2009 March | RoyalAnts

Archive for March, 2009

Starting Up a Startup - Jared Hayes: Owner of Apparition Ink - Part 1

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

This is the first installment of my interview with Apparition Ink owner Jared Hayes. Jared has earned a reputation as one of the best tattoo artists around, and he also runs one of the best tattoo shops. He sheds some light on what it is like to be an entrepreneur and why he chose to open his own shop rather than working for someone else. Jared also echoes the sentiments of every successful business owner when he talks about the amount of work/energy that goes into creating something on your own.

If you would like to get in touch with Jared or one of his awesome artists, go see them at 1700 S. 380 E. in Salt Lake City, Utah. Or, give them a call 801-487-0635. Go see him, and tell him RoyalAnts sent you!

Starting Up a Startup - Jared Hayes: Owner of Apparition Ink - Part 1 from Royal Ants on Vimeo.

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Tags: art, blog, business, interview, jared, local, tattoo, vlog
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Starting Up a Startup: Countdown!

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Before I delve too deep into our exciting countdown news, I wanted to make sure that first time visitors had an idea of what they are about to see. RoyalAnts is going to be a lot more than what you see now. The blog/vlog that you are currently looking at is a collaboration of business advice, profile interviews of us (the RoyalAnts team), and interviews with local/small business owners.

What RoyalAnts WILL BE is something so much more. We fully intend to keep the blog/vlog section active and informative, but the main focus of the site will be a place to connect local/small businesses with their customers. We envision a place where current and potential customers can come together and interact with businesses in a way they have never been able to before. You will be hearing and seeing more about this in the coming weeks!

Now, on to the exciting news. After an incredible burst of production spurred by newfound love and motivation, RoyalAnts is proud to announce that a countdown to our initial beta phase has begun. As of today, we sit at 33 days until you can expect to see beta invites being distributed. On that note, if you are interested in helping us make RoyalAnts the coolest place in all the land and would like to take part in our private beta, please email me - ryan@royalants.com.

So, there you have it. News that we have been waiting for a looooong time, and hopefully there are a few of you out there as excited as we are to bring this to life. Expect to see some new videos coming soon, and thank you for stopping by. We truly appreciate everyone who has/is supported(ing) us!

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Starting Up a Startup - Jon and Andrea: Owners of Bevalo

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

I show off my amazing cameraman skills (<—-painful sarcasm) in our latest video! As promised, we are documenting local business owners and their entrepreneurial adventures.

This video features Jon Stovall and Andrea Maize, the owners of Bevalo Coffee in downtown Salt Lake City. You will notice that both Jon and Andrea have an amazing power that involves disappearing and reappearing in the video that has nothing to do with poor editing on my part!

Jon and Andrea give some helpful hints for you budding entrepreneurs, and offer insight into the passion they possess for their products. I was immediately struck and impressed by the attention to detail they show in all aspects of their business. This included, but was certainly not limited to, the cleanliness of the shop, the great art on the walls, the overall ambiance, the handmade/organic treats, and the importance put on making the perfect cup of coffee (or tea!) using the best beans/leaves in town.

Bevalo is not your average coffee shop. The owners feel indebted to the hard work of everyone who makes their craft possible, especially the people who labor to grow and gather the beans and leaves. They know the background and history of the people and the product, and I was lucky enough to capture some of these stories in this video. I hope you enjoy getting to know Jon, Andrea, and Bevalo. Please let us know what you think by leaving a comment, and DEFINITELY go indulge in one of the amazing drinks/treats they offer. I recommend either a latte (Jon makes a killer latte!), or the peach Rooibos tea. Bevalo is located at 200 South 123 East in Salt Lake City. You can also find them on Twitter at BevaloCoffeeSLC !

Starting Up A Startup: Bevalo Coffee from Royal Ants on Vimeo.

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Starting Up a Startup: How do YOU support local?

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

As the launch of the RoyalAnts site grows nearer, I wanted to start creating posts that cover subject matter mirroring what you will see on the site. We have not gone into great detail as to what RoyalAnts will be, and this has been intentional. That being said, I want to give you a snippet into what we hope to accomplish.

RoyalAnts.com will be a place for local businesses to stay better connected with their customer base/clientele. It will also allow you to stay more personally connected to those businesses that you love, as well as find new ones to visit/support. That is a painfully vague overview of the general concept.

In the coming weeks, I hope to explore what motivates people to shop local. Does it have to do with the overall quality of the product/service they receive? Is it an anti-corporate mentality from people not wanting to support huge faceless companies? Is there a sense of familiarity and community in a locally owned establishment? Does the ability to interact with the owner matter? My assumption is that all of these play a role, but I intend to ask patrons of these businesses to give some insight on their motivations. Along with this, I want to talk to local business owners/managers to find out what motivates them/drives them/makes them tick.

I intend to bring you this in video form shortly, so stay tuned! While you patiently, but eagerly (I’m sure!) wait, I pose those questions to you. Are you a patron of one or more local businesses? What keeps you going back? Are you a local business owner? What drives you? How do you compete, especially in such rough economic times?

I look forward to hearing your stories!

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Starting Up A Startup - Tweet Before You Think

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

How much thought do you give to your online posts? We seem so willing to put our thoughts and feeling out in a public forum, often without much thought of who might be watching. Whose reputation might be on the line? Yours? The company you work for? Your business? Those of you trying to build a brand and/or a business may want to stop and think about what emotions you allow people to tap into based on the comments you post online.

Have you ever gotten yourself in a sticky situation because of something you said online? Did you think it was just a small group of people who had access to your words, forgetting to consider the scope of whose eyeballs could be watching?

Starting Up a Startup - Tweet Before You Think? from Royal Ants on Vimeo.

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