October 2008

Posted on November 2, 2008 by Cam

I had an awesome summer and I’m sad that the nice weather is about gone. It won’t be long until I’m hauling snow, mud and sand into my garage every time I come home…. I hate that. Even though October was chilly it was still a fun month. Speaking of October- this makes one year that I’ve been blogging!

We took one last trip up to the Alpine Loop this past weekend. We have a spot up there that we really enjoy and have spent many lazy afternoons relaxing there. The fall colors were gorgeous and I sat near the river while the kids threw rocks. Nothing brings a smile to your face like one of your kids shouting “Watch me, Dad!” Claire found several rocks she liked and really wanted to take them home.

Each October we go to Corn Belly’s (a corn maze in Lehi by Thanksgiving Point). The corn maze was a little disappointing this year (not high enough) but we entertained ourselves by throwing corn at each other. There’s a good deal to do there besides the maze: hay ride, slides, giant trampoline-esque bubble, pedal cars, haunted monster, shows and a handful of other attractions. Definitely worth a visit each year.

One of the reasons I love summer is the car scene. Nearly ever Friday I venture out, meet up with the crew and we drive around town and periodically park and talk about cars. Some nights it’s straight out of the Fast and the Furious. I’m not sure why we do it, but it seems important. During winter it’s too cold for car driving and we use the downtime for modding.

That little beauty on the left (below) is a gear box that I just put in this past week. My car originally had 2.56 gears for high top end speed (200+ mph). Since it’s not really practical to go that fast I’m sacrificing some of the top end for low end acceleration. The new gears (3.15’s) make a huge difference- I reach 3000RPMs in almost no time which means my turbos spool faster and coupled with the gearing difference my car is way quicker all around. I’m thrilled.

And on the right is a methanol injection kit. Methanol is one of the simplest types of alcohol and you can increase your engine’s power by spraying a bit in with the fuel and air. The methanol injection is something you only use once in awhile when you need a little extra boost. I’m hoping to get that installed sometime this winter. Should be a blast (ha ha!). Maybe a new stereo too… we’ll see how much time there is.

I’m constantly reorganizing things at work. With limited room it’s important to figure out what the best use of space is. For awhile I thought there should be shelves everywhere. As you can see (below, left) it was cramped and unpleasant (“bad chi” as my wife says). It’s been slow, but the evolution of our store is going pretty well. The shelves have been moved into the warehouse (we made our current shelves higher which is more efficient) and we’ve created a little break room. Seems to make every one happy. We put in some book cases (everyone gets their own shelf), an arcade (Super Street Fighter II- mentioned in another post), a couch, an SNES and some cozy decorations. They say if you make work a place where people enjoy being then everyone is happier and more productive. So far so good!

And on the subject of work, how about that economy folks? Let’s give it a big hand. I’m not talking about clapping- I’m talking about spending. If we act like there’s no recession everything will just go away. Okay, it’s not that simple, but it would help. To be honest the economy has me a little worried- so far we’ve been mostly unaffected and I think we’ll be fine though the end of the year, but next year… next year scares me.

I don’t want to brag, but when I was a kid I built some awesome forts. I’m mean forts you could live in. My forts had separate rooms, vaulted ceilings, hidden passages, and they took hours to build. The other day I realized we had a ton of couch cushions and so I went to work and build this little beauty below. Even though it only had two rooms it did have vaulted ceilings. I think it lasted about an hour. We did another one the next day, pulling the cushions off the couches in the theatre and I got 4 rooms and we went with a coffered type of ceiling (it was pretty cool). Almost lasted over night. I’m sure there are many more forts in our future!

The Sabins hosted yet another awesome Halloween party. The decorations get better and better each year (I think Rachel said something about them not being up to par becuase of her ankle- such a bizarre girl). I went as Utah Jones (like Indiana Jones, but but not quite as adventurous or buff). Fran went as a Hindu woman (I picked her up in India while returning some stolen artifacts to a village), Mike was Iron Man, Claire was Spider Girl and Gabe was a lion.

