Our main purpose through Local Legends Magazine is to shed light on our local, small businesses and foster an entrepreneurial mindset amongst individuals within our community
Choosing to walk a path toward financial independence and security through small business ownership is one of the bravest things anyone can do for their future And considering the tax code is not written for the individual but for the business entity, starting a business is a smart move, indeed
This kind of pursuit is not for the faint of heart, though. If you’re looking for a soft friend to tell you everything is going to be risk-free and easy, that’s not us. We’ll be covering all sorts of topics - the inspirational ones and the uncomfortable realities.
So, join us on this adventure OurMission
Nominate your business or a business you love within San Bernardino County, CA and they could win a cover feature!
There’s so much wisdom to be found in the Bible (whether you believe in a divine entity or not) during the process of making money and creating financial security for yourself. That’s not what most people expect to hear. But, then again, most people wait for others to read them precious material rather than diving into the text themselves. Watch as this author weaves your entrepreneurial passions into a spiritually blessed path
Start Something That Matters
By:BlakeMycoskie
We love individuals who share all the chaos they’ve experienced during their business ventures so we can witness how it contributed to their eventual success After all, that’s exactly what we feature here at Local Legendsreal people with real dreams not allowing every speed bump that wreaks havoc on their momentum to stop them from moving toward their goals. Fall a thousand times, get back up just the same amount - we did it as babies, why do we struggle so much as adults?
Giveaway-FollowusonInstagram: @LocalLegendsMag
Basic Economics
By:ThomasSowell
Don’t try to maintain a political conversation, let alone a small business one, without first reading this Although the covers of this book seem too far apart, it’s easier to understand and filled with more pertinent information than your general Econ 101 course that you may have taken back during your school days Prepare to look at money and how our country’s resources are connected a little bit differently.
Redlands Pottery Project
Brad - “We all got started back in 2016 at Redlands High School. Two teachers there, Tim Colbert and SeanRegalado,theykindofsparkedourinterest They would stay late after school and let us work on projects.Wehadthatclassduringsecondperiodand we’dbelatetothirdperiodeverysingledaybecause wewouldn’tcleanupuntilwellafterthebellrang”
Taylor - “We would look like this for the rest of the schoolday”*Pointstomudplattermarksalloverhis pants* “But after high school, there’s no way to continue this The closest studio that does anything similar to this was Riverside (a 30-35 minute drive without traffic) to continue the passion So, we were basically forced to take a hiatus for a couple years because there was simply nothing available unless wewerewillingtogowelloutofourwaytopursuethis hobby”
Brad-“Ithinkitdependsonthefriends Wewereable to make it work But even prior to this business, we alwaysknewhowtohashthingsoutwithoutthrowing punches at each other. We were always pretty civil. And because there’s three of us, we call it The Great Democracy where majority rules I might hate something while these two guys like it, and that’s solvedalotofourproblems We’reprettyfairinthat”
Taylor-“Findingtherightplacewasthetippingpoint This location in particular has the concrete floors whichissoimportantwhenweneedtocleanupand won’thavetoworryaboutwaterdamage There’sbig doorswecangetourequipmentandothershipments in.”
Ezra - “It’s in the heart of downtown Redlands, in the artsiest part of it, which we really wanted. One of our biggestprioritieswasthatwewerecentral.”
Brad - “We wanted to give people something to do otherthaneatordrink.”
