Okay for the last 3 years of having a ‘real’ phone number for the company I have also had a healthy phone bill that I prefer to ignore most months and I usually just close my eyes and send the check. It gets expensive. About a year ago I bought two VOIP phones with plans to hook them up and never got around to until about a month ago. What is cool about them is you can hook them up to any ethernet cable on your network (or any network, anywhere) and direct calls to that phone regardless of where it is. And it costs much less than normal phones as a result of using bandwidth I am pretty much already paying for via our internet service. So anyways, I went through 3 companies trying to get the features and service that I needed and settled on Vocalocity after trying Packet 8 and ViaTalk. Packet8 requires that you use their phones but their interface for setting up the phones and the menus is great. I had already spend 600 on new phones that ended up not working.  They said they would work when I signed up. Wrong. Canceled service after 1 week.

ViaTalk was a mess as they never quite allowed me to set up the phones the way I needed them to operate. I needed a menu driven system that would allow extensions to be selected and to have access to a digital voice mail, etc. 2 weeks later I canceled that service as well.

Vocalocity is working out great so far aside from some glitches with existing routers and modems which were supplied by AT&T which I was able to finally resolve. So we have a new number and a fancy menu system that routes calls as selected. It is totally cool. We have a new number too! 614-656-4315. Don’t be scared of the menu system. I am still answering all of the calls and replying to all of the messages and all that fun stuff. I just wanted to be ready to handle the call volume as we grow into needing additional lines, more people and all that ‘big business’ stuff. For real though, the phone system makes Out Motoring sound much bigger than it is. It is pretty much like Alice in Wonderland behind the wall.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocal. It is the same technology that Vonage uses but in business applications the equipment is a bit more robust and allows for more flexibility to create phone networks that are much more modern and easy to manage than most business phone systems for small business.

I am sure the Out Motoring warehouse may seem very odd to the outsider. You see, we are in a business complex with a tutoring company on one side and a Insurance company on the other along with a commercial heating and cooling place in the mix. For the most part they all keep their doors shut all day long. If it’s remotely close to 70 degrees I would much rather turn the air off and open the rear bay door and the front door and enjoy the breeze. Most days I get a few bees and a few flies which is irritating but manageable; I guess I just like to feel like I’m not locked up. Maybe I should have been a farmer,  a landscaper or something. Although I hate mud and I am not really into overalls and animals. I guess selling MINI Cooper parts is a good compromise; as long as I can leave the doors open sometime….

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Okay, when March ended I thought I had seen the high point for the year but then April and May had a little surprise in store. A fairly nice surprise. And then came June which was nearly 2- 1/2 times sales from last June. It could not get any better….it must have been a fluke. Maybe everyone did their taxes late and finally got their returns in June? Then July came and went. Again leaving me speachless and worn out. Double last years July. It must have been a fluke. August. Same deal. I think things are really catching up and even though the economy is trashed people still love their MINI’s more than ever and I think more and more people are ditching their gas guzzlers and getting MINI’s. The other thing that is happening is the the tens of thousands of used MINI’s are coming on to the market at reasonable prices and are attracting new buyers who either want to upgrade the car or have to replace a few things here and there. As a result Out Motoring is getting bigger every month. I will keep running the business as long there are still orders to ship and questions to answer….

Well, I am still recovering from our completely over the top crazy July that was about 30% higher in sales, phone calls, emails, orders and such. I was not able to carve out time to make many posts to the blog but I am getting back to a consistent schedule. Oh, and I finally did my taxes from LAST year so that is a big relief.

Anyways, this last week or so I got some time to take pictures and add descriptions of 3 new Tire Pressure Gauges, 3 new rear Fog Light Lens kits, a few new Tshirts and a few other tweaks to the website. Keep an eye out for the goodies on the site. Here is one of the Tire Gauges (and the coolest).

