Do It For A Living

Shane Tecklenburg talks about nitro-methane powered lawn-mowers, and using modern ECU’s to save lives! From the age of 14 Shane has been involved in engine calibration, and he says that to be successful in the performance industry you simply need to treat your customers like you want to be treated. He credits his success to two things: his obsession with engine controls and treating his clients fairly. Listen to this episode from one of the most successful modern drag-racing tuners and ask yourself, what am I doing differently? 

Todd Berk from Push, Inc. is a mechatronics engineer who is using his passion for design to create a gauge for measuring acceleration and G-forces and talk to other Smart Gauges via Bluetooth. His product, the Smart Gauge is designed to measure acceleration and multiple angle G-forces and through the use of Push, Inc.’s software they intend to add the ability to share race and acceleration results directly to social media platforms like Facebook. The fit and finish is very high quality, and the best part? He’s designed the entire thing from circuit board to aesthetics himself! From a CAD model to actual hardware, Todd Berk and his team of engineers all work on this project on the side. This product could make it big, but will it? What do you think about it? Find out more at DOITFORALIVING.net

Joel Levy is the artist behind Race Spec LLC and he builds some of the most impressive wiring harnesses in the performance industry. But Joel went through some serious struggles to get to where he is today. In 2011 Joel lost everything in Hurricane Irene but he didn’t let that stop him. He formed a partnership with Chris Harris and Xenocron, and Joel is back on his feet with more focus than ever. He’s refined his skill and he’s making a name for himself, he’s here to tell his story and offer up some new resources.   

Chris Harris owns Xenocron.com, a company offering online retail, wholesale and dyno tuning services out of Hillburn, NY. He built momentum for himself being a contributing member of PGMFI.org and “chipping” ECU’s for next to nothing. Soon everyone was asking for his services. He’s grown his hobby into a business that supplies customers all over the world. 

Ryan and his business partner Jason grew Shift-S3ctor from a bunch of guys street-racing at 4:00 AM to the premier West Coast roll-race event in just three years! Ryan tells the story of how they did it how they overcame multiple road-blocks…. And did I mention that Ryan has recently passed the Bar exam to become a lawyer, all before the age of 25! He talks about what drives him, how he did it, and what you can expect when organizing a big event like Shift-S3ctor. 

Does the world think that we’re just hobbyists who like to tinker with our cars, or are we considered professionals? In this recorded phone conversation between Reid Lunde and Ben Strader we discuss the concept of a white collar mechanic and how your actions affect perception, and how that impacts the automotive performance industry.    

If you don’t know Paul Yaw, you’re about to! He’s the incredibly dedicated entrepreneur and engineer behind Injector Dynamics. He doesn’t care what you think and it shows. His personality is addictive and if you can’t handle cuss words then don’t bother listening to this. Paul and I discuss that the goal in business is learning how to add value for your customers and how making money is easy when your product or service adds enough value. We discuss business and new products, and Paul tells the story of what it took to create Injector Dynamics.   

Tony says that 20 years in the industry has taught him how to sniff out BS… Tony also talks about ID’s new fuel pump controller and how it’s going to change the game. He speaks on software he uses in his business: Wrike for project management, Gmail and Freshdesk for email.  Stay tuned at the end for a candid conversation between Reid and Tony about the tools he uses to handle the hundreds of emails he gets.    

There’s a lot of pressure to lower your price when you have a service business, especially if you sell parts. Customers are constantly telling you that your price is too high, even when you’re barely scraping by! In this episode Ben Strader talks about how to overcome objections and how good service businesses can charge a premium and thrive at the same time! Ben’s got big plans for EFI University including creating college-level accreditation.   

In Episode 000 I talk about the vision I have for the podcast and what’s in it for the listener. This episode explains what to expect from DO IT FOR A LIVING and gives you a little insight into my mindset.  To find out more visit: DOITFORALIVING.net or search DO IT FOR A LIVING on Facebook. Thanks and good luck!  

Tony Palo from T1 Race Development Talks about how he got his first job