Daly City- At only 20 years old, Frank Cuevas is not the average store owner. But he is indeed the quintessential businessman.

Cuevas opened Cue's, a Daly City record store catering to performance DJ's, just three weeks ago. Before he even opened the doors or had a cash register, he had customers asking to buy records.

"We were cleaning up, in our last days before opening, and a customer asked to come in but we weren't open but he said here's 10 bucks for that tape" Cuevas said.

"I've always been into my own business ventures, that's how I am. I was always selling candy at school or making tapes for my friends" he said.

Now Cuevas, a performance DJ and a Westmoor High School Graduate, is combining his experience in the music world with his knowledge of the Daly City area to put a new spin on the record business.

Before he even approached his investor, Cuevas researched the idea of opening his Top Of The Hill store for almost a year. He studied the market, the location, wrote a business plan and determined his long-term goals.

Within a week after pitching his proposal, Cuevas and his partner, Brian Johnson 35, were getting ready to open.

"Brian is in real estate and knows a lot about investing and has the capital. I have the ideas and the vision and he knows what he's looking to invest in." Cuevas said.

For Cuevas the store combines a tribute to vinyl and a personal philosophy.

"I like collecting records. Cd's are better quality but records are more meaningful, you know? It's just the feel of them. That's one of our goals, to keep records in business."

"I want Cue's to be like "Cheers", but a record store. I want people to just come by and hang out. There's nowhere for people to go anymore. There's too much violence."

Right now, there are no tenants on either side of Cue's, so Cuevas and his employees take advantage of the situation and play around with the turntables, making music.

"To us, a turntable is an instrument, not just a thing you play records on." Cuevas said.

Before, he and his friends would gather to play at parties or each other's houses. That's how he wants his clients to think of Cue's.

"This will be like your friend's house. We are your friend's house," he laughed.

It is also the closest place for a lot of kids to buy records now.

"There are no record stores in Daly City, really." Cuevas said. "When I was growing up here I noticed there were a lot of DJ's, but you had to go to Stonestown or downtown San Francisco to buy records.

"It's risky," Cuevas said of opening a retail store, "But I look at it this way. Everybody knows this area. I know everybody. the schools are here, there's BART. People from the East Bay can come here. I've already had (customers) from Monterey.

"This is like a center spot for transportation. That's why I like it," he said.

What customers will find when they get there are Top 40 urban, rap, r&b, and oldies records. What performance DJ's will find is a store that knows what they want and needed.

Performance DJ's are different from a DJ in a club in that they are the act. They make their own music by scratching and mixing records on multiple turntables.

"I want it to be a DJ thing, where DJ's can come and pick up stuff for parties. I have remixes, an oldie section. They can get it all in one spot," he said.

Cuevas also wanted to put all his business ventures in one spot.

He has started a record label with some friends, released what he calls a "tool" record (Hamster Breaks), for DJ's to scratch with, and is planning to launch a international mail order catalog.

"I'm more like a producer and engineer. I want to do so many things, but I'm trying to slow down because I got so many things going," he said.

Cuevas definitely has youthful enthusiasm on his side.

Cuevas knows he has more ambition and is more driven than most people at any age, and certainly more so than a lot of his peers. He said growing up playing team sports gave him the skills he know uses in business.

He realizes that his outlook on business is a bit different because of his age, however.

When he was putting together his business plan, he approached the Chamber of Commerce for help, but he said he didn't feel like he was taken seriously.

"This is my first step. I don't see myself working here everyday. I'll find someone to work and I'll supervise. The main thing is to get back into the studio," he said.

"I want to produce, to make records. I like to be behind the scenes; I don't want to be a performer. I'm kind of shy."

He might be shy, but he knows what he wants.