Austin, both eclectic and tasteful. After all, Freebirds does call themself “Texas’ No. 1 Burrito”.

Prosper | 31

Austin by the numbers 31.9% $71, 576

Median household income from 2015 to 2019

Percent of people 5+ years old who speak a language other than English at home from 2015 to 2019

1 Million Austin population in 2020 1M

656.6K

2020

806.2K 2010

2000

24%

Population increase from 2010 to 2020

89.4% People 25+ years old who graduated from high school or higher Prosper | 32

People 25+ years old with a bachelor’s degree or higher

51.7%

Information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and World Population Review.

A-Maze-ing Austin Can you make your way through the city?

By the Editors

Start

Finish Downtown Austin overlooks Lady Bird Lake. Photo by Ruby Venkatesh.

94.9% Households with a computer from 2015 to 2019

2653.2

Population per square mile in 2010 Prosper | 33

Prosper | 36