The Business, Cars & Cigars Podcast

Luke Fidler is a seasoned entrepreneur who ran his own boat audio shop for 14 years before realizing he needed a change. He left the business last year and jumped into the corporate world with a new job, but he didn't leave his experience behind. He is now using his knowledge to help other business owners, particularly those in the Tint World franchise, avoid the mistakes he made. Luke has lea...

Mark Eldridge is a living icon in the car audio industry, having been involved in it since he was 16 years old. He purchased his first vehicle, a 1974 Chevy Blazer, and installed an audio system in it. From that point forward, he was always upgrading the system for better sound. After college, he worked at General Dynamics and joined the Air Force, where he discovered a car audio magazine that tau...

Roger Quast was born and raised in Minnesota. By age 12, Roger was helping his dad to replace an engine, and he says that was when his love of working on cars began. His first vehicle was a 1950s Chevy truck that he absolutely loved. From there he got a Camaro, and his love of vehicles continued to grow. Roger can remember his first time at Minnesota’s Back to the 50’s car show in 1999. With over...

Building a brand is crucial for small businesses to reach their target audience in today's advertising space. Kathryn Tague, owner and founder of Influence Digital Media, emphasizes the importance of creating a brand identity, voice, and story that resonates with your desired audience. Kathryn started Influence Digital Media to help entrepreneurs and small business owners grow their online pre...

Dave MacKinnon got started in car audio while in high school at the age of 17. He participated in a co-op program where he volunteered at a local shop regularly. He loved knowing how stuff worked, and learned a lot from trial and error. After high school, Dave went on to try many different roles, from sales to tech rep, but it was a gig as a writer that really caught his interest. His first writin...

Last week we talked about ongoing training from the owners point of view. Today, Brandon talks with his right hand man about the employees perspective on training. There’s a reason Dan Castro has worked for Brandon for a decade, and that’s because he invests in his employees.  Taking them to events such as Master Tech Expo or Knowledge Fest, Dan loves doing annual training. He says he has see...

James Smith attended Knowledge Fest in Las Vegas recently, and is here to share his experiences. Before Knowledge Fest, James went on a cruise where he tested the systems and procedures in place to run his business without his direct involvement. At Knowledge Fest, James taught a class on sales, emphasizing the importance of creating a great customer experience and following up. He notes that many...

As the marketing director for FASS Fuels, Jake Hopkins knows a thing or two about diesels and content creation. His journey into marketing actually began as a copywriter. From there, Jake got into the automotive aftermarket with Tire Dynamics. Then, it wasn’t long before he found his home at FASS Fuels. Fass stands for fuel air separation system, and that’s exactly what they do. Jake says you woul...

Today’s guest has a long list of titles: CEO and head coach at WinRate Consulting, founder of non-profit A Champion’s Shoes, host of the podcast Big Stud, best selling author of Too Strong , and many more. As a personal development coach, Mike Claudio is passionate about helping people overcome their fears of being great. He’s a big believer in manifestation and can usually be seen repping his ‘Wi...

Tony Whatley bought his first car at the age of 14. The 1969 Camaro was a rusty, 20-year-old car, but Tony had a vision for it. Before the days of eBay, Tony and his dad would hit up swap meets and junk yards to restore this car to its former glory. It was through this process that Tony developed his love for cars, which would lead him to pursue a mechanical engineering degree. While pursuing that...

He’s a 10x X-Games gold medalist, been on Nitro Circus, and performs stunts in movies, among many other things. Fondly known as Cowboy Kenny, Mr. Kenny Bartram is here today. He describes himself as blessed to have figured out how to make a living being a goofball. Coming from a long line of motorcyclists, Kenny was riding for as long as he can remember, but it was freestyle motocross that really...

We’re back with 12v industry icon, John Schwartz. If you missed the story about how he rose through the ranks, check out the previous episode. Today, John is sharing his secrets for staying on top through all of the ups and downs that business can throw at you. One such hurdle was the Covid shutdowns that rocked so many businesses. When the pandemic was still isolated to China, John had the good f...

