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Speaker 1
From pottery to profit,

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Speaker 1
Beta Rodriguez has

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Speaker 1
taken his 20 years of experience and his love and passion for ceramics

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Speaker 1
and created his very own business, which he brings to the community of Rochester, Minnesota. There's lots to learn with this. So let's dive in.

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Unknown
Beto, tell us a little bit about your business. You started a new business here in Rochester. Tell us about that. So, yeah, what we're doing is we opened a pottery over by the corn tower.

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Unknown
So on third Ave and what it is, is mostly a teaching studio. So I have classes, we do different types of classes, kid camps where we kids come in for the week and, and make pots. We do some adult classes that are a little more extensive. They're they're a little longer. They last four weeks. They go in twice a week, you know, for four weeks.

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Unknown
And, it's also my personal studio, which is nice because before this, I was working out of the garage. So it's really nice to do that. We also have memberships, so people can come in 24 hours a day, make pots and, yeah, it's it's it's all it is, is a pottery. Nothing more. Nothing less is kind of how I like to.

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Unknown
That's cool. And you've been doing pottery for like 20 years now. And it's been a hobby, a passionate yours. And now you've turned it into a business. Yeah, I think I started, I'd have to look at my college transcripts when I took my first class, but I think it was about 19, 20 years ago. I've been saying 20 years for a couple of years now, so I don't know why.

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Unknown
Something like that. But yeah, it it just started as I think I took that first pottery class just because it was something different. It was early in, in college, I like oh, that looks like fun. It looks easy. And I remember stacking the rest of my schedule with harder classes, thinking this one was going to be easy.

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Unknown
And this one, the pottery took the most amount of time. I was in the studio for nine ten hours a day. Not the history of that. And English. And so then over, over the years, I took more and more and more. Next thing you know, you're like, hey, I'm, I'm doing this. I went in the U of M and I would drive up there.

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Unknown
And so that's when I bought my first wheel. I bought it just to do my homework, because I didn't want to drive up an hour and a half to make a couple pots and drive back. So I bought a wheel. I thought, well, I'll just do this at home. And then it's like, well, you need a fire. So then I bought a kiln.

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Unknown
Next thing you know, you're like, hey, I have everything here. Am I a potter or am I still, you know, I don't know why. At some point you're just like, I've been doing this longer than I've been doing anything else, right? So now you've taken that passion, that experience that you've have, and now you've started a Valley Pottery here in Rochester.

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Unknown
Now there's a difference, right, of doing something that you enjoy just doing it by yourself. And now running a business. So you're running a business. Tell us a little bit more about the business side of things. What are some of the struggles or the benefits that you're seeing with it? Well, you know, when when I was doing this out of my garage, there wasn't a lot of pressure.

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Unknown
It was if I made something I did, if I didn't do it for a month, it's no big deal. Well, now I have bills, so I have to keep going. So there's that pressure. Which is good though, because when I think back on just working in my garage, I had so much leeway to do things or not do things and just it's like, oh, I'll do that later.

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Unknown
Where now it's like, no, you need to get in there and get that done because the bills need to be paid. Right. You know, again, if, for example, the other night I wanted to go home, it was, I don't know, midnight. I'm like, okay, I'm going to go home. I'm like, I need to make clay because I have somebody coming in, potentially coming in to work on Clay.

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Unknown
She has a membership. I need to have it there. So it's like, okay, go to the back room, mix up clay, put it there in case she comes in. I don't even know if she is right. So I just have to always be prepared. Right. So is that kind of like one of the more like tough lessons that you've learned so far?

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Unknown
Or like, what are some of those, like tough lessons you learned being in business? Because it's not always easy and glamorous. There's a lot of moving parts. So the toughest thing is just there's a lot of unknowns and things happen. So it's it's definitely more expensive than what I thought. And it so, you know, like, for example, I needed to have something installed on the sink that cost way more than I.

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Unknown
I didn't expect that. So. Yeah, that's that's one of them. But yeah, it's just there's a lot of unknowns that happen every day, like, oh, what do I do? Let's put out this fire. Let's do this. Let's do that. But then how do you manage that? Right. Like, that's kind of exhausting in a way. You just want to be able to go to work and make pottery, and you want to be able to teach others how to do this, and you want to bring that enjoyment.

