Date:         Sun, 22 Apr 2007 18:49:33 -0600
Reply-To:     Jeffrey Olson <jjolson@GWTC.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeffrey Olson <jjolson@GWTC.NET>
Subject:      Going towards a new era...
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2007042219300133@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Benny Boy wrote:
> We are going toward a new era, fully rebuilt Westy around 20-35K.
>
I love being part of "going toward a new era."  I bought an 85 for $1400
a year and a half ago with a strong engine, six alloys with new snow
tires on two of them, all the brake, steering and suspension work done,
only two spots of rust found after taking everything out of the
interior, and treated seam rust in three spots on the exterior.  The PO
was loathe to let go of his baby, but it was no longer practical for him.

Reading some of Ben's comments over the last couple weeks and other
messages coming cross the listserv it very well may be that there is
room for more small "coach" businesses to turn basic vanagons into
campers.  Maybe I'm a throwback, but I like the setup of the Westys from
the late sixties and 1971.  I bought an 82 diesel and bought the
interior of a wrecked 89 Westy for $1100, including front seat swivels,
and installed it.  I never felt comfortable in it.  I like to face the
person I'm eating with, or playing cards with, or drinking with, and the
front seat setup where you can do that just felt hokey.  I like the seat
facing the rear behind the driver's seat, with storage underneath.

As I think about moving on from my current job and preparing to enter
(or leave) my mid-fifties, what with the ease of web advertising and
word-of-mouth recommendations of a couple early adopters, I think with a
decent sized shop and the right tools,a couple guys could have a going
concern in a couple years.  The key is thinking "modular."  The range of
laminates out there is astounding from luan to the kind of plastics
found on westy interiors.  The same goes for flooring and upholstery.
Stocking ice boxes and refrigerators, faucet assemblies, etc. might be
expensive at the beginning, but eventually stuff would not be in the
shop for very long.

I imagine you could take a vanagon, one the company bought anywhere in
the US and got back to the shop or the customers, strip it from the
front seats back, and install an interior to a customer's requirements
in a day, especially if they had mocked it up on the web and chosen all
the surface accoutrements that personalized the interior.  Someone has
to be the upholstery person.  The key is "modular."  I'm sure a couple
guys could brainstorm five or six basic configurations, with 10 or so
major style options, and another 100 personalized options within that
10.  I think the key is starting with a stripped vehicle - nothing is
left inside from the original interior.  Any time spent grinding rust
and rust-proofing is additional.  Sound/temperature insulation would be
included in the price.  I suppose a guy could include sand blasting,
priming and finish painting too at some point.

A business plan might include opening an engine conversion operation as
well three or four years into the venture - once the coach business was
on solid financial ground.  Whether a subaru or zetec, increasingly more
sophisticated engines will be coming onto the market and a good business
plan would have a couple year period of developing the capacity to
choose what to do and develop a good marketing plan.

This would be different from what GoWesty does that warrants those $30K
price tags.  In the beginning the business is nothing more than "coach
building."  Two guys in a 30' x 40' shop with $20K in tools, and day
jobs...  That's the kicker of course.  Starting from the day job and
transitioning into the dream job, establishing all the procedures and
protocols and hiring employees you train.  Having a strong business plan
and self-discipline are the two requirements for success...  I've known
too many "guys" who had skills but no marketing plan, no business sense,
and not oddly enough, poor social skills.  Ya gotta be able to talk with
affluent women and full-of-themselves men and be able to lead them into
a vision of what the bus will do for the quality of their lives.

Ahhh...  Sunday afternoon dreaming...

Jeffrey Olson
Martin, SD (Deep in the flyover zone)