Well, this last weekend we had quite a good time with visiting Detailing Master Ted Hersey of Ted Hersey Auto Care. Ted took our local MINI group through the basic steps of professional care washing using techniques to keep scratches at a minimum and how to get the best results. With a steady flow of questions Ted was able to cover a lot of topics including the wheel arches, the two bucket system, washing tools and tons of other stuff. The second half of the presentation focused on polishing using the Griots Garage Random Orbital Polisher and the range of polishes and Best of Show Wax to get nearly any scratch or surface imperfection out of you paint. Based on the feedback we received after the clinic, this was one of the best events of the year. As it is now in its second year, we think it will become an annual event. Check out the pics here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/OutMotoring.com/DetailingDemo2008

With our new heat press and sweet ‘neighbor’ connections come a slew of new shirts that are due out in a few days…actually they are done, I just need to do a photo shoot. You see, 2 doors down from Out Motoring world HQ is a company that supports Limited, Victorias Secret, Abercrombie and Fitch, Under Armour, Hollister, etc with nearly all of their hang tags, tshirt transfers, packaging and just about any other printed thing that helps these local companies….did I mention the Subway across the street may as well be a fashion show at lunch? A lot of young hipsters that work for A&F (which is about 3 blocks away) come out to eat and hang out. Even though I am pretty young myself I sometimes feel a bit dopey. So anyways, the owner of this company is a good friend of mine and so I have access to their large format printers that print tshirt transfers by the 10,000. Guess who got 200 sheets (35×28) of custom full color transfers at a very good price? Just wait.

Coming soon are these shirts:

-AlphaMINI which is the alphabet in all caps but when it comes to the “M” and the “N” I snuck in a few “I’s”….pretty cool…AND it will have a childs version as well.

-3 MINI’s is a side view of the sedan, clubman and the convertible in black with a grey outline all stacked up on a nice dark bluish grey shirt

-Full Throttle is a new checkered flag Wings logo with “Outmotoring” in the middle and on the back in red letters with black outline is “Full Throttle. All the Time” on a white t

- Fastest Fun on 4 Wheels is a large Red S with 2 black S shadows behind it and the words “fastest fun on four wheels” below it on a black t. It looks sweet.

-R5? is a white T with a variation of the R5- (enter R50, R52, R56, etc.) grille badge on the left chest with an Out Motoring logo on the right sleeve.

Also there is “enjoy your ride’ shirt  with a simple small checkered flag pattern with the “enjoy your ride” tagline below it along with a Out Motoring logo on the back neck.

Almost all of the shirts have a small tasteful Out Motoring logo on the back neck…don’t worry they are very good looking. That’s the only way I do things.  Keep checking back in the next few days for pics.

Okay, so here’s the back story on these MINI Cooper Driving Light Brackets. Once upon a time there was a company that made a few MINI accessories in their garage in northern Ohio. One of the products were driving light brackets that were sold in pairs and were very popular because they could be mounted in various locations across the front bumper structure and also allowed 2 vertical mounting locations. After a while the company decided to stop making them and close the business. Throughout this Out Motoring had been selling them and had also been designing a variant that had some design changes that seemed appropriate. When the original design had faded away, I put more effort into making the new design a reality using the production companies we were familiar with using instead of the garage made system as the supplier had used. The new design allows for 3 vertical mounting positions and has a very unique build style that allows a thinner, lighter material to used while offering the same strength. Gott love working with PROe and using CAD data to allow for testing of products before they are even made!

So, finally about 1 month ago I got the revised CAD data completed by a good friend and degreed mechanical engineer who shall remain nameless (but not forgotten). After a series of tweaking and redesigning, etc., the new bracket design was emailed off to a good production shop and 3 weeks later, I was holding the first batch. Although the process of designing and making them is similar to making cookies, you simply cannot eat these, but it is a good feeling to see them sitting in a box fresh from the powder coating facility all nicely wrapped as if each one was some sort of bakers delight.

So, here they are world. Check them out, only this time, they are my design with the Out Motoring brand!

We just got back from a great 5 day weekend at the MINI’s on the Dragon gathering near the famous and twisty road that crosses the TN and NC border. On our way into Fontana Village where the event was held we were stopped by flashing lights near a nasty turn where a bike and rider had gone down in a big way. The rider was okay, save a seemingly busted collar bone or something. The bike was basically road debris. Fork broken in two places, chassis all twisted and mangled and enough plastic strewn around the road to cause trouble. We were the first in the lineup and talked with police that were busy keeping the screaming bikes that were buzzing up the mountain road stopped in time to not rear end us. On the other side was a road hazard cleanup truck dealing with oil and gas spills from the wreckage. We were glad to see no one was seriously injured as we learned that just 2 days earlier a biker had a fatal crash as is common in the area.

