We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steve Adams a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

It was 2020, and life was turned upside down, for most of us. I was a working musician, touring with bands, gigging locally a lot, bouncing between recording sessions. Had it all that pretty dialed. A work-in-progress since 2005, and years prior.

The pandemic came and suddenly that career was completely on hold. No gigs, no tours, no open venues. Word on the street was “this might take a couple years, or who knows”. So of course, wheels starting turning, what was I to do till then.

For most of my life, I had been collecting vinyl records, inspired no doubt by my family’s collection. Parents, grandparents, older siblings. I probably started out my collecting with trading cards, some toys. But quickly it was all records.

As a young teenage musician in San Jose, one of my absolute favorite things to do was get myself to Streetlight Records and browse the bargain bins for as many hours as possible. There is where my personal record collection began.

My passion and interest only grew, and as such natural sequences might go, I started finding myself working at record stores in whichever town I was living. Was nothing less than dream work.

Eventually, I started amassing more and more records. I’d buy doubles when I found good deals. I’d accept donations from friends. And then began, the dabbling in selling my scores at local community-friendly record markets (ie, “record swaps”).

Another level deeper and I was helping out a little vintage shop on Piedmont Ave in Oakland with their record section, stocking and managing it with my growing inventory.

2020 came, that vintage shop closed doors and there I found myself, with musician work on hold indefinitely, with boxes and boxes of vinyl. And the light bulb came on. Now could be just the right moment to take a crack at opening my own shop.

Small and minimal was the idea. Sneak in, grow sustainably, see what happens. I knew one day I would have a shop, I just didn’t know it would happen this early on, mid-musician career.

The support I immediately got was amazing. Family, friends, bands, the record community. I felt blessed and ready to find out what this dream come true might feel like.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Mars Records is a vintage/used record shop that buys/sells/trades. Records are the focus, but beyond the vinyl layer, there’s still lots more to discover.

Firstly, all media types are appreciated. Tapes, CDs, Vhs, DVDs , 8-tracks, laser discs. To a degree, I try my best to make room for it all. It all has a place I like to think, representing different moments in time and history.

And then beyond media, I have a rotating stock of new and vintage storage cases and bags, used stereo components, portable turntables, assorted music-related books, recycled “record jacket” notebooks and postcards, song lyric frisbees – they’re round and spin! And randomly, any other cool music-related items I can squeeze into the nooks.

I also always have a rotating art show up at Mars, showcasing local artists. Not only is it a great way to change up the “vibe/look” of the shop each season, but each show also always invites in a new community of people, which is super fun.

And lastly, there’s the events that happen in and around the shop. Outdoor vintage markets, in-store DJs and occasional live music sets, backyard mini-concerts.

Being next-door neighbors with two awesome vintage shops (The Sunshine Prophecy and Heads Or Tails Vintage), and surrounded by a bunch of other great small businesses, our little Piedmont Ave zone can really come to life at times. Bustling activity, cool shopping, live entertainment. And lucky for me, I feel like Mars is kind of right in the center of it all. One business or another is always up to something fun and special.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Well, the fact that I opened during the first winter of the pandemic certainly would illustrate some determination and resilience.

My soft grand opening was Black Friday 2020, our culture’s typical kick-off to the “holiday shopping season”.

I was actually lucky to open at this time because there was in fact a good initial boost of activity. People wanting to get out and shop more than ever. And friends and family were especially excited for me, taking on a new challenge during a pretty difficult year. So right away I felt a great sense of hope.

The challenge came in December when retail started going back and forth a bit on all the rules of a pandemic. Masks, social distancing, hand sanitizer, limited shop capacity, contactless payments, shelter-in-place even. I had to navigate all that while still learning the ropes of starting a business. I did after all jump in with a lot of faith that I would figure it all out as I go.

December came and went, with all its unknowns and back-and-forths, and the new year began. I was worried post-grand opening and post-holiday season that I’d experience the challenge of keeping business up. I leaned in with all I had, self-promoting, dialing in the shop every day. And sure enough, the shop began to hit a comfortable and cruise-y consistency.

I stuck with it, found a rhythm, kept the learning mind open. And now after three years, I feel like I can look back with pride and see that it has only grown and gotten better with each passing month and year.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I knew, or at least assumed, that the time would come when live music venues would re-open, festivals would return, and gigging/touring would generally be back.

The pandemic break from all that was, in some ways, a nice relief for me. A “vacation” from constant traveling, constant live music volumes, constant schedule variations, week-to-week, month-to-month. The steadiness and calmness of the shop was a welcome shift, as much as I’d enjoyed the gigging music life, most of my life.

But with this “returning to normal”, I found myself being tugged away from the shop. It was to be expected, but in my mind, I really wanted both worlds to co-exist. The dream had to evolve.

Holding tightly onto both career paths, I had to figure out how to keep the shop running sustainably while scooting off to this gig and that tour. I had friends help out, but I knew what I really needed to do was bring someone in with a flexible schedule that I could “teach” somewhat, so that shop progress could be seamless while gone. Basically, I needed to hire help.

So after two years of down time in my music career and having buddies help out at the shop here and there, I finally pulled out all the resumes that had been dropped off and started to go through them. I remembered having a good feeling about one of the applicants and so I reached out and lo and behold, I struck gold!

I can imagine not every hiring experience is perfect, but to have my first hire be so great, it’s definitely given me confidence that asking for help can actually sometimes work out. And, that help and support might be a big key to growth.

It also helped remind me that I actually have some valuable knowledge and perspectives to share, with people who are interested. I’ve really enjoyed experiencing that with the person I hired.

Sometimes we get caught up in just wanting to learn more and more, but it’s also nice to pause and share some of what you’ve learned. The follower/leader, student/teacher roles. I think I’m still processing how to be the leader/teacher, but I’m enjoying that challenge. And the better I can get at that, I think the better my business will be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marsrecordshop.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marsrecordshop
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marsrecordshop
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mars-record-shop-piedmont

Image Credits
Roberto Velázquez-Ayala, Andrew Quist