And then there was Halloween night. Fran took the kids out trick or treating and I stayed home to man the fort. It seems like Halloween gets less and less special every year. I’m not sure if that’s becuase I’m growing up or becuase something is really changing. I opened the door and discovered two Suburbans in front of our house with tons of kids streaming out. Coupled with the giant neighbor hood hordes there ended up being about 30 people in a giant line. It didn’t feel fun to me. After about 20 minutes our candy was gone so I killed the porch lights. They kept coming (isn’t there a rule?). I had to kill all our decorations before the madness stopped (really too bad because Fran did a great job this year). Anyhoo- my kids came back and they had made bank. They gorged themselves on treats until bedtime. Gabe didn’t go out this year so he waddled around harvesting samples from his brother and sister- he literally stuffed as much in his mouth as it woudl hold. Well… I guess they all did.

Andrew noticed this price discrepancy when we were at Walmart (picture quality= camera phone). You can get 4 cars for $10. Or if you’re a savvy shopper you can get 5 cars for $10 if you buy them separately. Same cars- I checked. This reminds me of what I used to work at Great Harvest. The owner created a combo meal (1 smoothie, a soup and piece of bread) and I pointed out that if a customer bought the combo it would cost more than buying the items separately. Anyway- I was shocked at how many people got the combo. Suckers

I feel like I should say something profound- you know, have some kind of closing statement. Doing one blog post for a whole month feels really weird to me. Ah well, I got nothing. Rock on.

Boaterrific

Posted on August 24, 2008 by Cam

We took the plunge (that might be a pun- we’ll have to see). A couple of weeks ago we bought ourselves a boat. We’d been contemplating Jetskis for years, but it never felt quite right. Then one magical day (which you can read about over here on Fran’s Blog) we decided to swing by Taylor’s Boats on the way to Ikea. A boat is like a floating living room so it wasn’t too hard to convince Fran that it was the perfect thing for family bonding (and it is!). We settled on a Cobalt 202, Cobalt’s smallest model. The boat is 21′ which, so far, we’ve found to be an ideal size. We’re super picky about colors and so we were thrilled that the boat we liked matched our truck and house (we’re not freaks- we just like things to be color coordinated! Okay, it’s mostly me! Fine, I’m a freak!).

We’ve gone out at least twice each week so far. We generally launch from the American Fork (AF) Harbor. It’s a little annoying that we can’t get a yearly membership because we don’t live in AF. In Provo anyone can get an annual pass for $75. But the AF harbor is more convenient (and relatively nice) so we deal with it.

We’ve taken out some of our friends nearly each time we’ve gone and I think it’s a fun way to spend time together. So far the only thing I can do is tube. Not to hard to flop onto a big pillow and hold on. Well, no- it’s gets really hard to hold on when some people drive. I’ll probably get skis this week, but save wakeboarding until next year. The kids love the boat. Mike wants us to stop every few minutes so he can jump in the water (the lake must seem like a never ending swimming pool). Claire sits up front in the bow and rocks back and fourth to the music while we cruise. We had a boat picnic the other day too. And I’m finally getting a tan.

As always Utah Lake has claimed a bunch of our stuff. Two pairs of sunglasses and some truck keys so far. Last year we lost a pair of sunglasses, a contact lens and a shirt. I wish the lake was a smidgen less muddy- then maybe we could find some of our stuff. I know a lot of people who don’t like Utah Lake much but it’s really pretty nice. The water temperature is generally upwards of 70 degrees this time of year. And the dirt washes right off….

So far the neighborhood reactions have been positive, which is nice since we’ve had to park the boat on the street (a no no!) for the last week while our driveway extension dries. Since I generally leave the truck hitched to the boat people notice that the boat is about twice the size of the truck. Inevitably everyone’s’ first question is, “Can your truck pull the boat okay?” I’ve got an ’06 Toyota Tacoma– I’m not a big truck kinda guy. That was one of my first questions too. Despite it’s small size the Tacoma can haul 6500lbs (surprise!) and pulls the boat with only some minor picketing and threats of a strike.

We’re planning to rent the boat out a few times each week. We’re just going to keep it local and provide drop off and pick up services at Utah Lake. If we’re do this right we’ll end up with a free boat and some gas money! If we do it wrong we’ll have a sweet underwater hideout. We were hoping to get our rental operation off the ground this year, but I think we’re going to have to shoot for next year instead. Ah well.

