I feel like a zombie right now. I just spent 7 days on the road demo'ing our product to potential customers and trying to establish a distributor. We made several sales and brought a major distributor on board. I had to drive 3500 miles in 7 days to do all that, though.

I also came to the conclusion I am going to have to spend many many more miles on the road to increase sales. My half-ton truck isn't going to cut it, unfortunately. That is what scares me the most. I'm going to have to go out and purchase a truck capable of handling what I need. I just bought the one I have and am going to have to sell the darn thing and go into debt:(

My car just may very well be put up for sale. I'm entertaining that thought now. I need capital

Jeremy ... social media should keep those miles off the truck :poke: . Well, good luck with your venture and post pictures when you can, we all love pictures!

Michael

Thanks Michael!

All the different facets of the internet definitely help in generating awareness and sales in our product. However, we deal with both residential and commercial customers. Our commercial customers are usually highway maintenance crews, municipalities, waterworks facilities, etc and they all require an in-person demonstration. We received an email from the VA in Hawaii wanting a demo. I told them if they paid my way there and back, then I would gladly give them a demo:)

I was in downtown Memphis, TN today to go over the cad files for some of the parts I'll be needing laser cut. While I was there I thought I'd snap a picture of the downtown area. We were hit by an extremely rare winter storm in March here today. This shot is the Mississippi river, which is quite high already. This picture was taken at noon today with a high of 20*. This never happens here!

Have you tried angel investors? Some financies can get you a low interest grant. There are tons of programs out there for new start ups. Im not sure how they do it with partnerships, but if you have decent credit you should be good for at least 75K. Just something to think about.

The way I see it you are losing 50% but I understand you are burnt out.
You have better odds with a business loan and finishing the car later. I say take a break, apply and let it ride. The car should be a last resort.

How far is the car from being a roller?

I have searched around a little and spoke with a few companies about some financing. Either their interest rate was at loan shark rates or they were wanting six months of financial statements. I'm not willing to accept a high interest rate loan and the company simply isn't old enough to have six months worth of financials yet, so that ruled those out.

The original company was created by a long time friend of mine, who researched and developed the product for the past four years, which we now sell. He developed the perfect product to fill a much needed void in our target market. Interest in our product has been received well. We shipped our first unit out today from our new, 50 year old building. Our product is typically targeted towards water works facilities, roadway maintenance crews, cities, etc. We are currently building a unit for LSU that they will be flying in this coming weekend to pickup.

The company is a little past the start-up phase. We are selling our products on a regular basis, however not enough yet to really turn a profit. We could get buy with the bare essentials that we are working with, but to increase production we would need more capital. Part of our sales comes from performing demonstrations. These demos are required by many of our customers before they are allowed to purchase. I do not have the truck that could handle pulling our products all over the country. I'll need to purchase a diesel truck, but just can't quite afford to do that just yet either. That, in of itself hurts, my business.

The main reason I need capital is to help handle the Purchase Order's that my customers are required to use. My product is expensive and it is expensive for me to build. It's difficult to produce my product without capital upfront. I haven't spoken with my bank just yet about helping with the costs to build on the PO's. I'm hoping they would be more lenient in their rules to cover them. It's virtually risk free.

My friend that started this company do an excellent job in developing the product, but has no clue how to run a business. He essentially handed over the company to me and became an employee. We filed the dissolution papers with the state to dissolve the old company and created a new one with me as the sole owner. I have not looked into angel investors. I've been trying not to have to sell off pieces of the company to get it fully operational. This week I plan to try and explore as many avenues I feel is available still to me to help raise capital. One of those is the sale of my car. Hate to do it, but if its the only place I can find it, then that is where I'll have to get it. It hurts to even think about taking half of what I have in it. Trust me!

I could have the car assembled in a day, by myself and drive it out of the garage in two days. Of course, it still wouldn't be considered a roadworthy car.

Thanks for the tips!

I was born and raised in a family owned service business and handling a manufacturing business is quite a bit different.

Yeah I hear you, i am in the same boat. I passed on loans and am running it on my own cash. Hang in there. It all works out.

I may have a client that may want the car but I'd have to transport. That's why I asked how far from being a roller. I'll do the math and make a proposal.

I certainly appreciate it Vince. I can make the car a roller, no problem. I was at that stage that I needed to make it a roller again to do a few things before I jumped back into the body getting it ready for paint. However, all this happened and the car got pushed to the side.

Hold Out!!!
 

I have spent three hours catching up on your build! DON"T SELL!! I understand what you are going through and have been living pay check to pay check the past two years. Watching your build has kept me going and I've had to watch my car take a back seat ride for a long time. Needless to say, I have a place you can store it if you need it. Money will come and go. It's gone now but it will return in the next year or so. If you sell it, you will for sure regret it. I've sold lots of things over the past two years to make ends meet. The only thing I neglect to sell is my car. I have taken on a second job to help fund my build as well. I will be in Memphis next month for a bachelor party. May try and stop by to look at your car if thats possible. :happy23: Ill buy the first round if your up for it. Best of Luck to you!

Car is coming along great man! Keep on grinding away at it.