After finishing the business proposal about 3 hours ago, I felt time was of the essence and set out to drum up support for this cause. It's one thing to conceptualize an idea, communicate the vision, and get support from family/friends. It's whole other thing when it comes to approaching small entrepreneurs/businesspersons in your neighbourhood.
The first restaurant that I had visited was Kubo Radio. I have been a patron of this place for over a year. I would consider this place my local watering hole. Their wait staff consists of friendly people once they warm up to you. I readily endorse this place and bring all my friends to it because it has a great atmosphere and vibe, as well as an innovative menu prepared by Chef Mitch (I don't know his last name).
The proposed the idea to Mitch, and he was very receptive of the proposal and gave kudos to me, which I thank him for, but he had told me to get in contact and email Leslie, as he's the owner/proprietor of Kubo Radio. He told me that he was really busy and that his business partner from LA had come to town, but told me to email him, to which I replied I already did. He said he'd get in contact with me to meet up for a few minutes so he could hear my pitch. I *really* hope this works out as I have the highest respect for him and his wait staff.
Next up was Barrio - a lovely bar to hang out and take dates on. lol. They weren't open yet, so I went next door to a neat Vegetarian restaurant by the name of Pulp Kitchen. I had talk to Susanna, the manager there at the time, and she said the owner wasn't around, but told me to fire off and email and said good luck to me in this "worthy cause." I thank her, got a business card and went to the next place.
Undeterred, I dropped by Joy Bistro, which was a 20 second walk away. They were first of the new wave of "quality" restaurants, bars and lounges to set up shop in Leslieville. I had talked to what looked like to be the manager there and asked for "Dan" - the owner. He quickly corrected me and said his name was in fact, "Ted." Really big fuck up on my part, and definitely a step in the wrong direction. I apologized and exchanged pleasantries, with the manager telling me Ted was busy and that he'll get him to give me a call afterwards. I'll try to touch base with Ted again, tomorrow.
Afterwards, went to Carbon Computing. They were polite, and weren't as receptive, as they were there to "make money." I told Alex, the Retail Manager there, that I wanted to talk to the owner. Instead, he offered the card to a Cory Vosper, the Marketing Coordinator. I'll email him and ask him to escalate it to the owner/proprietor of their company. I'm crossing my fingers for that one.
Finally, I went to The Comrade, this really small, yet charming lounge, that is inspired by Vietnamese influences. Whatever your imagining right now, you're way off. You have to see in order to feel the charm and character that this place exudes. Anyway, that was going off on a tangent.. they were closed on Mondays, so I'm going to pay them a visit tomorrow.
So far, my realizations have been numerous:
- I need to dress in business attire to ooze some sort of credibility - wearing birkenstocks, jeans, a Depeche Mode t-shirt, and Oakley Juliet sunglasses worn on top of your head apparently doesn't convey that.
- I need to further refine my approach, be more WARM, speak with conviction, passion, and harness all the charm in every fibre of my body to sell this business proposal to all people I come across.
- it's one thing to ask a person for commitment for what you want to say, it's another thing when it's for CHARITY. I can pinpoint the second they go into a dismissive tone, hoping that I would shuffle off and bug someone else.
- The Burger Shoppe
- Dangerous Dan's
- The Real Jerk
- Baldini
- Soma Restaurant and Lounge
- Pop Bistro
- Dark Horse Cafe
- The Booze Emporium
1 comment:
Great work.
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