Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Soto.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alex. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Much of who I am today stems from my mother and father. Growing up, I have seen them struggle to provide for our family and I watched them work their tails off to make sure that my siblings I had food in our belly and a roof over our heads. Their struggle made me realize that I never wanted to struggle myself. I went to college, graduated, landed a job working in the engineering department, had two little girls of my own and was finally in a position to enjoy the fruit of my labors. During that time, my love for baseball grew and so did my passion for traveling. I started organizing an annual trip to San Francisco to see the Dodgers play the Giants with my close family and friends and as the years passed, it just kept getting bigger and bigger. It wasn’t until I got laid off from my engineering job that I decided that I was either going to go get another engineering job or pursue my passion for traveling and baseball. As you can tell. I chose to pursue my passion. I quickly came up with a name, logo, a website and the rest is history.
Has it been a smooth road?
I wish I can say that choosing to go full time with my passion went smoothly but like with any venture you pursue, there are risks.
Choosing not to go and find another engineering job and start my own company meant that I was now not guaranteed a paycheck, benefits, and even worse, to succeed. While this was scary, I knew in my heart that I could do it. Pantone 294 started out of my garage in Huntington Park, CA. Luckily social media was a huge help getting the word out but I was still battling two huge obstacles.
- Trying to convince people to trust me and my services while I’m working out of my home.
- Funding the trips months in advance without having a stable source of income.
It took some time but in August 2015, I had finally had saved enough money to move into an actual office. This helped me significantly. I finally had a set place to work. I started putting in 13-16 hours a day and dedicating all of my time to make it grow bigger, even adding an additional member to my one-man team to help out.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Pantone 294 was created with the hopes of uniting Dodger fans all over the country in efforts to support our Boys in Blue while they are playing on the road but what we have done here is something so much more significant. We have essentially created family-like communities all over the country. We have provided many people with a unique, fun and safe environment to travel and support their team. We arrange flights, buses, lodging, game day tickets, and tourist attraction for our members who attend the trips with us at a very cost-efficient price and we even accept deposits for those who might be struggling to bring a large group or family on the trip with us.
What I am most proud of as a company is knowing that we have grown to where we are today because people are happy with the services we are providing to them. The game only lasts a few hours but the memories and the friendships that are being made on these trips are going to last a lifetime. I don’t like to compare myself to others but I am a firm believer that what differentiates Pantone 294 from another traveling group/company is the bond that we share and the dedication and hard work that is put into making sure that our members always feel like family and are safe while on our trips.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Good question… I love LA. LA is and will forever be my home. I don’t think you would be able to pay me enough to move out of LA. Do I think LA is a good place for businesses like mine, yes, but I am just happy that not many have tried to do what I do. If someone wanted to start out here I would tell them to make sure that they are passionate about it, have tough skin and don’t give up. It takes long hours and minimal social life in order to make a company successful especially in a place where so many are trying to pursue their own endeavors and people are way too quick to be critical.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2001 Beverly Blvd
Suite 208
Los Angeles, CA 90057 - Website: www.pantone294.com
- Phone: 2138801403
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pantone294/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/officialpantone294/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/pantone294/
- Other: www.youtube.com/pantone294/
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