Slakker

You will alienate a whole lot more people from your business by going down this path, than you will by taking the higher road.

That being said, I'm just trying to help the angry one become a productive member of the forum. I mean surely he could add more value if he wasn't flipping out all the time. Especially if he's as knowledgable as everyone says he is.

KoB

Agreed ... I didn't mean say that it's how I do business, or how I like to see business done, just that it's nothing out of the ordinary.

Slakker

Agreed.

alpine003

The way I see it is both don't really conform to the "normal" corporate way of doing things and both of them can easily get away with it since good m96 engine builders aren't plentiful here in the states.

I personally think it's refreshing and glad they both aren't assimiliated into the Borg like many.

Jake has also admitted this quite a few times as well that he's not a people person. However I believe he's come around to it more than when he first started.

I think quite a few of us only dream we can truly be ourselves and be successful at the same time. Not many these days can get away with it.

Valkuri

"Businesses always bash competitors"?
For the record: No.
Low class businesses bash competitors.
I've never thrown a competitor in my field under the bus. More than a few of them have not followed the same path.
I arrived in my current location with zero work, where my competitor had been in business for 12 years. Still throws me under the bus.
And I have 75% of the market.
Quality and success are qualitatively successful.

Flat6 Innovations

For the record:
I have not once, not ever chased MB , or anyone else around, making posts about him/ them. He has done this to me with every single opportunity that he has been given. Don't believe me? Use the search function to see.

Also, Under no circumstance will I allow someone to state incorrect information about my program, or what we have built without countering them. I do not care if this is the "normal" or "corporate" way of doing things. I also do not care if if someone feels that I am incorrect for doing this.

This thread is a classic, where Martin goes to my Facebook page, sees a bunch of stuff, doesn't take time to comprehend it, then starts posting inaccuracies with descriptions and photos that aren't even related to the topic at hand.

Now, the definition of "high road" is different for everyone... I feel that I have taken the high road, and will continue to. Why? Because I do not seek out the mistakes of MB, his statements, or his photos, even when provoked. I have not once, not ever taken the offensive with him, or anyone else. Since the best offense, is a good defense, I will continue to defend what I have created, like any person born with a spine would do.

groovzilla

^^Well said - And to all you female cheerleaders lacking *****, this is how you do it

ZuffenZeus

Bet you been to Babyland General, right? It's okay if you don't want to admit it Jake, but the fact is, Xavier Roberts didn't let the critics or the circumstances of building a great product and business stop him from fulfilling his dreams. I'm sure at some point he was laughin' all the way to the bank! Cheers!

Slakker

Taking the high road is defending baseless allegations with facts while not attacking the obvious weaknesses and lack of character of the person attacking you. Cheers for having the discipline to do it because I don't think I would have.

Flat6 Innovations

Thats funny.. When my wife Land Speed Raced her 996 (she holds 5 records today) she wore a T shirt under her suit that said "If I had *****, they'd be bigger than yours"... Guys hated it, their wives loved it.

My Mom was born at the original Babyland, which was Dr. Neal's office during WWII, then was used by Xavier from the 70s through just a few years ago. The new location is just across the street from the Flat 6 facility.

My mom also babysat Xavier, and his family was so poor that the kids had no shoes on their feet. She wasn't paid anything, since they were all neighbors. I remember Xavier's mom (Eula) buying a used dinette set from my mom and dad and having to pay 10 bucks a week for it till it was paid off, and it only cost 60.00. This small town has certainly spawned a few globally known businesses, and products... But most people have n idea what we are doing, or that my shop even exists, though I grew up on the property, and have been here building engines since 1992 or customers.

That said, I honestly never started this business for it to become what it has today. I started this place because I wanted to do things my way, and because I never wanted to have a "Job" where I worked for someone else. I focused on building the best, and doing it with a twist, then everything else just happened around that. I never even realized it until a few months ago, to be quite honest. Some days I am disappointed with what it has grown int, and most people would think I am crazy for saying that. I have to constantly turn work away, and limit what we do, simply so every job can retain the personal touch that it should.

This is why we don't hire more people, and try to build every engine, for every person that calls the phone number... Its simply not what I created this place to be. Thats what everyone else wants, but what they don't realize, is the fact that they are going about it in a backward way. If they simply focused on what truly mattered, the rest would come to them with no effort at all, other than prayer, and effort, with a twist of integrity, and doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.

Focusing on the right thing has left me with no need to advertise, a loyal customer base, and a debt free business. Most people that shoot for that will never get there; because, the goals they set and the "business plan" is too focused on the business, and not what they have produced.

On the one occasion when I was asked for a "business plan" I said "Make money, have fun, please those who believe in me, and do what I want to do".

They asked if I had a formal plan, and I told them no, and at that point I walked out of the room. I haven't asked anyone, for anything since. I never will again.

I started building engines in an old chicken house, with a dirt floor. It had no power, and needed an extension cord with an old broken lamp thrown over a rafter so I could see what I was doing. I have gone from that, to where I am now, with zero assistance from anyone, or any bank. Do you really believe I give a damn about what anyone thinks, or says?

Today I am servicing a vehicle, with an engine that I built 20 years ago fitted to it. The same owner has had the car al;l those years, and the engine hasn't been torn into at all. Thats how I measure success; when you can build something that lasts that long; but moreover, when you can retain the buyers trust, and business for that long. Of course, I would;t let anyone else in the shop touch my engine, and I'll be the only pair of hands that touches it. Thats the way it was 20 years ago, because it was just me here, and no one else..

groovzilla

^^Your wife's tee shirt may cause some confusion in North Carolina

ZuffenZeus

I think it's your military instinct coming through. In other words, the best way to silent a bully is to punch him in the face. I'm also from a military family and we don't like our country or family being walked on like a door mat and so in some ways, we do care what people say, but the circumstances of their ill-informed words don't determine our attitudes. My father (Navy man), would say that when these morons back home spew their poison, it reminds us that we all fought and died to give them that freedom. But nothing hits lower than when someone, who has never seen their brothers fall in battle, tear down our country's efforts to defend our nation.

We used to come up to Cleveland all the time as a kid and remember when Roberts started the "little people" (before Cabbage Patch Kids) business and we loved the mountain crafts that people up there would create. I just brought my girls to see the new Babyland General hospital and maybe next time I'll come by to meet you if that's ok. Would be an honor. We Georgians still like to reach out and help our neighbors. I wish more of the country would turn away from it's selfishness and remember we're all brothers and sisters. But too many people today are "gaming the system" and it's sometimes hard to know the wolf in sheep's clothing from the ones that really need help. My grandfather (who served in WWII) once told me, "Son, your generation worries about the wrong things. You're worried about losing your satellite TV, but we worried about if we would have food to eat. We survived many days during the depression on potatoes and cabbage. And, we were thankful to have it because people were staving back then." I never forgot that advice. Cheers!

Sneaky Pete

sooooooo who exactly are the female cheerleaders?

hacker-pschorr

Hope everyone got their punches in.

Time to move on....