Ezra - “We’reoneofthetightestfriendgroups We’ve known each other forever, we hang out all the time… Butevenforus,Ithinkitwasahugeeffortthatneeded to be made It hit us pretty hard that this was super scary because we’re all financially tied to this We’re all relying on each other and if you have disagreements, that can impact the investment that you’ve made It can get emotional So, in order to adapt, we had to make it really clear to each other how we’re feeling, become more accepting, open to otherideas,andcomingupwithcompromises There wasanadjustment Thefirstmonthortwowasalittle tense and rightfully so. There was so much work on ourplate Allofoursavingswerepouredintothisand wehadnothingtoshowforityet Wedidn’tknowifit was going to work It was stressful So, I think for a friendgrouptotakeonsomethinglikethis,theyhave tobereadytobevulnerableinthatstateandputall yourcardsonthetableanddigdeepinordertowork witheachother”
Ezra-“Iwouldnothavedonewiththisanyoneelse I haven’t been burnt by other people, but I feel like I wouldn’t want to get into something so intimate like thiswithjustanyone.ItjustsohappenedthatIknewI could with these guys If they weren’t on board with thisbusinessidea,itwouldn’thavehappened It’snot like if they backed out I would have found someone elsetodothiswith.Iwouldn’thave.”
D I D Y O U J U S T C A L L S T A R T I N G A
B U S I N E S S “ I N T I M A T E ? ”
Ezra-“Well,you’vegottothinkaboutitintermsofthe fact that we spent all of our life savings investing in this We didn’t know if it was going to be successful We had to work up to 14 hours a day before it was opened.Wehadtomakealotofsacrificesoutsideof thislikerelationshipswithfamily,withexercise,general healthyhabits So,wekindofhadtorelyoneachother andsupporteachotherthroughthisbecauseitwasa reallyhardtime.Itwassevendaysaweek,nonstop,for likefivemonthsstraight Itwasinsane Ithinkitalmost broke all of us When this opened, we did not look healthy Todoallthattogether,tosuffertogetherand tosupporteachotherthroughitisveryintimate.”
O U D I D T
Taylor - “I think we did have a good indication that there was a market to offer something like this. If we weregoingtoopenupacoffeeshophereinRedlands, we’d be competing with a lot of other coffee shops They’ve really got that figured out here But there’s nothing like this studio in the area where you can continue to pursue ceramics ofter high school We knewtherewasagapinthemarket”
Ezra-“Ithinksomethingthat’sbeenalittletough,kind ofsadactually,is becauseittakesallthreeofusto run this and we all have very busy lives, and... we’re alsoworkingotherjobs Wecan’thangoutoutsideof workasmuch”
Taylor-“It’snotbecausewedon’tlikeeachother.”
*Everyonelaughs*
Ezra-“Beforethisbusiness,itwasverynormalforus togoonacampingtripfortheweekendorgohiking or just hangout after work with drinks or something like that. And now, it’s pretty impossible to do anything”
Brad - “It’s hard planning something where we’re all together becausethestudioisopenfivedaysaweek.”
Ezra - “It’s a bummer, but I think it’s something we’re actively trying to resolve by building the team I think long-term, as owners,wedon’tnecessarilyneedtobedoingasmuchofthe day-to-dayoperationsbutfocusingmoreonthebiggerpicture likethedirectionofthebusinessandwhatnewopportunitieswe canbringin”
Taylor-“We’restillfairlyfresh WeonlystartedbackinFebruary We’re off to a great start We really feel the support of the communitybehindusandit’sexcitinghavingmemberscoming inandusingthespace.Notallbusinessescansaytheyhavea steadyflowofcustomerscominginsix-sevenmonthsin We’re proudofthatbutarestillfiguringthingsout Wehavealotleftto learn,Iimage.”
Ezra - “We’ve been risk takers for so long We’ve been entrepreneurialforareallylongtime Evenbackinfourthgrade, BradandImadeourownwebsitetosellducttapewalletsthat wemadebyhand.Imean,Bradhashadmultiplewebsiteand hastriedrunningadcampaignsinthepast,sohelearnedhow todothat”
Taylor-“Myparentsownasmallbusiness TheyownDaryl’sPet Shop in Redlands and Pond Diggers I’ve always had entrepreneurial things in my family and business school as well.”
