We recently connected with Ashley Robles and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
Man, thinking back to when this was all just an idea is kind of surreal now! So it was a few years ago, and I was laying in the bed complaining to my husband about the ‘good ol days’ when I was more involved with music in college. It’s one of those things I could just never really get over; going from a music business epi center to a 9-5 business center. Quite simply, it sucked. I felt unfulfilled. So I’d pray on it any time I felt that way, and that night, it just clicked. I had this growing passion for wine and a hunger for music, why not bring the 2 together and create something cool?
The next day, I spent a few hours writing up a first draft business plan, coming up with some name ideas, figuring out what the experience would be like. By the end of the day, I had a long ‘to-do’ list of step by step things I needed to do to bring NOTES, a wine and music bar, to life.
I continued (then and still now) to work full-time, so I devoted every spare hour and minute I had to working on NOTES. I’d research during lunch breaks, the weekends, any chance I could. When most people were scrolling through social media, I was scrolling through TABC and .gov websites. My point is, it took A LOT of research for several months. After that, it was time to start checking off the comprehensive to-do list I put together with the information I learned. I think having that to-do list was the best decision I made. I still use it to this day. Most of the items are checked off, and it’s an ever-growing list. But it keeps me honest and doesn’t miss a single detail of what needs to be done.
I eventually got to the point where I completed all of the ‘free’ or super cheap to-do items, and getting financed was the next step. That was a whole thing in itself. Long story short, getting someone else to fund NOTES whether it be a grant or loan, wasn’t an option. That’s really when things went from planning to ‘action’. I realized I had to self-fund, so I just accepted my fate and started! I arranged the next batch of to-do items by level of importance and also price. I formed my LLC and started on my TABC application. As the paperwork and admin stuff was happening in the background, I started looking for a place for NOTES. I ended up landing a shop in Old Town Spring.
I continued working through my list of supplies and permits while my TABC was in progress. My whole game plan and mantra was “Stay In Motion”. Meaning, no matter if I’m waiting on a permit or reply from someone, what else can I be doing in the meantime to keep moving NOTES forward? I felt like if I stopped or paused at all, it would all fall apart or never happen. So while applications were getting reviewed, I was ordering wine glasses, buying furniture, planning what wines and beers to get, and so on. Anything I could do without my wine and beer permit, I was trying to get it done.
My husband and I (and some awesome friends and family) spent a lot of time working on the actual space, painting and putting together furniture. Once my TABC permit was approved, I reached out to brands I’ve worked with in the past as AshleyTheWinosaur on IG and leveraged those relationships. I signed up with local distributors and reached out to minority owned brands online. I’m now at the point where I’m waiting on my food permit, so I’m adding some final touches to the bar, stocking wine and beer, and looking for musicians to perform on a regular basis.
At this rate, I should be able to open the doors to NOTES in early August!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have had a passion for music since I first learned to play the clarinet at age 10. I continued to play clarinet through college and received a degree in Music Business and Entertainment Industries from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. After earning my degree, I moved back to my hometown, Houston, where I met my husband and gave birth to two amazing kids. I became fascinated with the world of wine and started exploring different varietals with my husband and hosting wine tastings with Traveling Vineyard. I partnered with several wine brands through Instagram as my wine account continued to grow. After missing the music aspect of my life, NOTES was born as a way to combine my love of wine and music.
At NOTES, I offer a small but fun selection of wines from specific regions and minority owned winemakers like Black, Hispanic, Asian, and women-owned brands. There is also local craft beer from some of the popular breweries in TX. And the atmosphere is a place that will make you feel like you’re hanging out a friend’s house! You can order at the counter and grab a glass or bottle of wine with some charcuterie or pizza. I think the combination of the wine selection and musical atmosphere will set NOTES apart from other wine bars. When you walk in, you’ll feel transported outside of Old Town Spring and into an eclectic spot with chill vibes.
In the front room, there are tables by the windows and bar height tables scattered around. There’s a couch with a fabulous grass wall behind it, perfect for IG snaps. The middle room is perfect for grabbing a bigger table for your group or to sit and have some pizza and charcuterie. There’s another couch for extra lounging and a few chairs at the pay counter for that ‘bar feel’. 2 TVs over the wine shelves are liable to be streaming reality tv shows or sports at any time. And the back room is the ARCADE! There are arcade cabinets with games like Ms Pac Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, The Simpsons, a foosball table, and other table games to play with friends.
I’m most proud of the way it ‘feels’ when you’re in NOTES. Sometimes I go to work on the space but get sucked into the chill vibe and just want to sit and drink wine!
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Whew, my funding story…I’ll tell you what. I didn’t get an investor’s check; I got a reality check. I thought I was going to be able to apply for a small business loan or grant like people make it seem on. That didn’t happen. I mean, I applied to several loans and grants, but didn’t get any.
Some of these lenders want you to have X amount of years in business and to have $50K or more in revenue sometimes. I was very confused at how a small business loan to start a business was even possible with these kinds of requirements. I found some other lenders who offer specifically start up loans, but those didn’t really pan out either.
Instead, I maxed out some credit cards and used our own earnings and savings. I plan out how much money to move from our personal checking account to my business account and when to do it. This keeps us from being totally broke but leaving me with some working capital for NOTES.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Being resilient is an important part of starting a business. I know there are going to be times where I feel like giving up or some kind of obstacle ahead. And I’ve already gone through them!
Filling out and applying for a TABC permit is something you hear horror stories about. I had no idea what it all would entail until I started filling it out. There are several sections in the online application. Some of the sections require you to get additional documents before proceeding. I started the application in January and didn’t get my permit until May 1. Part of that delay was the fact that I needed my actual business location in order to move forward with the application. I had to secure a location and put up a 60 day sign. The timing actually ended up working out perfectly where 60 days after I put the sign up, I got my permit.
But there were some frustrating parts of the application like having to get all of the signatures and approvals from city and county officials. There was one incident where someone in the City Secretary office told me I needed to get some other forms completed before I could get the Certificate of City Secretary. I told them I didn’t need that, but they refused to move me forward in my application process without it. So I went through with getting the additional documents and getting them filled out and notarized. I went to turn them in to the permitting center and found out that I never needed them in the first place. I wasted a week and a lot of gas running around doing something that wasn’t needed. I even called the local TABC office to make sure, and they confirmed it wasn’t needed. I only needed local county documents since my business location was outside of city limits.
All in all, situations like that toughen my skin and help me become more resilient to future situations that may happen!
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @notes_htx
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/notes_htx