Listen to Rick Fairless

Rick Fairless Is On The Air

Rick Fairless is on the Get It Done in 2010 Seminar. He discusses how to utilize events and promotions to increase your sales and marketing objectives.

Listen to Bob Kay & Rick Fairless on the Biker Pros Podcast.

Each month Biker Pros hosts a teleconference with executives that are in and out of the Powersports marketplace.

Rick Fairless
Owner, Rick Fairless Strokers Dallas

I am so proud and happy to be so successful in a business that I truly love. I continue to work hard and tell people all the time that I’m just a lucky chump from Texas! I’m just happy to be here.
-Rick Fairless

Roadracer JD Beach won the singles “Pro” race at the Indy Mile on D&D Performance Race Exhaust.

One of the most successful and popular 18 year old motorcycle racers, J. D. Beach rides on a variety of different types of disciplines and J.D. displayed his considerable talents during the AMA Pro Flat Track racing Indy Mile.

When not flat tracking, J.D. recently clinched the AMA Pro SuperSport Young Gun East Divisional Championship by winning for the seventh time in 2010 on his Rockwall Engineering Yamaha.

Each year the AMA rolls out the red carpet and showcases the greatest spectacle in dirt as part of the Red Bull MotoGP weekend. It was no different this year as D&D’s racer, Chris Carr, took 2nd at the 2010 Legendary Lucas Oil Indy Mile Ama Pro Flat Track race in front of a packed crowd. Carr diced with eventual winner and Kawasaki-mounted Bryan Smith.

The 22 minute affair ran for 25 laps with Carr taking an early lead. A red flag was issued on the third lap because of a rider dismount in the third turn.

At the re-start Carr took the point again and held it through much of the race. Only during the closing laps did Smith slip by. Carr hounded Smith and tried to make a move but the Kawasaki power was to much and Smith beat Carr to the stripe by 0.139 seconds.

Glorious memories of the Indy Mile go back for decades. Top riders have always highly coveted a win at this race, long considered the “Crown Jewel” of AMA Pro Racing’s oldest and most tradition-rich professional racing series. After a hiatus that began in 1999, the race returned to the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2008 to record-breaking crowds.

In 2009, a near-capacity crowd again returned to witness another night of sliding, drafting, handlebar-to-handlebar duels, 140 mph straightaway speeds, and inches-close finishes .

As a special treat in 2009, motorcycle racing legend “King” Kenny Roberts electrified the crowd with a no-holds barred, high-revving 3-lap curtain call on the infamous Yamaha TZ-750 he rode to victory in 1975.

It was another “Indy Mile Moment” to be savored by fans for years to come. Valentino Rossi and other top Moto GP riders cheered on Roberts while marveling at the guts and skill of today’s flat track stars.

This year Nicky Hayden was be the Grand Marshall of the event and threw a leg over a red Ducati of Larry Pegram and ran a few fan laps. He also announced an extension of his contract at a ceremony at the winner’s stand.

“We’re honored to have a U.S. and World Champion such as Nicky Hayden serve as Grand Marshal,” said Mike Moore, president of The Promotion Company-Family Events, producers of the Lucas Oil Indy Mile. “It’s a fitting tribute Nicky’s many accomplishments, especially here at the legendary Lucas Oil Indy Mile where he was first honored as a rookie,” Moore said.

Hayden achieved early career success on the dirt tracks of America. He is currently in his eighth season in the internationally acclaimed MotoGP World Championship riding for Ducati. He made history when he won the world championship in MotoGP in just his fourth season in 2006.

The Rocketeer Debuts At AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building

Our newly designed and hand-fabricated gas tank embodies the central theme of the 2011 Rocketeer. The introduction of the bike kicked off at the 2010 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building. The Rocketeer takes several design cues from the 1930′s and 40′s and integrates them into a tight Digger Bobber, which delivers a fresh interpretation on the classic bobber.

Classic looks combined with cutting-edge American components provides a motorcycle platform that delivers outstanding performance, reliability and the elusive WOW factor.

The Rocketeer is an homage to Pulp fiction, which was published as inexpensive magazines from 1896 through the 1950s. The motorcycle captures the romance and danger of that era.
The illustrated Rocketeer book is a superhero created by writer/illustrator Dave Stevens. The character first appeared in 1982. The Rocketeer began as a comic then a movie and now is a custom production Bobber.