With 33 years in the car audio and security industry, John Schwartz is an icon in the 12v world. His love for the industry started at 14 years old when he was working next door to a car audio shop. He can still remember the day a guy pulled up in his CRX and turned on the bass. With every window in the place shaking, John was intrigued. He immediately went into the shop and begged for a job. He st...

There are a couple of key components that make up a strong business. James Smith realized what those components were a few years ago. When his business partner left, James found himself running around like a chicken with his head cut off, trying to do it all. That’s when he turned to business coaching and learned the importance of a strong foundation. Policies and procedures, and core values, are...

In addition to building his brand, Oliver has kept his day job as creative director at Una Vida Tequila. The company is known for its 100% pure blue weber agave tequila. With the high price of agave right now, Oliver recommends trying their El Trago before turning to a low quality mixto tequila. Made from 100% agave espadin, it’s cheaper to grow and naturally sweeter. These are just a few of the t...

Sponsor of Business, Cars, and Cigars, Vita Nova Cigars, just launched October 13th, 2022 with a record-breaking night. Owner, Oliver Mueller, has been smoking cigars since 18 and has a real taste for quality. He worked the retail side of cigars for a long time and learned a lot, including how different shapes smoke differently. He had a real interest and researched as much as he could. Eventually...

Growing up, Heidi Fahrenbach’s parents were race car drivers, so she’s always been around the automotive industry. From a young age, Heidi fell in love with the adrenaline, the sounds, the smells, all of it. As she grew up, people noticed her beauty and encouraged her to get into modeling. She decided to pursue it, but only if she could specialize in the automotive industry. She says it did take a...

Brandon is back in the saddle again with an awesome guest, Brian Schmitt from Mobile Solutions. Brian talks about how he started in the mobile audio industry right out of high school. He worked for a couple of manufacturers, and then decided to start his own company. He has built this around being efficient and creating tools that help speed up the process. Also, they provide training to develop s...

It’s no surprise that Brandon and Doug Dobson met at a knowledge fest, as they both know a lot about the industry. Doug describes his journey as a natural progression that started at Elettromedia doing tech support, service, and sales. When he learned all he could there, Doug broke off on his own and started MSC America. It was through this endeavor that Doug helped to bring the Helix line to ligh...

The very first episode of Business, Cars, and Cigars had Tomas Keenan as the guest. Now, nearly a year later, Tomas is back to talk about growth. Recently, Nate stepped away from his job as COO of a coaching academy when he and the owner weren’t seeing eye to eye. Because of his growth, Nate was able to walk away with gratitude instead of anger. When that door closed, the door of being his own bos...

Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Adam McChesney believes that entrepreneurs aren’t born, they’re brewed. As the host of the podcast Entrebrewer, Adam dissects the journeys of top-performing entrepreneurs around the world. His own journey started in medical device sales, where he quickly rose through the ranks and found himself going from $75k/year to $200k/year overnight. In true entrepreneurial...

Steve Sulze grew up as the fat, bullied kid. By his junior year of high school, he had had enough and began lifting weights. After developing a great physique and building up his muscles, Steve assumed he could handle himself in a fight. His first bar fight proved that assumption wrong. So, Steve started researching martial arts, tried a few out, and settled on Krav Maga. When the gym Steve was tr...

Today we’re talking to the 2022 Mobile Electronics Installer of the Year, Marty Adamschek. He’s found the awards process to be fantastic, as it’s given him the opportunity to network and meet other people in the industry. Everyone involved has been extremely supportive of one another and pushed each other to do their best. You can watch the moment Marty is announced Installer of the Year here . Ma...

Over 30 years ago, Mike Rundel started his career as an installer and quickly moved up the ranks to running the whole shop. At the same time, Mike ran a DJ business. He’d spend long days at the shop and then all night at the club. When he got married, he decided it was time to make some changes. He moved into being a product rep and focused his DJ business on weddings and events. Car audio and bei...

Cousins are often your first friends, and that rings true for Brandon’s cousin, Matt Runge. Growing up together, Brandon watched Matt get to where he is today, owner of On Track Construction in Iowa. Matt found himself in Iowa as he pursued a college education at Iowa State University. He ended up feeling at home there and decided he would stick around and build his career there. In 2017, Matt dec...