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Unknown
So, like, how do you get over that? How do you get through those times? You well, you don't have a choice, right? You just keep you just power through. And you know, I have a list of things. It's a mental list of probably 30 things that need to be done. And if I can knock off a couple, great.

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Unknown
And then the other 27 will be there tomorrow, plus a couple new ones. So I'm just always just going, going, going, trying to knock them off. Yeah. It's just so I think it's kind of like building those habits and building those routines that you just kind of follow daily. I would say, just so that you don't, like, fall in like, get behind in anything being a part of the business or being a business owner, too.

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Unknown
You got, I imagine, several different tools that are helping you be successful, whether that be online POS systems or whether that be, systems in place in your in your business there. Tell us a little bit about those, the tools that help you be successful in being a business owner. So I think the ones I use Facebook a lot for ads.

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Unknown
That's been, I think, pretty good. It's not terribly expensive, and it seems like there's a good return if I, if I throw an ad on and you can pick how much the, you know, the ads cost. So if I throw an ad, I notice right away I'll get a sign up somebody, I'll sign up through the ad and just one sign.

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Unknown
One person signing up will usually pay for the ad that runs for 4 or 5 days. So that's been a good tool. I have to do more Instagram things. Just, you know, before I, I wouldn't do them for maybe six months. But now I do them more frequently. Another tool that I noticed I've been using a lot is to keep track of things.

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Unknown
It's just using my calendar. I used to never use a calendar for for things because I would just go to work. You don't forget you have to go to work. That. But that was my only kind of responsibility. Now it's or somebody wants to do a studio tour and I have to. It might be two weeks from now, but there's no way I'm gonna remember that.

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Unknown
So while they're on the phone, I put it in the calendar, and I all these things, I'm. I calendar's really booked. Or, you know, there's just. I can't keep track of it mentally anymore. Like I used to be able to write. I think having that organization is key. Huge. Because what happens if you forget to order your clay?

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Unknown
Yeah. No. You know, that's, That's something I need to do Saturday morning. I need to I bought 1,000 pounds of clay, and I still have a little bit, but I can't run out. Like I can't run out because it's not something I can go to target to buy. Right? I have to go to Minneapolis and I can't do it during the week because I have classes in the morning and they close at five.

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Unknown
So the only time I have this week, I have to get up there on Saturday, like in the I don't it's just I have to if I don't, I'm in trouble because I don't know what I'm going to get it right. So there's no shipment coming to you. You have to go, oh, you can I can have it shipped.

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Unknown
But, you know, we also need to control expenses. It's hundreds of dollars to have it shipped. Thousand pounds, right? Yeah. What is that going to cost? And shipping and handling. I don't know, I'm going to go get it. I think when I look, when I, when I first did the when I first looked on it for the first time, I want to say it was 2 or $400.

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Unknown
Yeah, I know, that's, Now you remind me I have to go with my class. I'm gone every Monday. You know, somebody put it on the calendar. Yeah, exactly. So it is helpful to have these tools, right? Like you need to have. Okay. So you talked about the calendar here using you talk about a little bit with the ads.

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Unknown
Let's dive a little bit more into that. So you've used Facebook. The ads have used any other advertisements. Have you done anything locally. As far as signage anywhere besides just on your own building. Have you done anything besides Facebook? No. I mean, right now, it's I did have some signs put up on the building and those I think, look really clear.

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Unknown
They're nice. I just it's it's on that list of, you know, 30 things to do. I just, Yeah, I need to work on that more. That's something I do need to do. Is. And people don't know if if they don't know we're there, they're not going to come in. Right. So I need to get people to know.

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Unknown
Yeah. Yeah. It's hard and it's really hard. I feel like to know where those advertisement dollars actually paying off the most is. You put it like you said, you put an ad out there and seems like people are coming in. Yeah, but what are some of the things that I, I don't know, you've run a TV ad. Is that going to bring people in?

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Unknown
Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But it's like it's always hard to know. Is this money that I'm spending on the ads? Is it actually like turning into something for me? Yeah, you hope so. You hope so. I did run one through peach jar through the school. Okay, so that one went out to all the parents of the district.

