May 15, 2017

Meet Ezra Horne of Paw Paw Records in East Hollywood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ezra Horne.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
About two years ago, my partner had a really disappointing experience in a record store, and came home complaining about how much better of a job he could do if they hired him to run it.

I stopped him and said, let’s just do it ourselves! And the idea was born–we spent a few months building up a collection to sell, and tested the market by doing pop-up sales in front of our apartment in Virgil Village near Sqirl. When those sales did well, we knew there was a market and we started planning to find local retail space.

In March of 2016, a space opened up in small building on the Northwest corner of Virgil Avenue and Normal Ave, and it was affordable enough for us to make the leap.

We designed our record store by thinking about everything we’d like to see in our dream store–easy clear labelling, fair and reliable pricing, and carefully curated selection to make sure you don’t have to spend hours digging to find a record you love, and you don’t have to guess about quality.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been tough at times because we’re doing this as a labor of love–I still have a full-time job M-F and my partner has scaled back to two days a week at his to run the store Tues-Sat. We would like to be open longer but our neighborhood is still developing its own nightlife–we have great neighbors, but our store is a hidden gem and we’ve struggled to get people to notice our little store in such a chaotic city.

Generally, since we’ve not taken on any debt, the process has been smooth, and sales have grown every quarter!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Paw Paw Records – what should we know?
Our mission is to hand-select the highest quality vinyl for our neighborhood and provide a streamlined, informative experience for newcomers and seasoned diggers alike. We go out of our way to source timeless albums to keep our stock eclectic and fresh. We are driven by a passion for records, and strive to share our love with every customer through great values and fair trades.

We are really proud of our store and the selection within, and we know there is something for everyone. We are different from other stores in that we are small, selective and carefully labelled and bagged–there is no dirty dusty hands here.

This is my first attempt at starting my own business, and I’m very proud of the fact that we consistently get GREAT feedback from our happy customers, and that’s an accomplishment I will never get tired of.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance and confidence in the face of uncertainty are keys to success… you have to carefully assess the decisions you make and whether they are not only the right decisions, but being made and executed at the appropriate time. I’ve always been a careful person, averse to big risk, but you are always taking risks and trying new things as a small business owner.