September Issue Feature: The Magic of Carbon Fiber
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The Magic of Carbon Fiber Expert installation technician Matt Schaeffer reveals how carbon fiber can change the game for even the most challenging of fabrication jobs. Foreword by Joey Knapp Words by Matt Schaeffer I hope you liked our series on building a false floor. I think Bing did an excellent job breaking down the process of installing equipment into a spare tire well. For the right client, that is an excellent location to fit audio gear, and still keep the functionality of the trunk/hatch space. In this article, we are going to be taking a look into using carbon fiber in our installations. Admittedly, I don’t know too much about carbon fiber. I recently completed an installation in which I had to machine and clear coat some carbon fiber pieces. I kind of cheated, though, and used pre-made sheets of carbon fiber. We are going to learn how to make pieces using real carbon fiber cloth. When I decided this needed to be the next topic for an article, two people came to mind as guest authors. The first was Junior Ngim of Sound Innovations in Union City, Calif. I have always followed Junior’s work on Facebook, and was…
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Entrepreneur, 9/26/2016 -- Millennials tend to get a bad rap. You hear a lot of things about them. They’re entitled. They’re not loyal to their employers. They spend too much time on social media, and they don’t know how to build in-person relationships. We’ve been led to believe that this generation, which now makes up the largest percentage of the workforce, is completely different from any other before it. As a result, employers are scratching their heads, asking questions like, “How do we hire millennials? How do we keep them engaged? An how do we keep them from leaving?” Last year, there were 53.5 million millennial workers in the United States. Nearly 1,300 of them work here at CHG; they make up 55 percent of our team. And, frankly, we’ve found the "talk" about millennials to be more fiction than fact. Here are the realities we’ve experienced. 1. Millennials are just like everyone else. No, really. The studies that have highlighted the contrasts between millennials and other generations have been far overshadowed by studies that discredit the disparities. According to the Harvard Business Review, to the extent that any gaps do exist, they amount to small differences that have always existed between younger and older workers throughout history and have little to do with…
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9-21-2016 -- As things typically go in the consumer electronics world, you can start out in one place and end up somewhere completely unexpected. Such was the case with Paul Goldberg, who took the reins at the Montebello, Calif.-based Epsilon Group of Companies more than 18 months ago as VP of sales and marketing. Started 35 years ago by brothers Jack and Don Rochel, Epsilon has grown from its roots as a single brand, Power Acoustik, to an industry leading outfit that houses several major names under its umbrella including Farenheit, SPL, Soundstream, and Precision Power. Surprisingly, Goldberg’s career hasn’t included car audio at all. He worked for DXG Technology Inc., a maker of digital cameras and camcorders. He spent time at Epson America, MicroCom, and Diamond Multimedia where he spent 10 years selling cable modems, routers and graphics cards for gamers. “I’ve been in just about everything over the years.” But being a newcomer to the 12-volt world definitely has its advantages. “The reason [the Rochel brothers] brought me on board was because of my different perspective than a lot of vets in the business,” Goldberg said. “My background is computers, peripherals, connectivity, video, still pictures—and all of these…
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Ignore the resume, focus on problem-solving skills and offer remote options as well as performance-based incentives. A team member who feels valued will do whatever it takes to get the job done. 9-21-2016, Entrepreneur.com -- Growing a startup in today's competitive industries isn't easy -- especially for a bootstrapped solo founder building and managing a small team. Your team is not disposable. In fact, its makeup is one of the most important things to get right. If you assemble a motivated team full of the right people doing the right things, you drastically increase your chance of success. I know because it worked for me. In less than three years, I grew my startup more than 2,300 percent using these management hacks. 1. Don’t look at resumes. Whether I’m hiring an employee, advisor or freelancer, I strictly follow my no-resume rule. I find resumes to be bloated and exaggerated. I don’t want to read how great applicants say they are. I want to interact with them and decide for myself if it’s true. Instead of asking for a resume, I ask applicants to tell me about themselves. I ask follow-up questions and stress I’m not asking for a list of their accomplishments. I want to…
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9-15-2016 -- Four-star United States military general "Stormin" Norman Schwarzkopf was known for successfully driving out Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991. To his troops, he was known as a man of great wisdom and leadership who believed in individual responsibility. He once said, "The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.” Schwarzkopf's words carried beyond his troops and impacted one man in particular: Ed Weber, owner of 12-volt chain Foss Audio & Tint. The company consists of four retail stores located in cities just South of Seattle, Wash., which include Tacoma, Kent, Tukwila and Puyallup. With 26 employees under his watch, Weber doesn't have time to babysit. Having a military background has helped him learn the value of independence, which includes following the words of Schwarzkopf when it comes to trusting his employees to know and do "the right thing" for the business. But those aren't the only words from the late general Weber found use in. "Norman Schwarzkopf said he's so successful because he makes decisions fast. 'The enemy will spend so long but I'll make a decision so fast that I'll make…
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In its 20th year, KnowledgeFest reaches new heights by offering retailers the tools to shift their businesses to coincide with current OEM technology trends. The event also saw a new batch of industry award winners crowned to help usher in the next era of 12-volt. 9-6-2016 -- Milestones happen every day. People make goals and achieve them. But those milestones are almost never achieved without sacrifice. After 20 years, KnowledgeFest has reached a rare milestone in the 12-volt industry, having created a place for anyone who loves car audio to come and learn new skills to enhance their craft. This year's event took place at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas August 20 to 22 and included over 40 exhibitors, 23 classes, nearly 50 product trainings and the culmination of a new round of winners at the 2016 Mobile Electronics Industry Awards. The city has hosted the event since 2010. To house the event, the Hilton Anatole provided 10 classrooms, a trade show hall, a ballroom for the town hall and industry awards, and access to several restaurants, bars, shops and a brand new water park for hotel guests. The city itself also played host to visiting attendees thanks to…
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