A big thanks to Tom Allen who showed us that the nautical life was the life. Tom’s rabid sexism, testosterone fueled spirit and and unquenchable urge to speak his mind have made him a Hughes family favorite.

Kids! What’s the Matter With Kids Today? Nothing.

Posted on July 20, 2008 by Cam

You can always tell when markers are scented (you don’t get the full effect unless you shove them up your nose). Berry blue, green apple, black licorice, cotton candy pink- truly irresistible! I’ve got many a happy memory involving scented markers. I’m not sure what brand we had when I was in grade school, but I’ve idealized them in my mind as the pinnacle of perfumed pen perfection. I think I may have licked a few.

When I was little my Mom and Dad used to tell me bedtime stories. Dad’s adventures usually involved Chip & Dale, “boom juice” and trips to outer space in a tree rocket. Mom’s stories were about Shiny, a little robot who lived in our house. Since he’s fascinated by robots, I’ve been telling Mike stories about Shiny. I also mentioned once that Shiny’s had a brother – Rusty – who did mining work on the moon. Mike has become obsessed with these two robots. We’ve talked endlessly about them, drawn them, and now, more recently, made them out of Legos.

Obviously I’m thrilled that Mike likes Legos. He’s made a bunch of cool things that I wish I’d taken pictures of, so this time I seized the opportunity. I had told Mike that Shiny was painted green and so he collected a bunch of little green Lego parts and whipped up the robot above. The piece next to Shiny’s head is his “treasure shelf.” Mike told me to make Rusty and I obliged. Claire helped us build a fortress for the robots and Gabe threw up on it.

Speaking of Claire and Gabe. Fran got Claire a tea set and we’ve had several tea parties together. She’s quite the little hostess. And Gabe finally stared walking! Who would have thought that these little people could bring me so much joy?

I Like to Ride My Bicycle! I like to Ride my Bike.

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Cam

I had a bicycle once- an old black Trek 21 speed that I rode around BYU when I went to school there. Those were happy times. So when my family decided we’d start biking together we headed over to the local Trek Store. Fran’s birthday was coming up so it was easy to justify getting her a new bike. Father’s Day was looming on the horizon so we rationalized my bike without too much trouble. We have a bike trailer that Claire and Gabe can ride in so that just left Mike. Obviously Mike got a bike too.

A boy’s first bike is a proud moment for a Dad. He put his helmet on, climbed on his bike and fell over. But he was right back on it and soon he was peddling around the neighborhood at a pretty good pace. I’ll leave the training wheels on for another few months until he can balance a little better. We got the trailer hooked up to Fran’s bike and went on a family ride together. Many more to come.

I splurged a bit and got a Gary Fisher Superfly. The 29″ over sized wheels really give it a great ride. The fame is all carbon fiber (I’m a carbon fiber nut- really) and the bike is incredibly light. I’ve ridden it to work a few times, but I haven’t been able to go on a serious ride yet. Hopefully next month. Anyone want to go?

Interview

Posted on June 11, 2008 by Cam

Jake’s Wife, Megan, asked me to answer a few questions for her business class. I thought I’d post the questions and my answers here (you know, since it’s commerce stuff!).

-Cam

1. You

Name: Cameron Hughes
Age: 30
Hometown: Lehi, UT
Education: (high school and college) Meridian High School (graduated in ’96). Attended BYU- three classes short of graduating when I decided to, for lack of a better word, “bail”.

Q. What did you graduate in?
A. I would have graduated in English. My plan was to attend Law School and practice law with my father. During my first pre law course I realized my plan wasn’t going to work out (I hated law).

Q. Did this major have anything to do with starting a business? Was it helpful and in what ways?
A. Not really- English and knife retail share very few commonalities. But yes, the English background was very helpful. Website content is extremely important and the English background gave me an edge in regard to what was readable, clear and engaging.

