I am a firm believer that if you are going to start a business that it should be doing something which you truly love with all of your heart. It was for this reason why 9 years ago I launched Soul Quest Orlando, a tiny records store which I had hoped would find enough success to just keep ticking over. Money was never in my mind when I first set up the store, I just wanted to be surrounded by music every day, and make enough money to stay alive. The business has gone far better than I had hoped and in order to inspire anyone out there to set up a business which they are passionate about, here is exactly why I love this business so much.
Community
Something which I really didn’t count on when I first set up the record store was the community that would be created around the store. In fact the shop is so small that I really wasn’t expecting to get that many customers. The reality however is that people love vinyl and people love other people who love vinyl. I have regular customers coming in each week, many of who are now friends of mine, who share the same passion that I do.
Finding Treasure
In order to put together a vinyl collection for the store I try to pick up job lot collections from either collectors who no longer have the passion for it, or older people who bought all of these originals back in the 60s and 70s, and want the stuff out of their house. When I go and pick up these job lots they are often packed with a lot of stuff which doesn’t exactly get the heart racing but every now and again you strike solid gold. I found a rare Beatles album just last month in the middle of a record collection which was packed with cheesy disco tunes. The thrill of finding these records is worth being in business on its own.
Money
I was very lucky that just after I opened my store, there was a real boom in vinyl collectors and people who were rediscovering this format to play music. This meant that my store would be packed day after day and honestly I have made a very good living from the sales from my store. I never got into it for the money, but it is certainly a big bonus.
Happy
Every morning I wake up with a smile on my face knowing that I am going to spend my day touching, listening to and talking about vinyl. The fact that it is my own business is often irrelevant, I just love doing this job. This is what you get when you start a business based on a passion which you have and if you want to to be a business owner then think about what you enjoy, and go with that.
Pick your passion and just go for it.
