Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

Did the dam break? Not exactly. Part three of the series, "I could make a living doing this!"

photo source: YouTube.com

Of course my business needed a website. Go Daddy provided the templates to design my web page. There is a lot of work involved in developing and maintaining a website. More than I was really able or willing to provide.

My Daughter  helped me produce a distinctive logo that I used in my magazine advertising and on business cards. Unfortunately, my costly magazine ads didn't seem to stimulate any interest.

The site is still there but it is moribund.

What to do?

At first I really didn't want to go to swap meets.

I wanted to make sales from the shop "by appointment only."  I still had a real job and I wasn't planning on sitting in the shop from nine to five, waiting for customers to show up.

However going to swap meets did not turn out to be such a bad idea.

The problem with selling used parts is that each part is "unique" at least in terms of it's condition. For example, out of ten different front fenders each was in a little different condition. Some had a little rust here, or a few dents and dings there. Of course every buyer wanted the one in the best condition. Who wouldn't, right?

You have to post a lot of pictures and it always seems that buyers wanted more, in higher resolution. They might receive a fender and be disappointed and want a refund. Not really practical, to ship these items back and forth.

If you are selling new parts they are all identical much easier to deal with. List one, and you've listed them all.

At a swap meet, the buyer gets to directly hold and examine every part. They can make their purchasing decision based upon their own assessment. I wanted my customers to be satisfied with their purchases.

I bought a new pick up truck to help with the business. I equipped it with some funky wooden side rails to secure my stash. I would rent an enclosed trailer at the local U-Haul. The biggest swap meets were always in the L.A. area.

I also attended swap meets in Lathrop, San Jose, Sacramento, and Tracy.

Think of my swap meet rig as a "pop up shop" on wheels.

As I have recently learned, pop up shops are  one way to run a small business. They are one step up from swap meets and craft fairs.  But it is a pretty big step. There has to be a brick and mortar location. The savings don't come from a a reduction in rent, they come from the reduction in needed staffing. Restricting the days that the shop is open reduces the sales people needed. It also forces your customers to come in on a limited number of days. This is great if they care enough to show up. The buyers have to think of every month as an "event."

I had several ideas to create an identity for my business as well as expand my potential sales. I designed and began selling hats, T shirts, and hoodies with my businesses logo and various Datsun models printed on them. The idea was to give a potential customer more choices. A customer would not walk away from my stall without buying something, if not a part, than maybe a shirt or a hat. I was investigating going even further with stickers and key chains. Different price points to secure a sales.

At first I had a large inventory and sales were strong. I enjoyed networking with other vendors. Some who were investing in producing their own reproduction components.

My shop was primarily used as a storage space. Not exactly what I planned for. This was a huge expense that couldn't be financially justified, (or really sustained ), but I was locked into a year long lease.

Still, it was exciting for me to walk inside, look around and dream. I was hoping that I could keep the business running until it developed it's own momentum. I was deluding, er, convincing myself, that I could create something, something that would take on a life of it's own.

This book is a great read and gives us a glimpse into the lives
of other Americans.

The idea that I could create "something" that could develop and grow was my driving force. Studs Terkel, (look him up!) wrote a great line in his classic book,"Working." He described conversations that he had with his garbage man, who was quite informed on many subjects and had sound opinions to go along with his insights. Who would expect that from a garbage man? Our Middle Class bias is showing! Studs made the poignant observation that most of us "have jobs that are too small for us." I was no different in that respect.

Of course, that's a painful but truthful observation.

The swap meet business was a lot of work and a lot of driving.

This was a very busy time in my life. With my job, my renovation work on my property and running the business.

Are you familiar with the term "vanity publishing"?

It's a term to describe books that are self published by the author. These are books that are not picked up by a publisher for large scale production and distribution. Usually because the publisher feels that these just don't have the widespread appeal and potential for large sales and subsequent profit.

So the author himself pays to have it printed. He becomes a published author at his own expense. Is that a legitimate path to follow? Distribution is up to the author who gives out copies of his book to his family and friends. Many times they just end up with several cases of their now forgotten books taking up space in their garage.

With the birth of the Internet would be authors have found a new home, and an opportunity to "self publish" at no expense. There are also so many opportunities to self promote and reach a potential audience.

My business was becoming a vanity project. I had strong enough sales for a short time, but it primarily existed with a constant transfusion of my out of pocket money. I'm aware that most businesses don't pay their own way for quite a while and success requires patience and dedication. However I had made the mistake of setting up my business in a manner that required a lot of money to sustain. Renting that shop was great fun, but poor financial planning. For the bucks down guy the best plan is to start out small, and build up from there and expand as your sales grow. Without venture capital partners the small businessman has to be careful. Time to cut back.

Two steps forward, one step back!