Brad - “I remember back in high school talking about the potentialofdifferentbusinessesforRedlands-onebeingarock climbing gym which someone beat us to. And they’re the perfectguystodoit,too Andnowthatwe’veopenedthis,I’m SOgladwedidn’topenourownrockclimbinggym”
Ezra-“Ithinkwe’renotafraidtotakerisks.ThereasonIwanted todothisinthefirstplaceis AlthoughIlikemyjob,itfeltvery safe and easy to keep doing that, and I wanted some excitement.Ithinkwe’reallcomfortablenotknowingeverything andstillbeingabletomoveforwardwhichIdon’tthinkalotof people are If someone doesn’t understand stuff or it’s not all making sense, they’re afraid to take that next step And, that’s fair, it’s just different mentalities. This risky behavior might bite usintheassoneday,butfornow,I’mprettyhappywedidit”
Brad-“Wewereflyingblindbuttrustingtheco-pilot” Let ’ s Throw
Trash Buddiez
“Whatwedoisclean,sanitize,disinfectcitytrashbins and commercial residential trash pads. We come to your home on a subscription basis or a one-time cleaning(subscriptionstendtobealittlebitcheaper)
I also do residential pressure washing, commercial pressurewashingandsolarpanelcleaning.
“One of the benefits of having me come is I collect your dirty material. I give you basically a steam cleaning Your bins are going to be shot with 200 degree water, 3000 to 3500 PSI I flip them upside down,washallthatmuckymaterialandthentakeitto thecitysewageandIdumpitproperly.
there’s just so many of them Everywhere you look, somebody’s doing a junk removal service. So, I was searching the internet, searching YouTube and stuff for different business ideas and I saw that nobody was doing this Nobody’s really doing it very big in California.There’slikefourcompanies.AndIwaslike, nobody’sreallyinRedlands
“Sidenote Ihavefivesons,andtwoofthemareon thespectrum.ThebigthingformewasIwantedtodo a business that didn’t require a lot of customer service,somethingthatachildoranadultwithautism can do in the future So, that was a big important thingforme.Adultsonthespectrumstruggletohold down jobs And once a customer signs up, we don’t eventalktothem Wegototheirhomeontheirtrash dayandit’saverysimpleprocess.Wegettheirempty bins,wecleanthem,weputthemawayforthem,and thenwegotoournextstop So,thatwasakeyfactorgettingmykidsinvolved”
“Iwas35or36”
“A little background I grew up in Redlands, graduated from Redlands High School (RHS), and joinedthemilitary AndIdidalotofdirtyjobsinthe Navy. I scored really high in the mechanical stuff, so they made me into an engineer I was working on enginesandthingslikethat Then,basically,Ihadto takecareofthesewagesystem Ihadtodothedirty jobs. Ihadtogounclogtoilets.
“As gross as it may sound, somebody’s got to do it The thought of cleaning trash bins wasn’t even a problemformeatall,personally. Iwaslookingtostart a business that wasn’t overwhelmed by the market I was looking into junk removal companies It’s just an easy start-up, you know. You just get a truck, get a dumpster and then go pick up people’s trash But JENNIFER
“Itwasmeandmywifereally She’sfunny Shetriesto act like she’s not involved, but she’s really like the undercover CFO for me. She handles all the finances. I’ll be like, ‘Hey, I’m going to buy this piece of equipment,andshe’llbelike,‘What?For$200,000?Are you crazy?!’ She reels me in when she needs to and she’sjust...she’sthemostamazingpersonintheworld tome So,yeah,she’smyCFO Shejustdoesn’tknowit
“She’s kind of the perfect target market because she’s a mom with five kids. We have a very busy life. Kids are doing different things like jujitsu, school events, etc and it’s like, when are we going to have time to clean our trash bins? And we’re the kind of familythathavethestinkiestbins!Wehavekidsthat throw everything in the trash, like everything that shouldn’tbeinthetrash I’vegotkidsagingfromtwo to twelve. I’ve got one in diapers still, so you know whatthat’slike Nothingsurprisesme”
Photo:KevinMcCartney-Owner
“Iactuallydidgetaloanfrommymom Ithinkwhat’s mostimportantisyourrelationshipbeforeyoutryand join anything if you have a good relationship with eachotherandknowyou’reonthesamepage Ithink itcouldworkoutgreat.
