I had my first meeting right after I checked in to my room at Baltimore’s Hotel Ulysses, which is a few blocks from Agora’s headquarters in central Mount Vernon.
Yesterday, my partner and I met with the CEOs of six of Agora’s profit centers – three publishing franchises, one real estate marketing company, and two specialized investment services – all of which are doing well. Surprisingly well, if you consider the marketing environment we have been in for the last four years.
Today, we began at 9:00 am and went until 5:00. I was back in my room by 5:30, took a nap, and was down here at the hotel bar writing this at 6:30.
Agora’s holiday party – always a gala event – will be held at the historic Maryland Club, and it begins at 7:30. I could easily be there on time if I stop writing now – but being on time for a party, I’ve been told, is très déclassé. So I’ll finish up this Journal entry and plan to show up at 8:00.
When I checked in, the receptionist told me that Hotel Ulysses is three years old, which surprised me because I hadn’t heard of it until Gio booked it for me. (Since I abandoned my pied-à-terre in downtown Baltimore years ago, I’ve been trying out the hotels within walking distance of the company’s headquarters and I thought I knew them all.)
Like several other hotels in the area, it’s a converted apartment building. But unlike the rest, this one is charming. Charming is hardly five-star, but it’s about 300% better than the best of the others.
Let me see if I can describe it to you…
I’ll start with the bar. It’s modest in size – seating at max maybe 40. It’s funky, stylish, and plush with good lighting. The bartenders are young and Brooklyn hipster-looking – i.e., tattoos (not sleeves but that apparently cooler random style), unique hair styles, bracelets, earrings, nose rings, and who knows what. They are dressed mostly in black. They aren’t mixologists, but they are modestly skilled and eager to learn. Most importantly, they are efficiently friendly (which is the only way a server should ever be) and quick to notice an empty glass.
The bartender waiting on me now is a blonde with black lipstick, a beguiling smile, a small nose ring, a few tattoos, and a voice that doesn’t help me identify his/her gender. If I were younger than a baby boomer, I could say “Dude” and get away with it. Old as I am, my mind is rifling through a series of alternatives: Champ, Sport, Pal, Chief? All masculine and all from my father’s generation.
Maybe Comrade? Is that gender-neutral?
Oh well. Never mind. Let me continue.
The prevailing décor of the hotel works for me – an eclectic selection of furniture, fabrics, curtains, carpets, floor and wall finishes, collectibles, art, and artifacts, curated with a respect for the budget and an authentic sense of humor. It is not high concept, for sure. But neither does it make me suspect it was designed by someone’s “really creative” sister-in-law.
The color scheme is also working for me. Reds from scarlet to crimson to claret. Blues from sapphire to turquois to midnight blue. And best of all, a very evidently conscious knowledge of effective lighting.
This is true throughout the hotel. Every space (and there are many distinctly different ones) feels exactly like it should.
Here are some photos…
The Entrance
The Foyer
The Restaurant Bar
The food
The Feeling of the Rooms
My View
I’d like to tell you about Baltimore – the city I met about 35 years ago, after I gave up on my first attempt at retirement and went back to work in the information publishing industry with a former competitor. He – BB, the founder of The Agora Companies – chose Baltimore for the birthplace of his then-fledgling business because he was able to buy a building there for a single US dollar. (He’s a value investor.)
Today, 40-something years later, The Agora Companies is the world’s largest financial information publisher, larger than The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s put together.
I’m proud to have been a part of that history.
But never mind. That’s another story.
Let’s get to what I really want to talk about in this issue… some simple, basic concepts about why and how businesses work that every aspiring business builder should know.
