|
 |
| May 29, 2007 |
| Industry News: SSC Racing |
| |
Many people dream of owning a kart shop. And why not? We love this sport. It's our hobby, our recreation, and for some, our passion. But, like any business, it takes more than having an interest in a subject to be successful. You must be dedicated and willing to put in the long hours. You must understand the needs of the market and be ready and willing to fulfill those needs. Of course, it never hurts to take a look at what successful kart shops have done to get to where they are. We recently had an opportunity to sit down with Curtis Cooksey of Acceleration Karting and Jerry Freckleton of Precision Works Racing, to see what works for them.
Acceleration Karting has been around since the late '90s when Curtis Cooksey moved to Las Vegas from Utah. "I used to work for Silver King before moving to Las Vegas. I guess you could say I've always been in the karting business one way or the other" Curtis said when describing how he got started. "Back then I rented a cargo container from SSC at the X-Plex karting facility and my office was a closet!" He said with a grin. It's hard to imagine such humble beginnings while standing in his current shop, a well-appointed storefront stocked to the rafters with everything you need to outfit a proper karting team.
As many people know, most startup businesses never make it past their five-year anniversary. For Acceleration Karting, not being successful was never an option. "In those early days, it was success or starvation", he said. "I knew if I was going to make a living at this, I couldn't run it as a hobby, it had to be a business and a successful one at that." Then he added, "To be honest, I have to give Brooke (longtime companion and business partner Brooke Parker) all the credit for keeping me focused on what I need to be doing. Without her I'd probably spend every day at the track!" He said with a laugh.
When asked what were some key factors to his success as a kart shop owner, Curtis had just two words, "customer service." It was surprising that of all the factors that could go into building a successful karting business, items like extensive inventory, extended hours or trackside help, didn't come up. Curtis' answer for this was simple and to the point, "Well, those things are all crucial to success. However, when you think about it, they're all just elements of good customer service." The basic message here being, Take care of the customer's needs and you will have a growing business. Ignore the customer's needs, and you'll be out of business.
It's clear that the efforts being put in by Curtis, Brooke and the entire staff at Acceleration Karting works very, very well. For the last two years running, (2005-06) Acceleration Karting has been named the #1 SSC-Rotax dealer by SSC Racing. As a perk for winning the title in 2005 Curtis and Brooke got to travel to Italy last year to visit the CRG factory and met with Giancarlo Tinini. For their achievements in 2006, they will also be headed back to Europe again some time this year.
Just as exceptional customer service is the #1 goal at Accelaration Karting, it is also at the forefront for one of karting's fastest rising new kartshops, Precision Works Racing. Precision Works is relatively new but the owners have years of karting experience. Jerry and Chris Freckleton have been around the karting scene for as long as many can remember. Jerry is the former owner of a Southern California kart shop that built motors as well as complete chassis. His son Chris has been a top-ranked driver and well-respected tuner. When asked how Precision Works got started, Jerry just laughed and said, "Well, to be totally honest with you, Chris had to talk me into it."
In Jerry's words, "I'd done karting before, and I got burned out. But, now I have a different perspective and I'm having the best time ever working with my son." Jerry's past experience and renewed enthusiasm are paying big dividends as Precision Works Racing has started making a big impact on the karting scene. "Our goal is to be #1 in everything we do," says Jerry. "And we want to bring a very professional approach to kart racing. We are taking young drivers and helping them every step along the way to achieving their dreams."
Precision Works is currently working with 13-year-old California racer Justin Coplen, and has been having excellent results. But, it's more than on-track results that count. "Sure Justin has been doing well. Chris has been teaching him all the finer points of driving and tuning. But, we've also been working on getting his name out and generating interest in his skills. These are all the extra special things that kart shops have rarely, if ever, done in the past. And we want to offer this service to a whole team of drivers racing under the PWR tent," said Jerry.
As for his choice of his product line, selling CRG chassis and Rotax engines, Jerry was very complimentary, "If you really stop and think about it, (what we want to offer to our customers), we couldn't do that without the Rotax Challenge. This is the only sector of karting that offers something at the end of the rainbow." "Say a kid comes into the shop saying, I want to be World Champion', well, we have a program for that!" says Jerry with a grin. "Personally, I think that's really cool. I can't wait to take our first driver over there and represent the American karting scene at an international race."
"Take care of your customers and your business will take care of itself" is an old cliché. But, in the case of one of America's most successful kart shops, and in one of it's fastest rising success stories, it seems to hold true. Owning a kart shop may not be the easiest way to make a living. But, if you listen to your customers, consider their needs and are ready to help them achieve their goals, you're certainly headed in the right direction. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