Q. Do you have any relatives who are entrepreneurs, and did they have an influence on your business?
A. Not a one!

Q. Did you have any other role models or mentors?
A. A friend of my wife’s family runs a business online selling model (i.e. cars and planes). I thought to myself, “If he can do it, then I can do it.” I talk with him from time to time to get business advice. Most of my inspiration comes from INC magazine- there are some excellent contributors that I admire a great deal.

Q. Did you have any business or self-employment experiences when you were young? How important were those experiences to starting your own business?
A. I was always into something. I was always trying to start some kind of business. Mowing lawns, babysitting, painting. I used to haul my sister’s toys down to the corner by our house and sell them to the neighborhood kids. I was big into eBay too (not so much anymore). All these experiences might be classified as “cute” now, but they really drove home the idea that it’s hard to work to start and run a business.

2. Your Business

Q. How did you spot the opportunity to sell knives, and how did it develop?
A. Originally I just collected knives. I found a couple of good sources to buy them and I’d get a dozen at a time. I could sell eleven on eBay and make enough so that I could keep the last one without being out anything. Pretty soon I was making enough extra that I acquired a small inventory and decided to build a retail website.

Q. What were your goals when you started? Did you picture being where you are today?
A. Originally I was just excited by the idea of having a piece of the Internet pie. It seemed incredible that I could pop something online and someone would buy it. Selling knives online seemed like a fad that I was lucky enough to stumble on. But after awhile I realized that what we had was a viable business and my goal shifted to growth. “How big can it get?” was the question foremost on my mind. I never imagined for a moment it would be anything like the business we have today.

Q. How did you evaluate the opportunity in terms of the financial requirements and income potential?
A. It didn’t take much to officially start the company so risk wasn’t a big factor. As long as we made more than we put in things were fine by me. Initially we didn’t take anything out of the business for ourselves- any profit was put back in to facilitate growth.

Q. How much capital did it take?
A. I borrowed $2000 from myself to get “a lot” of inventory.

Q. How long did it take to reach a positive cash flow and break even sales volume?
A. Our only expenses were advertising, website hosting and growth costs (buy more than you sell). We had these costs covered a month after our website launched.

Q. How did you finance your business? Did you use your own savings, family and friends, angels, banks, bootstrapping?
A. I used our personal savings. My wife was horrified. Since then we have used the bootstrapping technique.

Q. What are some pressures or crisis your business survived in the early periods of it?
A. There was a period early on where I had hired my first three employees and I thought I could let them run the business so I didn’t pay enough attention to the day to day operations. Sales suffered, cash flow became critical and I had to lay everyone off. I ran the entire business by myself for three months. It was pure hell.

Q. What was your family situation?
A. When I started the business it was just me and my wife. By the time the business could actually support us we had our first child. The crisis happened right around the same time as our second child came (stressful!). We have a third child now and sometimes I worry I’m not spending enough time with everyone. The business often demands more of me than I’d like to give.

Q. Did you find or have partners? Are there any attributes among partners or advisers that you would definitely try to avoid?
A. Originally I had a partner. Everything was supposed to be shared 50/50, but I ended up doing most of the work and eventually bought out his half of the company. As much as I hate to say it, try and avoid a partner if you can. If you are going to have a partner make sure it’s someone you can trust the way you would trust yourself. Advisors are fine, as long as they have your interest in mind. Too many of them, in my experience, have hidden agendas.

Q. Did you have a start-up business plan? If so, what were the basics of it?
A. Originally no. But once we realized we had a “real” business we did map out a basic strategy. It went something like, “Be the best, offer the most comprehensive product selection, offer the lowest price, offer the best service, provide the most enjoyable website shopping experience possible. Always buy products we think we can sell, always sell more more than we get them, take into account hidden expenses, do what’s best for the business.”

Q. What was your most triumphant/exciting moment? Your worst moment?
A.The most exiting thing that I can remember was the first time we broke a million in sales in one year (I think it was 2005). I think it will actually be more exiting to launch our physical retail store (next month) but I don’t know yet. The worst moment was working by myself (a long three month moment) and wondering if things were going to get better.

