Elevator operator's overriding story: joy
LOS ANGELES — The loft-like offices at 5514 Wilshire Blvd. are largely the domain of the young, who work in jeans and T-shirts at flat-panel screens.
They are Web branders, search engine optimizers, e-tailers of underground clothing lines. They do the virtual jobs that became jobs only recently.
Ruben Pardo works in the building, too, in a job that dates to the late 19th century.
Pardo operates one of the last manual elevators in Los Angeles.
The young people are not easily impressed — but something about Pardo awes them.
Each morning, the 69-year-old arrives at the Art Deco tower in wool trousers, a button-down shirt and a sweater vest.
Six days a week, for just over half his life, he has been steering the same 6-foot-by-8-foot car up and down the same 11 floors.
"He's been in this elevator longer than I've been on the planet," said Mani Nabavi of digitalgravel.com on the fifth floor, who turned 35 just after Pardo's 35th anniversary.
Persistence, passion pave the way
“You can put vinyl decals on anything — cars, windows, water bottles, laptops,” Gosslee said.Gosslee and Jones run the company out of their Bellingham apartment and have been working on making their prices competitive, Gosslee said.
“There is really only one other vinyl decal cutting company in Bellingham, and they charge an arm and a leg,” Gosslee said. “We’ve been focusing on doing quality work for a little bit cheaper.”
Gosslee and Jones estimate they spend eight to 15 hours a week tending to business matters in addition to their full course loads. It is a challenging schedule, but certain classes have helped make their business what it is today, Gosslee said.
Gosslee is enrolled in Small Business Entrepreneurship, a class taught by business department advisor John Sands.
“I’m learning as I go, and using the class to take our business to the next level,” Gosslee said.
Kellen Peterson, 23, founder of Green Hill Clothes, also began his business while enrolled in school, studying graphic design at the Art Institute of Seattle.