The Rocketeer Details

• Engine: Crazy Horse 100″
• Exhaust: Ceramic Coated D&D Exhaust
• Frame: Rake 40 degrees Stretch 1″
• Front End: 41mm Meanstreet
• Transmission: BDL
• Front Brakes: Excel 4 piston Wilwood rotors
• Rear Brakes: Excel 4 piston Wilwood rotors
• Paint: Underground Studios
• Bars: Inverted MotoX bars
• Grips: Leroy Thompson
• Guage: Wire Plus gauge machined into trees

About Brass Balls Bobbers & Choppers
With a strong team at the helm and a slate of innovative, high-performance designs that blend vintage with contemporary, Darwin Motorcycles is primed and quickly becoming one of the leading motorcycle shops in the country attracting new riders and setting trends through their Above Average Bobber program.

Dan Gurney Alligator Motorcycles, Inc.
Corporate Offices:
2334 S. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92707-0186
Tel. (714)540-1771 Fax: (714)540-3749
Email: aarpr@aarinc.com

The Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows provides the opportunity to see the complete model line-up from all the top motorcycle manufacturers in one place.

The New 2010-2011 International Motorcycle Shows Tour Dates

SteveB (Stephen Berner) Is On The Air

SteveB is on the Get It Done in 2010 Seminar. He is a MarketingMan with a bent towards motorcycles. He has been there and done that or knows who did it.

Listen to Bob Kay & SteveB on the Biker Pros Podcast.

Each month Biker Pros hosts a teleconference with executives that are in and out of the Powersports marketplace.

About Steve B
SteveB, IronWorks Magazine, Editor in Chief…

In a past life I worked for American Iron Magazine and also wrote for Hot Bike as a freelancer. I am a leather crafter and photographer and publish two of my own blogs – in addition to my 20-hr a day dream job with IronWorks : Steveb’s Daily Blather and 45dgree.
-SteveB

A surge in social-media use by small businesses reflects a shift in how they operate and their comfort with increasingly easy-to-use technology.

In growing numbers, small-business owners are adopting social-networking services, location-based services, Twitter and online video to promote products and services, according to a new study by MerchantCircle, a social network for small businesses. It polled a fraction of its more than 1.3 million members.

The survey results are the strongest evidence yet that small businesses — which account for more than 90% of all U.S. companies and fuel the economy — are accelerating their use of social media at the expense of traditional media such as newspapers, the Yellow Pages and radio. Even e-mail messages have taken a beating.

Businesses with fewer than five employees “see Facebook and others as a way to reach targeted consumers” while saving marketing expenditures during a rough economy, says Darren Waddell, vice president of marketing at MerchantCircle.

For the first time, social media has become the most visible way for small businesses to promote their products and services. More than half of nearly 10,000 respondents nationwide say they plan to create or maintain a social-networking presence in the next three months, compared with 41% in the first three months of this year.

That is the highest figure since the survey started a year ago.

At the same time, adoption of location-based services has grown rapidly — 32% of merchants familiar with Foursquare use it, compared with 25% in March. Twitter is gaining favor, too: 8% more merchants intend to use it now than in the first three months of the year. The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business says social technology adoption rates in the U.S. doubled in the past year, to 24% from 12%.

Still, business’ embrace of social media does not necessarily translate into profits, says HipChat, a group chat and messaging service for companies. More than 90% of the 2,000 small businesses it works with use social media, but few have seen a business benefit. A Compete Online Shopper Intelligence study suggests some consumers are slow to accept social media as a shopping resource.

Yet tens of thousands of small businesses advertise on Facebook, up three times from a year ago. More than 1 million small businesses have Facebook profiles reaching hundreds of millions of customers. Many small-business owners used Facebook for personal use before they started their companies, according to Facebook.

“People are familiar and comfortable with Facebook,” says Tim Kendall, director of monetization at Facebook. “Regardless of your business, many of your customers probably are already on Facebook.”

“We’re seeing a (recent surge) in the use of Facebook by local businesses,” Kendall says.

Social media’s allure

Small-business owners are gravitating to social networks in large part because technology has evolved to the point where anyone — no matter what age or tech background — can turn their personal passion into a thriving online business.

Alice and Donald Murray acquired Over the Moon Ribbons, a maker of discount ribbons, in 2004 after Alice retired. The tech newbies, who have been married for 49 years, initially sold ribbons at flea markets before their daughter Sharyn persuaded them to sell online.

