Business

While the highs are higher and the lows are lower than with a traditional job, I gain a lot of satisfaction from taking on the responsibility that entrepreneurship requires. The first two companies I launched are described below and I am always exploring new business opportunities. Recently, I’ve been working with a team of MBA students to provide business-plan services to start-ups and marketing strategies to existing companies.

The first company I launched is a product developer called LAB802, LLC. LAB802 is currently developing a vehicle borne digital imaging device, called the ABB, that maintains a visual record of events leading up to an accident.

The second company is called Boofsquire Roof Racks. Boofsquire is the first and only manufacturer of Roof Racks designed specifically for the Nissan 350Z. I designed and developed the product, branding, print materials, ad campaign, copy, packaging and launched the website in under two months.

Boofsquire Roof Racks

LAB802, LLC

Boofsquire Roof Racks

Boofsquire is the first and only manufacturer of Roof Racks designed specifically for the Nissan 350Z. Throwing a Roof Rack on a sports car may seem unnatural to some, but for people with an active lifestyle it is a necessity. The Boofsquire Roof Rack installs in minutes and is totally temporary, leaving no trace when it is removed from the car.

I developed the roof rack system out of necessity, having discovered that there were no companies that built a system for the Nissan 350Z, leaving me without a way of hauling my bike and kayak around. After being approached by several individuals about purchasing a unit, I redesigned the hardware and launched Boofsquire Roof Racks.

Falling back on my graphic design training I developed the branding, logo, brochures, website, instruction manual and packaging all in house. Shortly after selling out of the first run of roof racks I outsourced the manufacturing so I could focus on developing the business.

Using online advertising tools, such as Google AdWords, I was able to develop a low budget, but extremely focused ad campaign. I narrowed the content ads down to sites frequented by 350Z owners and the search ads to people who were already searching for 350Z roof racks. Using some basic SEO techniques I was able to get the site into the top three organic search returns on Google in two months.