The Meyers Manx dune buggy launched the kit car industry back in '64. Enthusiasts purchased bodies and parts in kit form, then built vehicles using the running gear from a "donor" car. Innovative Street Machines in Miami offered kits for Porsche Speedsters based on Volkswagen Beetle parts, along with three '30s Fords & a '66 Cobra that used Ford running gear. Reporting to the sales office in Plantation in November of '99, I began selling kits manufactured at the factory in Miami’s Little Haiti.

Since this was my first phone sales gig, I started out with their deadline-driven, scripted approach. Ugh! My results met their standards, but not my own. This approach just didn’t feel right, so I trusted my gut. Making top dog status in my fourth month on the phone was fun and easy once I started having broader conversations with prospects. Then, despite proving my methods outdid the status quo, the marketing manager told me to stick to the script after monitoring my calls. I told him where he could stick his script and quit as a matter of principle. Never work for someone dumber than you.

Using the my personal website to drive sales in '99 intrigued Benedict, the company president. He hired me back as an "ambassador without portfolio." Ostensibly back on the payroll to handle customer service calls at the factory, brainstorming with Ben between calls led to a brief parley, after which I replaced the marketing manager.

Building a Microsoft Access database, we digitized the workflow and enhanced reporting. Leasing a G4 Mac and a RISO Graphics printer brought graphic design and printing in-house. We launched a website, and when a customer called to ask, “Where’s the shopping cart?” his $14K sale became our beta test. Bill also became one of our first Certified Builders.

Then Pete interviewed for a sales gig and ended up as our COO. Adding him to the crew, we saw quality improvements in the existing line and designs for new models. Event sales at hot rod shows, component sales, and the certified builder network quadrupled annual sales in five years, from $1.5 million to $6 million.

Then Benedict got the sack after a falling-out with the owner, George. Hans, his replacement, hired an IT guy, a graphic artist, and a webmaster to replace me, trying to pass them off as my staff. After six months of denial, The Lying Dutchman changed his tune, and I accepted a meager severance. He then fixed his crosshairs on Pete, and after letting him go, he robbed George blind, bankrupting the company in less time than it had taken us to build it. Karma, baby.

My marketing chops soon got me in the door at Steeda Autosports right up the road In Pompano Beach. The modern Muscle Car era began for many with the retro-styled 2005 Mustang. As PR Maven, authoring the backstory for Steeda Autosports Screamin' Yellow Q racing homologation, my words were showcased on the Ford display at the SEMA Show in 2004. Neato!

Taking over web maintenance and messaging, I drove their first $10K day in online sales. Stepping up my photography game, I shot thousands of photos at events and for installation instructions. Contributing articles and photos led to editing in-house publications. Creating an FM radio station for events kept them informed and entertained. Building a digital media portal eliminated both the cost of developing multiple prints of photos and the expense of mailing them out.

My unindicted co-conspirator for most of these shenanigans was their graphics guru, Rob. Watching the axe fall all around us, we kept picking up the slack. These were dangerous times when a brother could lose his gig just for drawing a hand turkey. Two guys with Sisu to spare were soon doing the work of five.

OOMM 3.0 opened in the margins while working as a wage-slave in Florida, serving a growing number of pals who shared my automotive passions with e-commerce and marketing, like Jeff in Canada. Work here began in sunny South Florida and continued when my third bride and I relocated to the high desert in Nevada.