Canadian Music Trade - December/January 2019 | Page 9

FROM THE FLOOR...
M
urat Baslamisli opened Drum-
mer’s Hangout in Aurora, ON
back in 2015. His goal was to
create a unique environment
where drummers could come
together, talk about gear and their favourite
players, and enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience
catered to their interests and instrument of
choice. A few years in, his plan seems to be
working, as the store was just recognized at
the Aurora Chamber of Commerce’s Business
Excellence Awards with the distinction of Best
New Business.
Here, Baslamisli speaks with Canadian
Music Trade about the honour, and how fos-
tering a sense of community in and around
his store has driven his success.
CMT: Congratulations on your award.
What does it mean for you as a business
owner to be recognized like this by both
your peers in the Chamber of Commerce
and members of the local community?
MB: It means everything. It means we are on
the right track and people are actually seeing
it and appreciating it. It is literally insane for
a super specialty shop like ours to beat out
so many other businesses that appeal to 80
or 90 per cent of the population! I still find it
surreal but it sure feels great that someone,
somewhere thought we are worthy. I am sure
I mumbled something incoherent during the
The Importance of
Community
With Murat Baslamisli of Drummer’s Hangout
acceptance speech but my wife said it was
okay; I will have to watch the video later!
CMT: Tell us a bit about how Drummer’s
Hangout came to be nominated for the
award in the first place. What were the
criteria they were looking for?
MB: The Aurora Chamber of Commerce an-
nounces and opens the voting process in the
middle of the summer for various categories
like Best New Business – our category – Best
Small Business, Best Non-Profit, and so on.
People in town nominate
their favourites. Once the
voting is closed, the Chamber
gathers the votes and narrows
it down. They interview the
candidates that make it to the
next level. It is about an hour
of intense questioning. After
the interviews, they narrow it
down to three finalists. They
come and make videos of you
to be shown during the award
ceremony, before the winner
is announced. So you go to
the gala, watch the person go
to the stage with an envelope,
and wait to hear who won!
CMT: How important is
community – both the
general community in your
surrounding area and your inner com-
munity within the store – to Drummer’s
Hangout’s overall success?
MB: Community is huge – not just the gener-
al community and the immediate community,
but even the online community. We seem to
have created this environment for folks near
and far where they love to be a part of what
we are doing, sometimes by dropping in and
spending their whole day here, sometimes by
buying something from us, and sometimes
sharing a Facebook post that reaches people
that maybe we ourselves had no means of
reaching. Community, in every sense of the
word, is huge for what we are trying to do.
MB: I find the best way is to make sure people
understand what we are doing and buy into
the culture of what it is that we are trying to
achieve. That seems to resonate with staff and
customers alike and helps build a community
of likeminded people that are not just cus-
tomers, but friends of the shop. I meet these
people outside of work all the time. They are
friends. It grows from there.
CMT: Similarly, how do you and your
staff go about getting involved in and
engaged with your local community in
and around Aurora?
MB: We try to be a part of every event that
is remotely involved with music. We supply
drums for every festival in and around town.
We donate equipment to schools when we
can. We also sponsor our hockey team and
various baseball teams in summer.
CMT: When people in your community
think of Drummer’s Hangout, what are
you hoping comes to mind? How do you
and your staff work to foster that repu-
tation?
MB: I hope people think of our shop as a
place where they feel comfortable walking
in and spending time chatting with me or
other customers. My vision for this shop at the
beginning was “a barber shop environment for
drummers.” That has not changed. Come on
in, we shoot the breeze, spend time, and talk
about drums!
CMT: What’s on the horizon for Drum-
mer’s Hangout over the next few months?
Any new initiatives coming up or things
you’re focusing on?
MB: Well, it is the holiday season, so having
a good one is essential. After that, keep the
growth steady and let the word out that we
exist because, believe it or not, I still have
people walking through the door saying, “I did
not know you were here!” Drum clinics seem
to be going well here as well and bring a lot
of people together, so I will be pursuing a few
more of those as well.
CMT: What are some of the ways that you
foster a spirit of community within the
store?
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
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