Small Business Stories - Autovisuals.com

Alex Fees: I am Alex Fees on Small Business Television. We are coming to you from SEMA 2008 at Specialty Equipment Market Association in Las Vegas, and joining me here now is Wendy Engelberg, Wendy good to see Wendy Engelberg: Hi! You too Alex Fess: Wendy and I have met before because she was here last year, last year SEMA 2007. Wendy Engelberg: Yes this is our fifth year Alex Fees: Really Wendy Engelberg: Yes Alex Fees: Second time on SBTV Wendy Engelberg: Exactly yes Alex Fees: Her product is called AutoVisuals.Com, how do you characterize it. Wendy Engelberg: Well our flag ship product is the Auto Sharp paint pen Alex Fees: Auto Sharp paint pen Wendy Engelberg: Yes it's a marker Alex Fees: That's what I recall from a year ago. Wendy Engelberg: Yes it's a marker used to touch up chips and scratches on your car and we make it to the paint coat of the car and basically it's a marker, and we fill it with automotive paint. Once we get the paint coat, we can just make about any thing from 1990 and up and it's exactly like a marker. So basically all you do is you hold it just like a marker and that's how you use it. If you have a chip on your hood or your door you just color it in. Same thing with the scratch and you can get it very tiny very fine and that's what it looks like. Alex Fees: And now you are doing this, a black ink on sort of a silver background just so, it shows up right Wendy Engelberg: Exactly yes Alex Fees: I mean you have colors that match all the different spectrum of paint colors. Wendy Engelberg: Yes we make just about every paint coat there is from the early 90's and up, yes. Alex Fees: And how long has your company been in existence? Wendy Engelberg: 8 years. Alex Fees: Well let's talk about what has happened over the course of the last year, since your last appearance on SBTV, how did that work for you. Wendy Engelberg: It was --- it really helped to show the product and the company and that we are in the trade shows and the customers got to see us and they also got to put a face to me because a lot of times every body's virtual so we don't see them and just like the show I get to see the customers once a year, and we got to meet a lot of the customers that we normally never even speak or never even see too, so that's been great. Alex Fees: So what has happened in the course of the past year I mean are you expanding? Wendy Engelberg: It's been really up and down. The dealerships have kind of gone all over the place, and so we've opened our business up to more catalog sales, which has really kept us going and it's done very well. This is our slow time a month, we have more of a seasonal product, because when it's cold up people won't touch up their cars. It's just too cold, and it takes a lot longer to dry. So now, we have kind of just expanded everywhere especially in like Florida, and Texas and the warmer states, and the catalog sales are just really keeping us going through the slower times. Alex Fees: So where do people go to get access to your products. Wendy Engelberg: AutoVisuals.Com. Alex Fees: Okay, there are you. In retail stores and such, you are talking about expanding. Wendy Engelberg: Yes, where they can purchase Harrington catalog, Atlantic British, Brit Parts. They can go just do a search online Bavarian Auto sports, and they can also check with their local dealers. Alex Fees: Okay other than that Autovisuals.com is the place good to get the information. Wendy Engelberg: Correct, Yeah, all they need is the paint code from their car. Alex Fees: Wendy, what about SEMA 2008? What's been your experience here this year? Attendance is down a bit from last year due to the economy and yet they still have over one hundred thousand people here, how has it been? Wendy Engelberg: It's been very erratic. It's probably half of what it was last year. We've met more of our current customers, and customers actually that I haven't seen in a long time which is great because we got to renew our relationship with them and talk about new promotions, new products. So that's been wonderful. A lot less dealers, our primary customers are automotive dealers, the parts managers hardly any of them this year. This year was more a lot of auto body people and so just saw a lot less dealers sending their client or their employees to the show. Alex Fees: So what direction you are going with the AutoVisuals.com in 2009. Wendy Engelberg: We are leaning more towards the catalogues and we are continuing with the dealerships and promoting -- constantly promoting new programs and we have wonderful displays and it's still working out very well but we are really opening up to the more of the targeted online catalogues as well. Alex Fees: Okay Wendy how many paint colors, how many stock paint colors do you have in your supply. Wendy Engelberg: Well they are custom made on order because there are hundreds and thousands of different paint codes, so you can't really keep any thing in stock. Alex Fees: Okay, so when they go to Autovisuals.com is actually saying there is a code number they have enter to let you what -- Wendy Engelberg: The paint code of their car Alex Fees: I see Wendy Engelberg: Yep, and if they are not sure, they can also look it up on our website and if they are not sure where to find it, there is kind of like a map, it will show you on your car, where to locate your paint code, or they just call us, we always answer the phone or they can email as well. Alex Fees: Okay so how does that work if I don't know what color code my 2005 Chevy Cobalt is, I have to find out what color Chevy refers to it as and then you will know or what. Wendy Engelberg: No basically there is a an e-mail form for paint code help on our website and you just fill in the color description, the year make and model and we can help you find your paint code that way. Alex Fees: Okay good deal, alright again she is Wendy Engelberg of Autovisuals.com Wendy good to see you again. I appreciate you coming back. Wendy Engelberg: Thank you so much I appreciate it Alex Fees: We are on Small Business Television from the SEMA 2008 in Las Vegas.