Do It For A Living

The performance industry is largely driven by people with little to no business experience. This is especially true at the shop level. That makes the barrier to entry very small, as most shop owners don’t have a business plan and have very few systems in place. Usually the shop owner IS the system! Jordan Watson has a different approach. Jordan spent the first part of his career gaining an understanding of the performance street car community, and now he’s working to create a systems-based approach to his performance services business. His goal is to create a company-wide system that allows for a consistent experience every time you step foot in his shop. This way the company can scale and open multiple stores in different cities and states. He uses Home Depot for an analogy by saying that every Home Depot is largely the same across the country, so you know what to expect when you go there whether you’re in Washington State or Texas. What if you could expect the same from a speed shop? Impossible? Time will t

Scott Kuhner has created Emtron Australia, an ECU manufacturer that focuses on creative engine control functions and close dealer relationships. Having owned multiple businesses over the years Scott discusses in detail some of the hurdles he’s faced in his businesses. Specific hurdles include dealing with outside engineering consulting firms, and as Scott calls it “the money machine” just keeps on rolling when developing new products. He explains how “scope creep” affects the process, and don’t worry we talk about engine control tech too!

Jason Siebels has been a gearhead his whole life and he started his company Pro EFI in the late ‘90’s. Then in 2000 Jason began working at AEM, developing their plug-and-play line of engine management systems. After a falling out, Jason dove head first into making a quality engine controller that functioned the way he thought it should. Now Pro EFI has plug-and-play systems for a handful of applications including the C6 Corvette, and ZL1 Camaro among others. What makes Pro EFI stand out is their fault management and their ability to drive the factory instrumentation via CAN BUS. Jason discusses the hurdles in taking his business to the next level and what it took to get him where he is today. 

Martin Musial is the President of AMS and Alpha Performance Products. His company builds hard parts and complete platform installations for Nissan GTR and European vehicles such as BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche among others. But did you know that he started by designing camshafts for a Merkur x4ti? Martin tells his entrepreneurial story from disassembling his family’s thermostat as a kid, to designing camshafts the hard way. Martin shares what makes him tick and his philosophy on life and the performance business.   

Andy Wyatt is an Australian mechatronics engineer and the founder of Adaptronic. Andy was determined for this episode to be 100% technical but I managed to talk business and we brought some great topics to life. Andy talked about all the things that didn’t work for his business including magazine advertising, and hiring a business coach. He’s identified that what does work is to partner with specialty shops who have established networks, and then build a brand by supporting those shops.  

In the 90’s Robert Young fell in love with the power potential of the Mitsubishi 4G63 and started creating Frankenstein turbos. Because of his engineering background and resources at work, Robert began tinkering with hybrid turbo designs and starting getting noticed. From a tight-knit group in Texas, Robert designs competitive turbochargers for Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche and more. He’s even worked directly with the OEM’s, which he says is his proudest moment. Robert focused on his niche and slayed it! What’s keeping YOU from doing the same?  

Jay Meagher created an online performance retailer by working elbow-to-elbow with his team. He took a $17,000 line of credit and jumped in head-first with no option but to succeed. Through years of struggle and heartache Jay never quit. He persevered and assembled a team to innovate in the online performance retail space. From working through stress related chest pains, to making the decision to give up his comfortable life and become an entrepreneur Jay tells the story of what it takes to create and maintain a modern high-performance retail business. 

Shane Tecklenburg talks about nitro-methane powered lawn-mowers, and using modern ECU’s to save lives! From the age of 14 Shane has been involved in engine calibration, and he says that to be successful in the performance industry you simply need to treat your customers like you want to be treated. He credits his success to two things: his obsession with engine controls and treating his clients fairly. Listen to this episode from one of the most successful modern drag-racing tuners and ask yourself, what am I doing differently? 

Todd Berk from Push, Inc. is a mechatronics engineer who is using his passion for design to create a gauge for measuring acceleration and G-forces and talk to other Smart Gauges via Bluetooth. His product, the Smart Gauge is designed to measure acceleration and multiple angle G-forces and through the use of Push, Inc.’s software they intend to add the ability to share race and acceleration results directly to social media platforms like Facebook. The fit and finish is very high quality, and the best part? He’s designed the entire thing from circuit board to aesthetics himself! From a CAD model to actual hardware, Todd Berk and his team of engineers all work on this project on the side. This product could make it big, but will it? What do you think about it? Find out more at DOITFORALIVING.net

Joel Levy is the artist behind Race Spec LLC and he builds some of the most impressive wiring harnesses in the performance industry. But Joel went through some serious struggles to get to where he is today. In 2011 Joel lost everything in Hurricane Irene but he didn’t let that stop him. He formed a partnership with Chris Harris and Xenocron, and Joel is back on his feet with more focus than ever. He’s refined his skill and he’s making a name for himself, he’s here to tell his story and offer up some new resources.   

Chris Harris owns Xenocron.com, a company offering online retail, wholesale and dyno tuning services out of Hillburn, NY. He built momentum for himself being a contributing member of PGMFI.org and “chipping” ECU’s for next to nothing. Soon everyone was asking for his services. He’s grown his hobby into a business that supplies customers all over the world. 

Ryan and his business partner Jason grew Shift-S3ctor from a bunch of guys street-racing at 4:00 AM to the premier West Coast roll-race event in just three years! Ryan tells the story of how they did it how they overcame multiple road-blocks…. And did I mention that Ryan has recently passed the Bar exam to become a lawyer, all before the age of 25! He talks about what drives him, how he did it, and what you can expect when organizing a big event like Shift-S3ctor. 

Does the world think that we’re just hobbyists who like to tinker with our cars, or are we considered professionals? In this recorded phone conversation between Reid Lunde and Ben Strader we discuss the concept of a white collar mechanic and how your actions affect perception, and how that impacts the automotive performance industry.    

If you don’t know Paul Yaw, you’re about to! He’s the incredibly dedicated entrepreneur and engineer behind Injector Dynamics. He doesn’t care what you think and it shows. His personality is addictive and if you can’t handle cuss words then don’t bother listening to this. Paul and I discuss that the goal in business is learning how to add value for your customers and how making money is easy when your product or service adds enough value. We discuss business and new products, and Paul tells the story of what it took to create Injector Dynamics.   

Tony says that 20 years in the industry has taught him how to sniff out BS… Tony also talks about ID’s new fuel pump controller and how it’s going to change the game. He speaks on software he uses in his business: Wrike for project management, Gmail and Freshdesk for email.  Stay tuned at the end for a candid conversation between Reid and Tony about the tools he uses to handle the hundreds of emails he gets.    

There’s a lot of pressure to lower your price when you have a service business, especially if you sell parts. Customers are constantly telling you that your price is too high, even when you’re barely scraping by! In this episode Ben Strader talks about how to overcome objections and how good service businesses can charge a premium and thrive at the same time! Ben’s got big plans for EFI University including creating college-level accreditation.   

In Episode 000 I talk about the vision I have for the podcast and what’s in it for the listener. This episode explains what to expect from DO IT FOR A LIVING and gives you a little insight into my mindset.  To find out more visit: DOITFORALIVING.net or search DO IT FOR A LIVING on Facebook. Thanks and good luck!