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Unknown
That one was kind of neat. Where

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Unknown
I could pick the schools that I wanted to run the ads. Sure. So I just did all the elementary schools and all the middle schools

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Unknown
and the smart play.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
So I want to just kind of switch topics here a little bit because we've talked a little bit about like some of the struggles maybe, or like the the hardships that come with being a business owner, such as having to work the calendar, having to be organized, having to buy all the things so that you can keep a business running.

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Unknown
But so far, what have been some of like the joys or the benefits of running your own business? Yeah. So, it's a lot of work, but it doesn't seem like work. It helps it it. I really enjoy what I'm doing. You know, I didn't buy, like, a franchise where I'm just in it to make the money. So I just wanted a studio.

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Unknown
I thought if I could just have this pay for itself just to have a studio. So that helps. I think it helps that, I really enjoy, you know, even though I'm maybe super tired at night, I can go make pots and it's like it's relaxing, throw on some music and make some pottery. Right. What is it like?

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Unknown
What are some things that, like, keep you motivated to keep you going during those like harder times? Or maybe there's not as high of a class this week, or you have all the stresses of a business that you got to run. I think it gets back down to that. Like you just don't have a choice. So what's nice about having this?

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Unknown
You know, when you work for somebody else, you go in, you do the job and you're done. Where this you walk in, you're like, okay, that's not working. What can I tweak? What can I change? Can I run a different class? Okay. That's not bringing in money. What will bring in money? Let me make some pots have a sale.

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Unknown
So you're always like adjusting and fine tuning things and you're trying to. So it keeps you on your toes more so that just, you know, like if I went to work retail, right? I think for me, this is one thing that I kind of think would be a motivator is it's going to be so fun and rewarding. Working with kids or working with adults even, and just seeing them like, build something.

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Unknown
They've never done this before and they get to like because of you and what you're bringing to the community, you get to do it. And that's kind of just be super rewarding. So I work with with kids during my day job, right? I think I work for the school district, so I substitute teach and I work with all different grades.

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Unknown
And, it is it's nice to see these kids come in and adult and you see them excited to try this because it's not something you can just do at home. Right? Not everyone has a wheel. And so there is some equipment. They come in really excited and then I see them maybe get frustrated. But I know within maybe an hour or the next day it's going to click and by the end of the class they're like, this was a lot of fun.

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Unknown
I've already had kids return like, they they did it one week and they're like, we want to come back. So, yeah, I don't I think everybody that that has done it enjoys it. I don't think I've ever really maybe in all the years that I've been teaching classes, other places, I've had maybe 1 or 2 that are like, this isn't for me, but we're talking about hundreds of people and they all think it's fun.

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Unknown
I think that one reason for that is, first of all, it's just a ton of fun. But another reason is you get to see the results right away, right? And like, you get to see like, hey, I made this thing that's so cool. The other side. And this is kind of the nursing side coming out on me a little bit is you and I have talked before, but you are providing an opportunity for people that just isn't seem to be there anymore, which is for an hour, a little bit more.

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Unknown
They are not able to use their phones. They are completely taken away from social media, from their screens, from anything. And you're giving them kind of this mental break. And that is, I think, so huge. Yeah, I think I think parents really like that. I know my kids are on screens a lot, and so I have them do this.

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Unknown
It uses a different part of their brain and you know, yeah, you're right. It just you unplug for a little bit. Even adults I think benefit from that. It's just, you know, you're off your screens. You can't really be on your hands or dirty, you know, we have music going and. Yeah, just relax and atmosphere. I know, honestly, it's a little bit you you've done a really good job too.

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Unknown
I would say in your space that you've created, it's very warm, it's very welcoming and very inviting. And I think it also feels very safe. Right. Which is just you need all those things. I think, it it just makes people want to keep coming back to you.

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Unknown
I'm glad you picked up on that, because when I first started thinking of how I wanted to put it together, first and foremost, I thought, I'm going to be here a lot.

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Unknown
I knew I was going to, so I wanted a place that I wanted to be right. And having worked in different studios, I. I would pick and choose things that I wanted to incorporate or leave out. So I made this. I put together this place where I want to be. So I remember back when I first started, I think I mentioned eight, nine, ten hours.