Q. What were the most difficult gaps to fill and problems to solve as you began to grow?
A. Order fulfillment was the biggest problem initially. Getting the product from our shop to the customer was an epic uphill battle. Hiring employees was pretty difficult (and we’ve hired some bad ones in our day) as well. The bigger we got the harder it became to assign roles to and manage everything (I’m a bit of a micro manager). The biggest problem we have right now is stock- we don’t have an effective enough way to manage inventory reordering.

Q. What are your plans for the future? Expand, Maintain, Harvest?
A. For the time being the focus in on getting thing running smoothly and continued expansion (like our retail store- into the local market we go!). My feeling is that if you’re not moving forward you’re moving backward. We have a slew of new websites we want to launch and the future looks bright.

Q. Have your goals for the business changed? How?
A. I have higher expectations for it than I did in the past. I think it’s capable of more so my goals are a little more ambitious in regard to growth, sales and product selection.

Q. Have your personal goals in life changed? How?
A. I don’t think my personal goals have really changed.

A. What do you consider your most valuable asset(s)–the things that enabled you to succeed?
Q. Relentless determination, hard work and a little bit of hardheaded ego get the business off the ground. But ultimately it’s having the right people by your side that determines if you’re going to succeed or not. A business operation is seldom a one man show.

Q. If you had to do it over again, would you do it again in the same way?
A. I honestly don’t know. Everything we did – good and bad- got us to this point. If I could go back in time and just do the good stuff I suppose I would, but ultimately (and I know this is a big cliché) the mistakes I’ve made have been a valuable help.

Q. What do you feel are the most critical concepts, skills, attitudes, and know-how you needed to get your company started and grow to where it is today? What will be needed in the next 5 years?
A. Well, the things I mentioned above. Also making sure everyone in a business is getting along is very important. We had one employee awhile back and he infected everyone with his depressive attitude- if the people in the business aren’t happy then the business isn’t happy. When it comes to business I get most of my know how from business books and magazines. Also, I reply heavily on the input of everyone here at work- if we make decisions as a group they are generally better (two heads are better than one). I’m not thinking five years ahead yet…

Q. What things do you find personally rewarding and satisfying as an entrepreneur? What have been the rewards, risks, and tradeoffs?
A. When I sit in the store look around it’s exciting to see my vision coming to life. It’s very rewarding when customers are happy or compliment the store, selection, service and staff. Building a business is kind of like playing with big Lego blocks. But not a day goes by without thoughts like, “What am I doing?” or “Is this really going to work?” There’s a lot of responsibility that rests on my shoulders and I’m not always comfortable with that. As I mentioned earlier sometimes I wonder if I’m home enough- I don’t want to sacrifice my family for the sake of “success.”

Q. Who should try to be an entrepreneur? And who should not?
A. I used to think anyone could do it. I don’t want to sound egotistical, but I don’t believe that anymore. If someone has a passion for something, if they are dedicated to it and have the means to make it in to a business they should give it a shot. But they need to be honest with themselves- if they can’t do it they should call it quits before it becomes a financial liability or an emotional black hole. There aren’t any rules about who should be and who shouldn’t be and entrepreneur.

Q. What advice would you give an aspiring entrepreneur? Could you suggest the three most important lessons you have learned?
A. Do something you like. If you enjoy your work you’re much more likely to success. Also surround yourself with the right people.
Lessons learned:
1) Work hard (and work smart).
2) Do what’s best for the business, not yourself (if everyone takes care of the business then the business can take care of everyone).
3) Hire people who are better than you. Put your ego aside and get the right people for the job.

Q. Would you be willing to be on an advisory committee for my business?
A. But of course. Make sure I don’t have a hidden agenda though!

Bonding with Transformers

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Cam

My son, Mike, is obsessed with Transformers. Sometimes he calls me at work to ask me Transformer questions. “Hi Daddy. Hey, can Fortress Maximus beat up Optimus Prime?” We’ve been pulling out my collection and playing with them a few nights each week and Mike is amassing a little collection of his own. He’s watched the movies (both the cartoon and live action offerings) more times than me. All of this delights me.

