Preface: (Continued)

Questions tomorrow. Promise.

You’ve been playing with cars long enough to have seen just about everything. You’re still a die hard gearhead—but the status quo isn’t cutting it for you anymore. You want something more, something bigger, more meaningful.

You’ve seen more than couple other OGs you know from back in the day start a business or build something more than just another project vehicle. Josh is slinging Montero upgrades. Scott’s machining billet. Kevin’s always got some kind of JDM goodies up for sale. And don’t get me started on RADwood—why didn’t I think of that, right?

Tell me about it.

In the words of the venerable James May—GOOD NEWS!

There are no new ideas. There’s only new ways of executing them.

Once upon a time, information was scarce. Technology was costly. And starting something like a business took more than working class stiffs like us could afford. The first person to run with an idea had the benefit of being first to market, closed all the deals, and made a killing. Think: railroad tycoons, oil barons, The Big 3.

Today, you can start a business for practically nothing. Stand up a free WordPress blog (treat it like a build thread) and test the waters. If you build it, they may very well come. And if not, well, no big deal. You win some. You learn some. Dust yourself off and try again.

And here’s even MORE good news!

Unlike those 100-year old, household names, you don’t need eleventy-billion customers and billions in revolving credit to survive. You just need a core group of legit customers who get something positive and meaningful out of what you have to offer.

If you want to make a million bucks this year, you can sell one person something for $1,000,000, a million people something for $1, or anything in between. And that’s assuming you really need to make a million bucks.

The reality is, if you’re reading this, you’re probably not making that kind of money.

Maybe you only need to make $50k to quit your shitty day job and go pro. Or maybe, if you could bring in $20k on the side, you could afford to quit the shitty day job and take that part time job at the shop learning how to build proper race cars with Kent. Kinda like Michael did.

What I’m getting at, here—the point I’m trying to make that took so long I’ve had to push the core questions back a day—is…

The things you probably think are standing between you and the high performance life you’ve imagined aren’t really obstacles at all.

Yes, it’s still a LOT of work to start your own business. RADwood might have started out as group of buddies showing up to a car show in 80s swag for shits and giggles, but it’s grown into something you know about today—into a worldwide automotive phenomenon—because they got serious about chasing their dream.

Does that guy you know with his own business have as many customers as Ford? Does RADwood have a bigger audience than Top Gear (even the current, unloved stepchild version)? I doubt it—but give them time.

The whole world gets out of the way for the gearhead who knows where he’s* going.

The person who says it’s impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it.

If you could ask these people anything, what would you ask?

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you what I want to know.