“Theimportantthingistosticktoyourword Ifyousay, we’regoingtostartabusinessandifyou’regoingto help me out or you’re going to be involved, come up with a plan You can’t just say, ‘Give me money I’m goingtostartabusiness,andwe’llfigureitoutlater’ Youneedtobeabletoshareyourinformation
“Keepingpeopleinthedarkisalwaysscary,especially if you take money or borrow money from anybody, especially family There’s a link where they feel obligated to take care of you because they’re family. But at the same time, you don’t want to abuse that becauseit’seasilydone So,Iwasalwaysupfrontwith my mom... I was like, ‘I made this much. Hey, we’re making progress.’ I will show her the statement. I’ll show her what’s coming I worked out a timeframe when I would pay her back and all that The investor shouldbenumberoneatthebeginning,forsure,orat leastyoushouldmakethemprioritybeforeyourself I paidherbackfirstbeforeIevenpaidmyself
“I think overall that’s the most important thing when you do enter into a business relationship with family, you need to have a plan, a structured plan, and everything needs to be out in the open You need to show all your cards because you’re together on it. There just needs to be an open line of communication”
“[Contentcreation]wasoneofthehardercategories when I started the business I got to an age where I wasdonewithsocialmedia Ifeellikeeverybodygoes throughthatatsomepoint.Ihit34orsomethingandI wasjustlike,‘Everybody’ssotoxiconhere,’andIwas overit
“I had literally gotten off social media completely. ThenIstartedabusinessandwaslike,‘Shoot!’Ihave JENNIFER
to become a content creator now because it’s so important to use those platforms. It’s how everybody communicates now. So, you know, [now I’m] making videos and trying to make them interesting I really show my age I was researching (Googling) how do I makegoodcontent.It’stoughbeingasmallbusiness ownerandbeingtheonlyonedoingitbecauseIdon’t haveanypartners
“So,I’mareceptionist.I’macontentcreator.Ihaveto do the finances I have to figure out if adding this service is going to benefit me, and then I have to do the work Let’s not forget that So, starting a small businessisnoteasy.Andyeah,Ithinkbeingacontent creator is so crucial and important, but it wasn’t my favorite part I hate it, but I’m doing it anyway I get tons of customers from social media. Matter of fact, probably most of my customers are coming from socialmedia”
Photo:KevinMcCartneywithsonAaronMcCartney
“Just getting in touch with the community I really love this town Redlands [California] is like no other place in the world from my perspective,andI’vebeenalotofplaces,beentoalotofcountries We’re an hour from the mountains, we’re an hour from the beach and we’re an hour from the sand dunes Where else can you say you can do all those things from one location? You know what I mean?
“Then you have the community This community, in my opinion, is likenoother.Weall,especiallythesmallbusinesscommunity, are always trying to help each other out I have people I should be competingwith,whoIcallallthetimeandI’mlike,‘Hey,howdoyou do this?” And they’re like, ‘Hey do it like this. This is the equipment youneed.’Idon’tthinkyoucandothatanywhereelse.Weallstick together
“Highly suggest if you have a small business, join the Chamber of Commercewhereveryouarejustbecauseitlinksyouupwithother small business that could help you out Being a staple of this community is what’s really important to me So, getting out there, talkingtonewpeople...Gettingthatsurpriseexpressionfrompeople onthestreetthatarelike,‘Areyoucleaningyourbins?’becauseit’s stillanewthing Peopledon’trealizeit It’sagreatserviceandyou know,it’sonthecheapersideasfarastoday’seconomygoes,you know? Go to Starbucks, you get two drinks and a pastry and you spent$25-$30 Mymonthlyserviceis$25,soIthinkthat’sbeenthe funnestpartformeisgettingoutinthecommunity”
“If you use Microsoft Word or Excel, they have this template that literallysays‘BusinessPlanTemplate’andIcreatedabusinessplan forfunbeforeIstartedanything Ifyouwanttobuildabusiness,you need to start with a plan, right? You need to have some kind of direction Beinginthemilitary,thatwasinstilledinmeforsure My business plan was like 14-15 pages - how much I would charge, where I’m located, how I’m going to do everything The template walksyouthroughit It’sprettycool
“Draw out the plan and then show people. That’s the most importantpiece Showthepeoplethatareclosesttoyouandjust say, ‘Hey, do you think this is a good idea?’ Bounce some ideas aroundpeople...anditstartstobecomerealinyourhead.Youcan kindofoutlinesteps,youknow?Istartedwithabusinessname,a logo, and I created the LLC online because it’s cheap You can actuallydoitforfreeifyouknowhowtodothepaperwork Ididn’t I wentonline.
