In his own words: Paul Doege of Recycled Records

Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about Recycled Records and how you decided to make music your profession?

Paul Doege: After college I was living in Ohio and planning to save to open a used record store. My parents, who lived in Reno during this time, went into Recycled Records (then on Wells Avenue) and overheard that the current owner was going to go out of business. My parents loaned me the money (which I repaid with interest), and I took over in late 1980. I got turned on to used record stores while at OSU and thought that would be a job I would enjoy. I still do enjoy it.

NNBW: What's the most important thing you have learned in your career?

Doege: You don't have to like it to sell it. If I only sold what I liked, my store would be one-tenth the size. However, I realize that the only set of ears I have to keep happy are my own, just like anyone else. So my job is to keep everyone else's ears happy, too.

NNBW: Independent music stores have faded from the retail landscape. How have you survived the transition to digital media?

Doege: We're still around because we offer used, not new, media in our store. Besides downloading, the reason for music store failure is that the markup for new CDs and DVDs is abysmal. Selling used allows us to get a better margin and have a competitive price. We can cater to those who still prefer their media in a solid form, especially nowadays with the return to vinyl that we've seen from younger buyers.

NNBW: You are moving to midtown. What's the strategy behind the location change?

Doege: We were still treading water in this economy with virtually no walk-in traffic. Midtown will give us that traffic, and as long as we have parking (which we will), we feel confident that our destination customers will follow us. The new store will be at 822 S. Virginia St., just south of Cheney next to Twisted Minds Tattoo. It'll open June 1, while the current store at Kietzke and Moana will remain open and running until the end of our lease in November.

NNBW: What was your first job?

Doege: My parents owned a motel in Ohio, so I helped out there and had paper routes as well. My first retail job was selling shoes at Thom McAn. My friends from that job are still some of my oldest and dearest friends.

NNBW: Tell us about your dream job. Why aren't you working it?

Doege: I don't know what my dream job would be, because I'm pretty happy with this one. I did go to college to be a veterinarian, but partying and an average GPA kinda killed that.

NNBW: Have any advice for someone who wants to enter your profession?

Doege: Know that mistakes are gonna happen, but the trick is to not have them be expensive mistakes.

NNBW: Tell me about the most fun you have had on the job.

Doege: The most I ever laughed was when we had a customer singing loudly while he was on headphones. We turned our music down and he entertained us all. My employees have all had a pretty good sense of humor over the years, so it's usually fun to come to work.

NNBW: What's your favorite Recycled Records memory?

Doege: Helping people find music that they thought they'd never be able to find.

NNBW: What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Doege: It's usually easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.

NNBW: What are your favorite hobbies or pastimes? How do you spend your time away from work?

Doege: I collected comic books for about 25 years, and I've got a nice 8 track collection. I love to travel and am going to my 50th state next month (Maine).

NNBW: What has been your biggest professional disappointment?

Doege: I would have bought a building for my business it would have been paid off long ago.

NNBW: What can you do that someone else can't?

Doege: I can name that tune in four notes...

NNBW: If you had enough money to retire right now, would you? Why or why not?

Doege: I'm looking forward to retirement. We bought a house in Mexico five years ago and will hopefully be down there on a more permanent basis.

NNBW: Why did you choose a career in northern Nevada? What do you like most about working/living here?

Doege: This is where my opportunity to own my own record store was. It's a beautiful area that still has some small-town ideals that I can agree with. The people are friendly and mostly reasonable to deal with.

The basics:

Name: Paul Doege president/CEO of Recycled Records Inc.

How long have you been in this job? I took over operations Dec. 15, 1980.

How long in the profession? 31-plus years

Education: BS in marketing from The Ohio State University in 1979

Last book read? "Life" by Keith Richards

Favorite flick? "The Adventures of Robin Hood" with Errol Flynn, but more recently "300"

What's on your iPod? Lots of new wave, old '70s prog and glam rock, and Wolfmother

Spouse, kids, pets? Married to my wife Lynette for 26 years. We have three daughters and a cat named "Babalu."