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Unknown
I was there, you may get hungry or want a drink. So there's and this was already in the building, which was really nice. There's a little kitchen. Right. So I have a coffee pot if you need a microwave. There's there it's there. The other thing too is I like good music. And so I brought my record player, or I bought a record, but I didn't want to bring mine.

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Unknown
I bought one for the studio. I did bring my speakers because, you know, I had some pretty decent desktop speakers. So I brought those in and it and the turntable and I brought some on my record, so. And, so now I can spend ten hours there, I have coffee, I have food, I have music. I don't need to go now.

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Unknown
That's all I need. You got it all. And you know, and you went, you were there. And I even put up a little a coffee table to relax. Yeah. So you're not drinking your coffee at your potter's wheel. You can break away. And if you want to check your phone. Yeah. That time you could, you can, you can have your coffee and check your emails and and so yeah I like that and I, I people have come in and one of the things they always say, wow, this is really nice in here.

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Unknown
I get that a lot. And you almost want to just hang out it truly, it is like it is like, if you could mix a coffee shop right next to what you're doing there, I think it'd just be the perfect combination. It's such a cool feeling in there. Yeah, I think, and other people, I like it.

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Unknown
I don't mind being there. It's relaxing sometimes, you know, at home I might be distracted by the dogs. And so if I need to get work done, even if I know I'm not going to be making pots, I'll just go to the studio because again, I can make a pot of coffee. It's quiet and I just do my computer work there.

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Unknown
Right. I want to talk to you a little bit. So we've talked about the business side of things and running the business, but you can't have a business without a location for it. So we're talking a little bit about the build out that you've had here. How did you go about finding a space? How long were you looking for a space.

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Unknown
Tell us a little bit about that.

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Unknown
A lot of this was just an idea that kind of you start with an idea and you're like, okay, does it work? Maybe. Okay, let's see, let's see. And I looked at quite a few places, some of them mostly I would look just online on and see what's available.

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Unknown
I walked through a few and none of them really. I wasn't thrilled about any of them. Really. And then you found this one, and you said, hey, I think you should check this one out. And I remember thinking when I saw the line like, that's kind of want to see that one. It's it's across town, you know, because I'm like, I don't know.

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Unknown
I don't want to drive there every day. And I think you said, I really think you should check this out. I think this is a good one. All right. I'll go check it out. And when I went there, I was like, okay, he was right. This is this is a nice place.

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Unknown
I had never rented or purchased commercial real estate, but I had done residential stuff before,

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Unknown
and go in.

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Unknown
And you always have a list of I need this, I want this, this is a deal breaker. No. And I think that's how this was. And it checked off a lot of the. Okay, I need this, right. It had, one of the hardest things to find was decent parking. So there were other places that I saw that were like, okay, this is pretty good.

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Unknown
There's no parking or what is how, you know, how's that going to work? So yeah. So were some of those other factors of parking. This one location is huge, right? Yes. You can't be too far away from downtown, but you can't be in downtown because parking could be an issue. So what are some of those like those factors that you were really looking for when you were trying to decide where to go?

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Unknown
there were some things that, you know, obviously it had to work for a pottery. I couldn't, I couldn't get it just because I liked it or whatever. I didn't like it if it was going to work, it was going to work first and foremost. Price.

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Unknown
I mean, it has to be within, right? I mean, if it's too much, I can't you can't do it size. That's another one. It has to work for a pottery. It can't be too small. So those but then the second tier of what's important would be parking, location. You know, I don't want to be driving 30 minutes out of town.

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Unknown
You know, there were places and maybe some road or Stuart ville, I that I didn't want to do that because a lot of with with pottery. I'm in and out. I leave my pots on covered. I have to go cover them. I run home. So this is perfect. Actually, I can get there. And it's exactly ten minutes. That's nice.

00:18:50:17 - 00:19:11:23
Unknown
It's. And that's not that bad. So yeah, I know all those things. They worked out the the parking is good. I really like having a standalone building versus being in like a strip mall. Remember that one when you like that? The there was one with, a music store next door. Yeah. Paper thin walls. You could hear them playing.

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Unknown
Yeah. You wouldn't need your, you wouldn't need to record player right away. I can't listen to this all day. I do not want to hear somebody learning how to play the sax right. Yeah. Having your own space. So I think things about your building that I love run is is this is your own space? Standalone building, which is awesome.