“Youcouldtakebabysteps You’reyourownboss You’recreating something from nothing Take your time Do it to where you’re comfortable. I did that. Then I created a website and things became more and more real I was able to invest more of myself into it and it became less scary So, that’s my advice Take it or leaveit”
TrashBuddiez.com @trash buddiez
Larry Dierdorff (Muralist)
“Intheearly1980sIwasteachingatMariposaSchool andwasdoingplaygroundduty Atthetimetheywere taking arts out of the curriculum, but we had these huge,concretewallsthatkidscouldbouncetheirballs against Ithoughtitwasjustabigcanvas,soIbegan there I painted four murals and then went down to McKinleySchoolwhereyoucouldseethemuralfrom Center Street That led to other commissions very slowly”
“I’ve done probably over 200 murals Most are in Redlands, but they range from Ontario to Moreno Valley,SanBernardinotoRedlands.Butithasbeen40 years.
“I also got involved with restoring lots of antique advertisements here in Redlands. I contacted Carol Beswick, who was Vice President of the Rotary at the time, and told her to give me a little money and I wouldrestorethem So,shecameupwiththemoney JENNIFER
“They didn’t pay me I did it myself, and people are goingtohavetodothis Myfirstmuralswerefreeata school where I was teaching and my second mural wasfreebutwaslocatedwhereIknewIwouldgeta lotofexposure So,forpeoplejuststartingout,they’re probably going to have to paint for free and get exposure so people can see what they’re doing and maytrytocontactthem Unlessyouhaveaportfolio, they’regoingtosay,‘WhyshouldIhireyou?’”
“Irestoredthemapoverthereatthe76[gas]station
Then over at Rok N Fondue on the top floor inside. That used to be a vacant lot The jewelry store (Emerson)that’sbesidethemnowusedtobewhere someonemadebicycles,furnitureandcoffins So,the advertisements on the inside of Rok N Fondue were originally exterior advertisements for the shop where the jewelry store is now So, inside the restaurant upstairs, there will be a sign up there that I restored that says ‘Undertaking.’ *starts laughing* I have paintedmostoftheschoolsinRedlands Ialsodidthe LittleRascalshalfwaydowntheOrangeStreetAlley
“I was contacted by a man who owns the Grigsby BuildingwhichisonStewartStreet,directlyacrossthe streetfromSeptembers Heaskedmetopaintaman on a ladder painting the edge of the window frame. Theproblemisthatit’saveryoldbuildingandonceI began painting an old building like that, I began to find old advertisements, layers of advertisements, from about 1925. One was from the old mayor of Redlandswhosoldhay,grainandfertilizerbecauseof the farming at the time So, I painted an old railroad cartthatwouldcarryheavyluggageandputapileof grainbagsonitandevensomemicethereeatingthe grain
“[Thebuildingowner]likeditsomuchthathehadme paint across the street, right by the Flamingo bar where he owned property that had burned down Therewasnoroofandwasvacantwithmetalbarsup What was happening is that people were throwing their trash through the bars So, he put up plywood boardsthatIpaintedtwoselfies Ifyougodownthere, youhaveorangeballoonsthattransitioninto oranges andthey’reallattachedbystringsthatcomedownat one point where you can hold them, and it looks like you’re holding all these balloons Then, across the doorway,thereisawandtoblowbubbleswith So,you canstandthereandpretendyou’reblowingbubbles, bubblesthattransitionintooranges”
“Ido,butit’snotveryoften WhenIpaintedUncorked across there from Baskin Robbins, the owners were very kind and said they were going to have a restaurantwithfoodandwine(butmostlywine),and theywantedmetopaintamuralthatrepresentedthe business So,Ipaintedallthesegrapesontrellisesand thenusedthecentralpartasalandscapeofRedlands JENNIFER
which we see on orange crate labels I was free to [comeupwith]allofthat,butit’sveryrarethatpeople saythatyoucanpaintwhateveryouwantto.”
