Sports Car Junkies Business Podcast | Interviews | Online Business Marketing

Pedro Bonillo is the founder and CEO of Technolab, an independent Porsche service and maintenance shop in South Florida.  But maintenance and service are just the tip of the Technolab iceberg.  Inside Pedro'sGarage.com you will find tutorials for do-it-yourself upgrades, technical articles, and some innovative performance upgrade products that carry the technolab name.  If you are a Boxster owner you probably already know Pedro.  If not then, this is your chance to meet a guy who really understands what it takes to earn the respect and trust of a community of hands-on sports car owners.  In this interview we get a little carried away with technical fixes specific to the Porsche Boxster.  While we blow past the 35 minute interview time target, this is a great example of how the passion for a specific vehicle model can drive an entrepreneur deep into a niche area of expertise.

Rick Roso directs a new media marketing campaign for historic Lime Rock Park, a legendary road racing course that is enjoying a booming resurgence thanks in part to an innovative marketing approach that keeps the brand in front of its loyal fans with fresh, fun, engaging content.  Rick explains the origins of Lime Rock Park and how he and his team are taking their racing brand to the next level.

Bill Wade operates an advanced driving safety program for teens that gives them a first hand look at challenging driving situations and the opportunity to react to them under controlled conditions.  Operated with assistance from members of the Porsche Club of America and the BMW Car Club of America, Tire Rack Street Survival will train teen drivers at 100 events this year.

John Kopp took his passion for racing to the next level when he opened Race Werks in Virginia Beach, VA.  The shop specializes in race preparation of BMW, Porsche, and other high performance vehicles.  John introduces listeners to High Performance Driver Education and explores options for entry level racing.

in this episode, Steve Vigus and John Kopp discuss the good, the bad and, well, the really good aspects of owning and operating a race prep and general automotive business.  Whether prepping Porshces and BMWs for race day at Virginia International Raceway or working to keep mercedes, ferraris, lamborghinis, and lotuses in top shape for urban driving, the crew at Race Werks manages to keep a pulse on the latest tips for eeking extra performance out of already exceptional vehicles.

John walks listeners through a day at the track for a Driver Education participant and explains the pros and cons of making your daily driver a full-on track car.  He also suggests a couple of best-value race cars for the new racer.

As CEO for North American Operations at Detroit Electric, Don Graunstadt is leading the introduction of a US Branded line of all-electric cars. He shares his thoughts on the business outlook in this new market and on the performance and utility of their flagship vehicle the SP:01. Based on the Lotus Elise, the SP:01 promises lightning fast acceleration to 60 MPH in 3.7 seconds, a top speed of 155 MPH and an equivalent MPG rating of 100+ MPG.  Depite the obvious similarities to the Tesla Roadster's appearance and performance, the SP:01 has its own unique design features that will soon take the market by storm.  In this interveiw, Don Graunstadt also discusses the company's affiliation with the city of Detroit, complete with a North American Headquarters address in the historic Fisher Building downtown.  He also considers where the next business opportunities will lie as electric vehicles gain market share.

Passion for driving.  Passion for business. Interviews with passionate entrepreneurs.  In this episode you will meet Steve Bernasek from specialtyautotoolrentals.com  Steve identified an un-satisfied need in his market and spun off a business to fill the void.  Now he operates an online business that rents automotive specialty tools to professionals and hobbyists who otherwise would not be able to take on complicated maintenance on import autos. Listen to this one if you are looking for inspiration to take the first step toward your own online business.  

Passion for driving. Passion for business. Interviews with passionate entrepreneurs. This episode features Sean Michael, author of The Lost Spyder, an adventure mystery novel about the quest to find a unique and extremely rare Porsche 550 Spyder.  Sean talks about the writing process and about what it takes to publish a novel as both a bound edition and as an e book.  This interview gives you candid advice on how to turn your book idea into reality and possibly even turn a profit in the process.

Passion for driving. Passion for business. Interviews with passionate entrepreneurs.  Chuck Jennings from Coucours Studios explains how he built a business around his passion for photographing classic cars, airplanes, and the successful people who own them.  This is great stuff if you have ever dreamed of growing your lifelong hobby into a thriving business.

Jason Len from XKs Unlimited shares stories about building the business from part time auto garage to become a dominant supplier of parts and accessories for classic Jaguar automobiles.  He introduces the latest technology in virtual product catalogs and discusses online marketing in a close-knit communtity of car lovers.

Episode 5. John Lee Dumas rocketed to the top of the iTunes business podcast category in record time. In this interview he discusses what it takes to quickly build a loyal audience and why he believes that podcasting is the next big thing.

Interview with Memo Gidley, professional race car driver.  Memo shares his perspective on what it takes to become a successful professional race car driver and extreme athlete.

Podcast Episode 3. Ed Beale from West by Sea used a Kickstarter campaign to fund and generate buzz for his yet-to-be-written adventure book based on an upcoming trip around the world.  In this interview, Ed shares his experience with crowd sourcing and offers advice for newcomers to this unique source of project startup capital.

Podcast Episode 2.  How David Freitas from Madza3Carpet.Com Built a Successful Part Time eCommerce Business

When David Freitas searched online for an exact-fit replacement carpet kit for his Mazda 3 he found, instead, an idea for a new business. Now Mazda3Carpet.com supplies high quality carpet for do-it-yourselfers around the world.  David's story of how he took his idea from concept to product to online business without quitting his day job illustrates how the Internet has obliterated many of the traditional barriers to market entry.  Check out this interview and decide if it's time for you to take your new automotive product from concept to market.

Podcast Episode 1.  Don Racine of MiniMania, Inc. on How to Dominate Your Niche (and Still Find Time to Race)

In 1974 when Don Racine began supplying performance parts for the Classic Mini Cooper he used a typewritten newsletter and snail mail to educate and advertise to his community of fellow racers.  Since then MiniMania, Inc. has grown to become the largest supplier of parts and accessories for the Classic Mini Cooper in the United States.  In this interview Don reflects on how the Internet has changed the automotive parts business and offers advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.  He explains why you must define your market niche and how he keeps his team focused on the things that matter to their customers.