Hello. My name’s Carlos, and along with my wife Michelle we own Ideal Imagez. We’ve been in business for 5 years and are located in the Northgate Shopping Center. With me, everything I’ve set forth to do came from a dream or idea, followed by a plan. My father owned his business and from that I had the dream to start my own business for many years. We have grown in our services that we offer and customers we’ve worked with every year we’ve been open. Operating through the pandemic was a unique challenge that we weren’t prepared for, but it made us stronger coming out of it. We enjoy the community and love being an option for people to come to. Come and see us.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
My wife Michelle is a broadcast captioner and a court reporter. I have 2 daughters and a son and 5 grandkids. My oldest daughter is a restaurant manager, my son is a junior at UNT and my youngest daughter is a senior in high school.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I presently work in my shop on a daily basis. In the past, I was a retail store manager having worked for Home Depot, Best Buy, and Office Depot. In the future, I’d like to continue being a small business owner. I really enjoy the relationship building with customers.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
I like Cancun’s, Pop’s Burger Stand, and Tomatos.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I’ve worked in Waxahachie for over 15 years.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
It’s not just one. I find other business owners interesting as I meet them. I like to see what their successes and struggles are. It helps me get a better understanding of my business.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I enjoy the Marvel movies as they are the movies my kids have enjoyed. So, it gives us time together.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Don’t get caught up with work. Spend as much time with your loved ones and friends as you can. Your kids will be grown and out of the house before you know it.
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Optimist Field. My son played baseball in the little league and also many tournaments there for years. I wish I could go back to those days.
Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
Jerry Jones. How do you make gobs more money than anyone in your business, while not winning since 1995. We’d probably meet up at Cancun’s for a margarita.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
Having worked in Dallas for many years, the people here are so much more friendly and not in a rush.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Spending more time with family and less time working. Also, successfully scaling my business to a multi-unit operation.
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I have a treadmill that I use as a storage area. I might clean it off when people come over, so it looks like we use it.
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
Pulling into my driveway.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My kids. They are always watching and listening.
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Time for family.