“I do some canvas paintings I have donated canvas paintings to the Beloved Foundation that uses it, of course,toraisemoneyfortheircancervictims,andto [anotherentity]thatusesthemoneyforscholarships for the high schools So, when I don’t have mural commissions,IjustpaintbecauseIhavealotofideas thatIwanttoputoncanvasthatdon’tenduponthe walls”
A L L T H E T I M E ?
“Yes,mostlybecauseofthemoney”
A M U R A L I S T ?
“No, and I would suggest for young people who are really interested in art that they do it, but also do somethingliketeachingart.MostartistsIknowhaveto teacheventhoughtheyareincrediblygiftedartists I’d say 99% of the artists have to do something else So, it’sveryrarethatanartistcanmakealiving. Itaught for40yearsandamnowretired So,Igetthatpension to live on and the extra money helps out with other bills Icouldn’tmakealivingat[paintingsmurals] It’s verydifficulttodothat.”
H O W D O Y O U G E T Y O U R C L I E N T S ?
“Wordofmouth.”
A R T I S T S ?
“No,Idon’t Artistshavedifferentstyles,soIdon’twant to have to struggle with someone else’s style. My impressionisthatfIworkedwithanotherartistorhired astudent,itwouldslowmedown WhenI’mpainting, I’m always about four or five steps ahead I know where I’m going, and if I have to stop and tell somebodyorhelpthem,it’llslowmedown”
H A V E A N Y W I S D O M F O R F U T U R E
M U R A L I S T S ?
“Yes Thatwouldbetocontactme Thereasonisthatif they are just starting out, I can save them from reinventingthewheel.Theymaynotknowhowtosetit uportheywon’tknowwhatkindofpainttouse,andI canhelpthemwiththat Theycanpickmybrainand I’mhappytotalktothem”
WhenCustomers Don’tWanttoPay forYourSkill
What To Say ...
Not only do people insist on immediate satisfaction, but they are certain a quick job should cost less They are conditioned to believe they’ll get the best of everything, a fast job with great expertise and a low price Make sure your responses to these people are thoughtful, yet firm.
Response: “Because you called a service provider who has spent years, not minutes, honing their craft so they became an expert that wouldn’t waste your time ”
Why It Works: This is a solid reminder that they’re paying for expertise, not merely time Even the best of people forget this
“HowamIgettingmy money’sworth?
Response: “I gain nothing by wasting my time and yours If something goes wrong, I would spend my time correcting it, making it right, but I don’t want that ”
Why It Works: Plain and simple, you have something to lose as well as the customer Let that be known
Dr.JoyNeff Clinical Psychologist (PSY19220)
“Yourcompetitors arecheaper.”
Response: “You’d also be seeing a lot more of them because they probably wouldn’t do the job correctly the first time around ”
Why It Works: Time is our most important commodity and you’re reminding your customer that everyone should take that seriously
“I’mnotpayingforsomething Icouldhavedonemyself.”
Response: “I wasn’t under the impression you hired me because you couldn’t complete this task yourself I understood that you hired me because your time was more valuable elsewhere ”
Why It Works: No matter the reason a client doesn’t wish to pay, it helps to highlight how important their time is elsewhere, outside of your domain