00:19:28:10 - 00:19:47:00
Unknown
To be in location for yourself personally, but then also for just the business. Right. You're not too far out of the way. You're pretty close to what's going on downtown. But then also we looked at where you were at. You have a ton of traffic coming through. Oh, yeah, every day. And I think that is huge for you.

00:19:47:03 - 00:20:05:14
Unknown
We were talking about advertising earlier and making yourself known. You have a great corner, which is super busy that you can imagine. It's probably one of the busiest in town. It's got to be pretty close to it. Yeah, I mean, people are going, I mean, it's always full there. There's always there's construction which loads of people down. I don't know, maybe that's a good thing.

00:20:05:16 - 00:20:20:09
Unknown
They had to stop and look. Yeah, yeah. And take a look around for a little. I noticed the day the signs went up, I went to the street to take a picture. I looked and the traffic was backed up, and I saw a guy. Look, you know, you can tell he was like, what's that? Reading the signs? Sure.

00:20:20:09 - 00:20:40:18
Unknown
It worked. I want to take back. Just go back to the business side of things real quick here as well. So you have your space. It's a set size, right? It's about I think it was 1200ft² around there. These 1515 around there. So you have that set space. What does this mean then for growth for down the road and for your business as well.

00:20:40:18 - 00:21:03:07
Unknown
So how do you imagine your business growing in the next five years. And then what do you have the what does that look like. Walk us through that. Yeah, I'm not sure. We'll see. And I've already started thinking about about this. I've had some the people that have come in the most are all the kind of big name potters in town.

00:21:03:09 - 00:21:25:07
Unknown
They're like, oh, we heard about this. We heard about this. And a couple things that they said. One, they walked in and one of them, I mean, it was my former instructor. He came to check it out and he, he went, he goes, you're going to need a bigger kiln. And I'm thinking probably. And then another potter came in and it was interesting.

00:21:25:07 - 00:21:47:13
Unknown
He mentioned, what did he say? He said he walked in and he has his master's degree in ceramics. And he used to teach. And he said something like, he said, you're doing exactly what I wanted to do 20 years ago. And then he looked around and he goes, you're getting a bigger place. Like he right away he's like, this is going to take off.

00:21:47:13 - 00:21:59:08
Unknown
You're going to need a bigger place. So moving forward, let's say it's wildly successful. You know, I could do a couple things. I could, I could, I can change it to

00:21:59:10 - 00:22:10:05
Unknown
only a membership, a membership only studio and then potentially rent another, smaller place just for classes. You know, maybe buy a place, I don't know, we're not there yet, but.

00:22:10:05 - 00:22:28:03
Unknown
Yeah, for now, it's a great spot. Yeah, it seems like it's working out great. And it seems like you have had so much success with it and just it's been fun watching people get excited about you and your business and what you're bringing to the community. I've seen your ads personally online, so the things that you're doing are working.

00:22:28:03 - 00:22:43:17
Unknown
I just would love to keep seeing you grow in it. And who knows what it'll look like in five years. Do you have a membership only or do you have a. Yeah, there's maybe two spots or I. Yeah. We'll see. One day at a time, right? Yeah. Exact. Right now it's the way it's growing. I'm happy with it.

00:22:43:17 - 00:22:50:03
Unknown
It seems like in the last few weeks it's taken off. I've been pretty busy. Go ahead. So. Yeah.

00:22:50:05 - 00:23:02:21
Unknown
All right. I want to end this with asking one question. So we love to focus on business and focus on personal growth. What is the single most important piece of advice that you could give someone who is going into business?

00:23:02:21 - 00:23:05:06
Unknown
just do it, you know, take a chance on yourself,

00:23:05:08 - 00:23:06:17
Unknown
but realize

00:23:06:19 - 00:23:13:20
Unknown
it's going to be more expensive than you think right away. You're gonna make less than you think, and you're going to put in way more hours.

00:23:13:22 - 00:23:21:18
Unknown
Well, thank you so much for coming in today. If you're in Rochester or around this area and you are looking for something to do, check out Valley Pottery.

00:23:21:20 - 00:23:32:04
Unknown
You can try out something new. And it is truly just so fun being able to get your hands dirty and step away from your phone for an hour or so. Thank you for bringing this to our community. Thanks, Justin. Matt,