As we were allowed to move on the mood improved as we saw the dozens of MINI’s that spotted the road and when we finally reached the resort were welcomed by  hundreds of MINI’s parked around the area at the various cabins and houses. We quickly unloaded and setup our display which took about 3 people 4 hours. The next morning we saw a constant stream of MINI owners that seemed to enjoy looking at all the fun stuff we had brought. This year we brought more display fixtures to make room for the new stuff like Piloti Shoes and Griots Garage products which were quite popular. It was nice to see familiar faces and meet some of the people that had been loyal customers over the years as well as many new faces that we are sure will continue to shop with us.

Over the next three days we (my wife Andrea, my father in law Norm and myself) kept the booth rolling. As we were under a larger group tent we did not have to worry about the rain and wind as we had in years past which was a big relief. We also enjoyed “Terry”, the nigh security guy who watched our goods at night so we could relax and not have to break down every night which was a nice surprise. THANKS Mark from NAM and Fontana for arranging this!

The saddest thing of the weekend for me was that my MINI was parked from Wednesday night until Sunday morning when we boxed up everything and drove away! What a shame, to be in one on the nicest parts of the world and have access to some of the best driving roads in the planet. Having our 3 kids there made the evenings less about socializing and more about family, which is good. My wifes mother was in from Knoxville and did a great job at keeping the kids entertained during the days and made some good food so we could relax in the evenings.

All in all it was a great event and we plan on doing it again next year, only we hope to be a few hours closer when we move to Charlotte. The 8-9 hour drive from Columbus Ohio is not that enjoyable….

I can’t believe I only have a handful of days to get ready for the Tail of the Dragon event the first week in May….it is quite a lot of work to get prepped. Point of purchase displays, lighting, signage, transportation, setup, running the booth, bringing the product, food, etc. etc….

I wish I could just run a virtual store down there and have everything magically appear in the customers hands so I could hang out more and get to know the people that have supported us over the last 5 years. That is my main purpose for going down to the event but everyone really enjoys having us there and love to check out the products we bring. It is the only event we do each year but may consider doing AMVIV (Biggest West Coast event held in Vegas) at some point, but it is quite a lot more work to get everything to Vegas vs driving 7 hours down to Tennessee from our location in Ohio. When we relocate to Charlotte (as soon as our house sells) we will be just a short drive from Fontana Village and it will that much easier to do the event. As of now, my wife and our 3 kids will be heading down for the 4 day event and have her parents watching the kids at our cabin which makes it a lot more enjoyable. Our kids love going down to the event and with both our families being in Knoxville, it is an easy trip for them to pop over and visit us while we’re down there.

Over the last few months I have designed a few tshirts that seem to be VERY popular. So much so I find myself running over to the local screenprinters shop to drop off a load of t-shirts about once a week and with it comes a bill for printing shirts and the hassle of the minimum order requirements, 1 week order prep time and all that. So, I thought I would try to bring that process in-house and bought a Heat Transfer press (on ebay for super cheap) and will start doing shirts in lower quantities so we can offer more designs. I would rather have 10 designs and have 3 of each size in stock than 3 designs and 10 of each size sitting in stock if you know what I mean. It’s a basic retailing concept called Wide and Shallow VS Shallow and Deep…I have typically preferred to run a Wide and Shallow especially with how quickly I can generally get restocked on the things we sell (in most cases 1-5 days on any given item). There are a few items that I stock hundreds and hundreds and some I stock dozens and dozens while others maybe 1-2 at a time….so anyways, having the capability to prints shirts at will and keep a few in backstock will be nice.

To top it off the owner of the company a few doors down that does nearly all of the label and decorative application sourcing for Victorias Secret, Abercrombie, Under Armour and a few other major retailers that are headquartered within a few miles of the OutMotoring World HQ is a good friend. Chris also happens to have patents on some of the most widely used innovative screen printing techniques and is a all around good guy who has all the connections one could image with Chinese printers, label makers, etc. So, he is the one that helps get our OutMotoring keychains made for us at a extremely good cost and is also helping get heat transfers printed. This will allow us me to design and offer about 6-10 new shirts and print them as needed and keep our inventory investment down while offering new and fresh designs.

And no, that shirt in the heat press below will not be one of the new ‘fresh’ designs…