KIMBERLY WALKER - BORRACHA LINDA HENDY - RED SCOOTER DELI HEIDI SEASTRAND - LIFE TRANSFORMATIONS RICK STOLLMEYER - MINDBODY

 Jonas Bailey
 Founder, Infinity Tile & Design
 www.infinitytiledesign.com 

After reading many inspiring entrepreneur books, it seems that there is one ingredient which differentiates us (entrepreneurs) from the rest of the labor force. The one key ingredient is time.
As a recent Cal Poly graduate, absent of family responsibilities, time was on my side.  I believe that time has different speeds in life, and it seems to go by the slowest for me when I am traveling.  Since the age of sixteen, I have been working at restaurants saving my tips to travel abroad.  My favorite destination among places that I have traveled to is Indonesia.  Sounds bizarre? Well if you are surfer you would understand. However, it wasn’t until a professor in one of my international business classes said to me, “international success lies in cultural entrepreneurship.” I began to decipher this phrase when I went back to Indonesia following graduation.

It was during this trip that I realized many Indonesian buildings, from floor to ceiling, have marvelous natural stone.  It was difficult sourcing these stones; however, I had a trusted guide to help me discover the original source.  I had setup many meetings and negotiated prices for each stone.  Having only a modest idea of what stone retailed for back home, I played the role during negotiations as a powerful multi millionaire.  Of course, they didn’t know the only savings I had was a portion of unused student loans. 

When I arrived home, I had no idea how to get my product here.  I decided to take an international trade course with the EVC, which helped immensely in regards to best logistic practices.  Furthermore, [the EVC] set me up with a mentor, Ross Starkenburg, who would always take the time to offer me his advice and credible business opinion at any time of the day.  However, it was clear that my student loan was going to run out quick.  It was then that I was introduced to Dave Mooklar from the EVC who helped me secure a loan with Mission Community Bank and taught me the importance of cashflow. 

I now was poised and ready to hit the market.  During this period, I was gaining new accounts and visiting trade shows.  Since my product was so unique, I was able to gain access to high profile companies.  Currently, I am under negotiations with a few large natural stone corporations, which will hopefully bring me promising news within the near future.

In addition to selling my products through retail shops, I also work with many local contractors and architects.  I have a great time doing custom work, and my clients appreciate the fact they can get any one of my products at any desired size or finish.  Furthermore, since I order directly from the quarries, I can keep an extremely high level of quality control, which is important since others cannot guarantee this.  Among many other competitive advantages, it is my competitive pricing that allows me to close deals even in the tight housing market.

After many long invested hours into my business, I began to have a desire to do volunteer work.  I started volunteering for West Coast Housing, a non-profit housing facility.  The facility demographics consist of low-income individuals who are just entering the work force, to senior citizens who are exiting the workforce, and many other individuals in between.  WCH receives both physical and economic donations which allow the facility to stay self sustainable.  I was very intrigued with the director Joseph Goodwin.  He is the owner of an extremely successful business and still finds the time to give back to his community, a quality that I admire. 

My volunteer work started slowly, but then my passion and belief motivated me to do as much I can. Between Infinity Tile & Design and West Coast Housing, the two business’s keep me very busy.  However, it has been worth the effort and keeps me happy knowing I am making a positive impact in our community.  I still believe that time allows a person to make the best decision for both their business and life decisions.  Also, I have come to realize that cultural entrepreneurship is understanding your surrounding environment and using the accumulated knowledge as leverage.

For more information

Infinity Tile & Design
www.infinitytiledesign.com
Office: (805) 215-0853
Fax (805) 439-0234

West Coast Housing
www.westcoasthousing.org
Office: (805)772-5815

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