They began using Facebook, Twitter and software from e-commerce company BigCommerce this year. In six months, they’ve grown the business to more than $1,000 a month. The software they use makes it easy to design and run an e-commerce site, with built-in search engine optimization and marketing functionality. The program will soon let small merchants integrate Facebook “Like” buttons and other functions. “The online stuff has a far reach without losing the personal touch,” Alice Murray says. “We do a lot of communication, still, on regular e-mail.”

Online sales at Southern Jewlz have doubled in six months since recent college grad Randa Yezak, 23, started using Twitter and e-commerce software. Her 2-year-old business also has 8,000 fans on Facebook.

“The value of Facebook is that it gives you efficient ways to retain current customers and reach out to and find new customers,” Kendall says. “It is happening on a scalable, digital way among you and your friends.

FROM SMALL BUSINESS

A: I think that any small business that is not maximizing its Web presence is missing a golden opportunity.

First, let’s make sure we are on the same page. When discussing Web 2.0, what we are talking about is an era where websites are more interactive, engaging, and interesting than before. They are not static, as they were, say, 10 years ago, where all you could do was read. Instead, a Web 2.0 site is one where visitors can engage with you, your business, and your site by:

• Posting comments on your blog, or articles, or chatting in a forum.

• Re-tweeting your content, sharing it on Facebook, or Digging it.

• Watching a video, listening to a podcast, or participating in a webinar.

• Taking a quiz or responding to a poll.

The essence of Web 2.0 is that it is collaborative and interactive. By creating a site that engages and interacts with people, that makes them want to stick around (hence the term “sticky site”) you give people more of a chance to create a connection with your business.

So there are many reasons to have a great Web 2.0 website, but here are three main ones:

1. Credibility: These days, people judge you by your website. Don’t you do the same? Don’t you often check out a company’s site before deciding to use them? A great website levels the playing field; you can look every bit as big and professional as your biggest competitor. Your website is your sign to the world. It says a lot about your business. Play big.

2. Marketing and branding: Similarly, your website is an incredible opportunity to market your business and brand it accordingly. Sure, simple sites are fine – but who wants to be fine? By creating a more robust, interactive site you are creating a bigger and better image for your business.

3. Additional profit center: Ideally, your site should be more than just an e-sign, it should be another way to create business. Either it is so good and impressive that it almost forces people to seek you out, or it actually sells goods and services and makes you money directly. Either way, a Web 2.0 site has a much better chance of becoming a new profit center than does a static, boring, Web 1.0 sort of site.

OK, so if this makes sense, what sort of functionality should you be looking at adding to your site? Here are some easy ones to start with:

• Video: Video is probably the top Web 2.0 tool out there right now, and for good reason. For instance, it is estimated that if you have video on your homepage, upwards of 80% of your visitors will click on it first (so it better be good!)

Your video addition can be as simple as uploading some content onto YouTube and then posting it and a YouTube player on your site, or as “complicated” as creating professional video and search engine optimizing it for high Google rankings. Either way, video will make your site friendlier and stickier.

• User created content: Adding forums, polls, and comments is a fairly easy thing to do these days (depending, of course, on what platform was used to build your site.)

And consider adding a blog. It is a great SEO (search optimization engine) tool. Your posts are fresh content, the comments are fresh content, and search engines like fresh content.

• Written content: “Content is king” is an important phrase. Creating short, interesting articles is not that hard and yet they still engage the visitor. Or what about creating a free e-book? It need not be long, but it is a nice perk, and again, means that a visitor will have more of a connection with your business. And don’t forget about your free e-newsletter.

When you get real good at this Web 2.0 stuff, what will happen? People will share it – via email links, tweets, whatever, and that’s the ticket.

It is what I call word of mouth advertising 2.0.

Today’s Tip: It feels like things are getting better out there economically, but is it really? Apparently so. According to a new survey commissioned by Capital One Small Business Banking:

• 47% of the small businesses surveyed said that the economic conditions for their businesses have stayed the same this past year, but

• 26% reported improving conditions, and

• 28% said that business is definitely better than it was at the same time last year.

Ask an Expert appears Mondays. You can e-mail Steve Strauss at: sstrauss@mrallbiz.com.And you can click here to see previous columns. Steven D. Strauss is a lawyer, author and speaker who specializes in small business and entrepreneurship. His latest book is The Small Business Bible. You can sign up for his free newsletter, “Small Business Success Secrets!” at his website —www.mrallbiz.com.