Mobile Electronics, May Issue, Real World Retail, May 1, 2016 -- In any given field, knowledge is power. The more you know, the more power you have to serve and influence others. Such was true of many people throughout history. Leonardo Da Vinci was a man of great fame during the late 1400s. He was a painter, sculptor, musician, mathematician, inventor, writer and astronomer, among other talents. Many historians refer to Da Vinci as the prime example of a "Universal Genius," otherwise known as a "Renaissance Man." Another example that fits this description is U.S. founding father Benjamin Franklin, credited with discovering electricity, inventing the bi-focal and co-writing the declaration of independence, among other achievements. While it's most common for so-called "geniuses" to receive this title, a "Renaissance Man" can be found in most professions, with successful men and women who develop knowledge in multiple areas in an attempt to achieve greatness. Such is true for JC Motorsports, a one-stop-shop specializing not only in 12-volt products and services, but aftermarket automotive services as well. After concluding its first year of sales with gross of $300,000, JC Motorsports followed the path it set forth by continuing to sell both 12-volt products—like…
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Mobile Electronics May Issue, May 10, 2016 -- In the previous article we discussed adding bass to an audio system and the challenges that go along with that. We zeroed in on the footwell enclosure, an often overlooked option for adding bass to a car with limited space. Now let’s look at construction of a footwell enclosure. We are going to look at a build from start to finish in a BMW 135i Convertible. As we discussed in the last article, convertibles can be excellent candidates for footwell enclosures. This car was a perfect example. We had the client’s permission to cut the carpet in this car, so it was time to do a little reconnaissance. I took apart the necessary trim pieces so I could pull back the carpet in the footwell area. Typically, removing the passenger kick panel trim and a fastener or a clip or two will let you pull the carpet back. If the carpet is very difficult to pull back, and you know you have all of the fasteners removed, there is a possibility that it has a large piece of foam attached to the back of it. That was the case in this car.…
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After a well-received but loosely attended first year, KnowledgeFest Spring Training has become a rousing success in its second, shattering its previous attendance and adding more vendors to help train dealers on new products for the coming selling seasons. 5-1-2016, Mobile Electronics, May 2016 Issue -- Sometimes in life, you need a trial run. You get an idea, try it out and learn from it to improve for next time. Such was the case for KnowledgeFest Spring Training when it was first introduced to the 12-volt industry in April 2015. Since then, the show-runners at Mobile Electronics Group have listened to their audience and made adjustments to craft an experience worthy of the precedent that its namesake event set in Dallas. In its first year, the event drew around 350 attendees and had a turn-out that was below expectations for its Mobile Electronics show, where industry manufacturers set up booths to mingle with current and future dealers. This year, the three-day event which took place April eighth to April 10 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., drew over 750 retailers and 40 manufacturers. In comparison, KnowledgeFest in Dallas has drawn around 1,000 retailers on average each year. The…
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4/27/2016, Entrepreneur.com -- You're likely already familiar with optimizing your site for specific keywords. You may have a list of specific keywords and phrases you're targeting, or you may be more in the "add amazing content and see what happens," camp. However, the idea of optimizing for branded keywords may not have crossed your radar. Branded terms are words or phrases that are specific to your company. They often include your business name, but also may include certain trademarked product names or your website name. For Apple, some examples of branded terms might be: Apple Apple Computers Applecom Apple dot com Aple (a misspelled version) Apple Phone We want to rank for these branded terms because there are three main types of search queries: informational (e.g., looking for answers to a question), transactional (e.g., looking to make a purchase), and navigational (e.g., looking for a specific company). People who fall into the third category are specifically looking for your business or website. If your site doesn't show up in the first few spots in the SERPs, your competitors will be benefiting from these branded searches. Fortunately, ranking for branded keywords isn't fundamentally different than ranking for more generic keywords. Here are…
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4/1/2016, Mobile Electronics, April Issue -- Defining PowerBass is a particularly interesting exercise. The reason lies in the fact that PowerBass is more than your standard 12-volt manufacturer. PowerBass is the parent company of Image Dynamics (ID)—a storied, high-end car audio company with deep roots in as much retail as competition car audio. The old timers of the industry will remember ID for making some of the first car audio compression horns, the IDQ, and IDMAX subwoofers. Despite merging in 2010, each brand has its own unique set of lines, its own website and its own identity in the marketplace. While they share some common staff, the gear and its respective positioning in the marketplace is kept quite intentionally separate. One of the factors that makes PowerBass unique is the way their products come to market. “PowerBass is a vertically integrated company,” said Brad Fair, sales director of PowerBass. “The [parent] owns the manufacturing facility in China, but the research and development goes on here in Ontario, California.” The company also employs a pair of dedicated acoustic engineers, with Fair acting as the third acoustic engineer. “I do a lot of the follow up work,” he said “And I do…
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4/25/2016, Entrepreneur -- Everyone procrastinates. Even the most successful people struggle with it every day. But successful people do something that most of us don't -- they push past it. They don’t make excuses or allow it to affect their output. They come up with smart, actionable strategies to break past mental barriers and stay productive. Here are eight ways successful people defeat procrastination. 1. They keep themselves accountable. Show yourself commitment to getting things done. Making a commitment to yourself helps keep you accountable. You can do this by writing your goals down, keeping a to-do list with you, and creating reminders in your phone and on your calendar. There are other more creative things you can do to keep yourself accountable: Change the wallpaper on your phone or computer to something that says “get work done”. Write your tasks and goals on a whiteboard or large sticky you keep on your monitor. Set the new tab screen of your browser to something that reminds you of the day’s priorities using Momentum or Limitless. Related: Leading By Accountability Is Contagious 2. They make themselves accountable to others. If you can’t stay accountable to yourself, you might have more success staying accountable to other…
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