Entrepreneur 29: ANTON RAMOS

ANTON RAMOS

Business: Music One Corp.

Category: The Young Millionaires

"When you're passionately involved in something, you don't necessarily count the pesos and centavos."

Music One, a partnership with National Bookstore and Radio City, originally opened in Glorietta 3 in the year 1997. He put up together the best from all the music stores big and small that he'd been to in the world. He wanted to make people find new stuff and not just walk in and find the typical albums.
Since people liked Music One, they were able to build a loyal clientele. Anton Ramos is involved with the purchasing and marketing  of the store. "It's all a matter of taste. When you're buying records for a store, you don't buy for yourself; you buy for the public. After many years of doing it, you learn to know what is going  to sell and what won't. Retail is a very hands-on business."
He learned that it's important to be involved. His family has always been into retail. In the beginning, there was some credibility immediately because of his family background. You really have to prove your worth. And he think they have spent the last nine years trying to build a name for themselves.
When Tower Records approached him, it gave credibility to the little brand that they are. mall operators did not even want to give them space as they wanted international brands. Tower Records for him is like the supermarket of music; Music One has always been niche marketing which is more of a specialty items. Tower has been around since 1950, and they must have learned something in those years. If combined, he think they do a better job. He learned from Tower that they basically advertise to get people into the door. There are different kinds of buyers: those who know what they want, those who look for top selling items, and those who just like to browse. Music retailing is a very low-profit venture.
He pride himself in being objective when it comes to his staff.

• He lay his cards on the table.
• Never ask people to do something you're not willing to do.
• If they deserve something, be the first to give it to them not the first to take it away.

He learned to hire professionals to do the things that he can't do himself. He'd like to think that they would be the most prominent music retailer in the country. They have eight stores now - seven Tower Records and one Music One store.

"My biggest dream has always been to go into broadcasting business. I'd like to put up my own radio station someday.Deejaying is my creative outlet; if I don't have it, I wouldn't be able to do my job properly. On a personal note, I've released four more albums as a part of The Chillout Project Series."

"To open a music store, you really have to love music, that's the heart of it; you have to believe in your product. Also, you have to find your niche. There's still a lot of room for new players, especially in smaller niche markets like deejay record stores. Lastly, be patient; success doesn't happen overnight. I'm quite happy with the way things are, and although I wouldn't say I'm a complete success, I'm well on my way."

GOLDEN RULE:
" You can't always have it all; what you can do is make the best decisions given the information and resources that you have. Always strive for more and continue to push the limits to attain your dreams."