Friday, August 3, 2007
...used auto parts on the web? Millions!
I love stories like these!
Just a year ago, Philip Schaffer was wondering what he could do to energize his going-nowhere business, Action Auto Wreckers. With the economic boom stimulating new-car sales, the Long Island, New York-based Schaffer suddenly found himself sitting on a glut of junked autos, with fewer and fewer customers to take them off his hands. "It seems like everybody around here is driving a new car or a leased car that they don't have to work on themselves," Schaffer says with a sigh. Many people in his shoes would have waited patiently or closed up shop. Schaffer did neither. Instead, he decided to reinvent his business by shifting it onto the Net, where he opened the used-parts site Action Auto Wreckers.
The result? He has found himself overwhelmed by orders from body shops, hobbyists, and do-it-yourselfers attracted to his vast inventory and low prices. "I've shipped motors to California, parts to Chicago, Hawaii, even Guam," he says. For one cybercustomer from Iceland, Schaffer drained the oil from a wrecked Pontiac Sunbird, boxed up the parts needed to fix it, and shipped the whole thing out by air.
The bottom line, Schaffer says, is that the Net has given him a new lease on life. His annual sales now top $1 million, with half of that business done online. "The potential is there," he insists, "to do $5 million or $10 million over the Internet. It has put the fun back into coming to work."
The full article is at
http://www.adobe.com/v1/handlers/index.cfm?ID=14662&method=full
Just a year ago, Philip Schaffer was wondering what he could do to energize his going-nowhere business, Action Auto Wreckers. With the economic boom stimulating new-car sales, the Long Island, New York-based Schaffer suddenly found himself sitting on a glut of junked autos, with fewer and fewer customers to take them off his hands. "It seems like everybody around here is driving a new car or a leased car that they don't have to work on themselves," Schaffer says with a sigh. Many people in his shoes would have waited patiently or closed up shop. Schaffer did neither. Instead, he decided to reinvent his business by shifting it onto the Net, where he opened the used-parts site Action Auto Wreckers.
The result? He has found himself overwhelmed by orders from body shops, hobbyists, and do-it-yourselfers attracted to his vast inventory and low prices. "I've shipped motors to California, parts to Chicago, Hawaii, even Guam," he says. For one cybercustomer from Iceland, Schaffer drained the oil from a wrecked Pontiac Sunbird, boxed up the parts needed to fix it, and shipped the whole thing out by air.
The bottom line, Schaffer says, is that the Net has given him a new lease on life. His annual sales now top $1 million, with half of that business done online. "The potential is there," he insists, "to do $5 million or $10 million over the Internet. It has put the fun back into coming to work."
The full article is at
http://www.adobe.com/v1/handlers/index.cfm?ID=14662&method=full
Labels: Passionpreneur Profile, Sideline Business Tips, Story of the Week
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Thursday, May 10, 2007
Passionpreneur Profile: Mark Oristano, photographer
Today's passionpreneur profile is of actor/photographer
Mark Oristano
"I'm very lucky. I've been able to combine two of my life's great passions, acting and photography, into a very satisfying career," says the talented Dallas photographer
"My photography career actually began in 1973, when I shot sideline film at Dallas Cowboys games. That led to a 30-year career as a sportscaster, where I worked with such well-known broadcasters as Verne Lundquist, Ron Franklin, Dave Barnett, and Oprah Winfrey. I was part of the Cowboys radio broadcast team for Super Bowl XXX at the end of the 1995 NFL season."
Mark's true passions, however, were always acting and photography. But he'd always done both only part-time while doing sportscasting/announcing on a Dallas morning radio show full time.
However, following 9/11, a pivotal time when he, like many, reevaluated their lives, their dreams and passions, Mark decided to walk away from his "successful career" to pursue his own definition of success and happiness full time, rather than as just a sideline. (get it, sideline? sports? I'm proud of that one!)
Mark's photographyh work has appeared in the Dallas Morning-News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Dallas Observer, the Dallas Voice, American Theatre Magazine and elsewhere. He's also been contracted by law firms and other companies for
executive portraits.
As an actor himself, he brings a unique perspective to his work for fellow actors. So, if your passion is acting, modeling, one of the first things you'll need are good photos. So, if you're in the Dallas area (or if you don't mind traveling!) visit Mark first online at www.markoristano-photographer.com
Labels: Passionpreneur Profile, Story of the Week, text links
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