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Flexibility is not only a crucial key to success, it’s also necessary -- especially when bringing a brand-new business to life. Things don’t always go according to plan, and when that happens entrepreneurs have to think on their feet, come up with new strategies and sometimes even take their venture in a new direction. In this series, The Startup Snag, we’re learning from established business owners who hit a snag early on and cleverly solved the problem. We’ll also find out how they’re doing today.
Entrepreneur: Adam Wegener @trashamps
Business: Trash Amps, DIY & readymade audio speaker kits
Started: 2010
Location: Santa Clara, California
The Startup Snag: Adam says, “When we first started selling our trash amp kits, I had rented a kiosk at a mall -- you know, one of those little carts where no one wants to talk to you. We had made just one product on the day we opened and I had never done anything before in retail. This was before the mobile credit card swipers like Square, so I literally had an inkjet printer, a laptop, a mobile hotspot and a cash drawer all crammed into a mall kiosk. It didn’t occur to me that this kiosk is going to be open all day, every day, seven days a week. So, I ended up hiring all these random people and we were trying to build the product at the same time. Those first 60 days of business at the mall kiosk were probably the hardest in my life.”
The Savvy Solution: “So, after those two months I decided, you know what, selling via a website is a little more lowkey. I can do things on my own time and I don't have to have people physically there selling product. Since then we’ve always sold our product on our website.”
The Current Company: Eight years later Trash Amps is still going strong. They’ve focused their product line to readymade Mason jar bluetooth speakers and DIY speaker kits that can convert almost anything hollow into a speaker -- from a beer can to a Stormtrooper helmet. Adam and his business partner Ron have become fixtures in the west coast maker community, and have gone one step further than selling via their own website -- their products are now on Amazon, too.
Read the full story of Trash Amps on QuickBooks Community
Have you hit a startup snag? What did you do about it?
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