Recently I decided it was time to start drawing with him. Now, I’m not some kind of super artist or anything, but I think a person should have some basic art skills. I bought us some markers (I recommend Prismacolor markers- excellent in every way) and we decided to draw some Transformers. Mike picked Bumblebee for our first effort. I tried to teach him about seeing basic shapes in objects. I showed him how to pencil the design, ink and then color. I was thrilled that his little bumble bee drawing had shapes with volume and weren’t just little sticks! I helped him with the outline of his car, but he did all his wheels and windows and his own inking and coloring. We still have a ways to go, but I’m going to do this with him a couple of times a month and save everything in a book for him. I’m sure he’ll get better than me pretty quick.

Shedding the Clutter

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Cam

This little shed is exciting to me for three reasons.

First: We can finally move the yard and garden equipment out of the garage. It was getting really cluttered and we didn’t have room for the important stuff like manly car tools and testosterone powered wood cutting machines. I’ve had my eye on some nice metal cabinets I want to put in the garage on “my” side that can hold my tools… that I plan to buy… when the cabinets go in… cabinets for the tools… It’s a cyclical thing. Anyway, less stuff in the garage means more room… to put in more stuff… huh.

Second: We bought this shed at Costco last year. It sat unassembled on the side of our house for about 6 months. It’s really neat to have it sitting by the side of our house in an assembled state. Yep. All done. Now it’s not a chore looming at some unforeseen point in the future “when I have time.” Moving on.

Third: I came home one afternoon and found Fran putting it together. I rolled up my shelves and took it apart. Then I put it back together the right way. Fran likes it when I do “husband stuff.” Plus I love to do these kinds of things for her when I get the chance to show off my mad skills (I can be hard to mobilize, I confess).

Anyway- now we’ve got a little space to stick our unsightly yard equipment. One day we might get a real shed (I like Andrew’s), but this will do for now. Plus it was only a two hour venture.

The Road Ahead

Posted on March 16, 2008 by Cam

I’ve said it before and I’m sure everyone will hear me say it again. It’s seems impossible for me to to find time for everything. Work, family, friends, health, religion, education, hobbies, chores, blogging… Some people manage to balance everything and I can’t figure out how they do it. On a good day I perform a passable juggling act. I’m about to turn 30 (less than a week) and I’ve got to give careful consideration to my time (it’s running out!)

These days I cram in more and more work. Jim operates Blaze Commerce and I just signed on as a part owner and we have plans to overtake the local ecommerce market. Over here at BladeHQ we’re getting ready to open our “real” retail shop and there’s a huge amount of prep work to do before the remodeling. We’ve also got plans to fire up a slew of new websites so we can keep costs covered. If I was a single guy and sacrificed every aspect of my personal life then there’d be plenty of time.

But I’m not- I’m married, I have three kids. It’s sad to miss pieces of their childhood. It only happens one time and you’re either there, or you’re not. Don’t get me wrong- I come home from work every evening to see my family but it’s not enough for me. In the the grand scheme of things I keep hoping that I can get work “out of the way” and then go play. So far so good, but it really takes it toll. And part of me wonders if it’s really worth it. It’s been physically destructive… I can say that much.

For my birthday I ordered a sole treadmill. It should be here next week. I have plans to hop on the thing every day for about 30 mins. Where will that time come from? I don’t have television, I have’ read a book in months and I only sleep 6 hours as it is (with the exception of Saturday, when my wonderful wife lets me sleep in). Another 30 minutes a day is going to be tough! But given that my body weight has increased by 129% in the last four years I figure an intervention is necessary- even if it comes from me.

I’m sure I’ll find a way to throw one more ball into my chaotic juggling regime. I always do. Focus is a real key to success. I’m often amazed at how much time I can waste surfing the Internet, browsing catalogs in the bathroom, or sometimes just staring into space. If I can harness some of that I’m sure I can scrape together 30 minutes of time to treadmill it up. I can stare into space while I run (well… walk… I’m sure I’ll be walking at first).

And so… that’s why I haven’t been a consistent blogger. Blogging is lower down on my list of priorities and often gets pushed to the side. “I need to blog… but I haven’t slept in 13 days… I must sleep.” I don’t anticipate any change, but if I can think of something to jettison I will blog more. Any ideas?

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