I'm sure it's the same way in other cities: if you don't have a genuine passion for what you're doing along with the work ethic to back it up, you won't last in the industry. I've had to bust my ass for every dollar that goes into this business. I've had to do more work then I was getting paid for, and there were a lot of times when I simply worked for free or for a trade of some sort. There have been plenty of times where money is tight and things are tough, but the best piece of advice I can give to anyone is "never quit." There are a lot of people who will discourage you and stick their toes out from the sidelines just to watch you fall. I couldn't even tell you how many people have told me I'm wasting my time, or that a project I've had in mind isn't worth doing. Sometimes they even put up a good argument saying that if I don't make (x) amount of dollars in (x) amount of time that I should just pass on the job. But my response has always been the same: I do it anyway and I do it the best I possibly can. I'm not money motivated; I do it because it's cool and I like coming to work building cool shit all day. It's my passion and I'll never quit. I think there are a few big name builders out there that only made it through the '70s because they shared this type of passion.
I founded my shop Red Soul under this premise, but there are a few other shops here in Seattle, like Ewing's Kustoms, Lucky's Choppers, Felony Flyers, and Eastside Harley who have stood the test of time because they share this dedication to the industry. I regularly visit other shops in the area, and it seems we all have our specialties. It isn't uncommon for us to bounce projects back and forth to each other so the customer gets exactly what they want. Because of this cooperation, we regularly operate from a much larger pool of bike building professionals. As a result, we continually raise the bar of our bike building and have met a standard of professionalism and appeal that is hard to beat.
In the end, some of the best builders are in the northwest, and that's because only the truly hardcore can survive here. We have the necessary drive, talent, and work ethic, and RedSoul is here to help put Seattle on the map.