Document text
Local business rides online photo by Bob Pennell By SHARI DOWNHILL Don Becklin didn�t set out to build his interest in motorcycles into a burgeoning dot-com business. It happened anyway. What started out as a "hobby Web page" has evolved into a mega-online motorcycle accessory retail site � www.motorcycle-superstore.com � with about 200,000 visitors a month. Of those, 3,000 to 5,000 place orders. Operating first out of his grandparents� Grants Pass steep-roofed, cramped attic in 1998, Becklin, 32, began to include accessories on his motorcycle community Web site. Soon, he found his "business" growing and hired two people to help lay the venture�s groundwork. The company grew from three to 15 employees within three years. "Relying on venture capital wasn�t even an option for us," Becklin recalls. "We had to find a way to do it ourselves. We used some start-up capital from me and a few bank loans." Business Card Business : MotorcycleUSA.com Location : 1904 Sky Park Drive, Medford Phone number : 618-7381 Web sites: www.Motorcycle-Superstore.com www.motorcycleUSA.com Owner : Don Becklin Business : Motorcycle accessories and apparel The business eventually moved from the attic to expanded quarters in the basement. Last winter, the dot-com moved from Grants Pass to Medford, fashioning a retail showroom, inventory warehouse and distribution center out of a 6,500-square-foot industrial shell on Sky Park Drive. The showroom is an example of a "less is more" product display philosophy, said Scott Bertone, the company�s marketing director. Revolving around the MotorcycleUSA�s motorcycle fanzine Web site ( www.motorcycleUSA.com ), the shop provides examples of riding and racing apparel, boots, helmets, and other accessories stocked in the warehouse. A computer kiosk allows a quick check on availability. Whether it�s a $1,200 racing suit or a $39 riding helmet on sale, the store�s expansive selection is growing. "It has been a matter of scraping and scratching and working with our distributors to bring product in here with the kinds of terms where we could pay for things," Becklin said. Becklin�s business prowess may be etched in his genes. Raised in the Rogue Valley heading for Oregon State University for a degree in business administration, eventually making his way to Southern California where he worked in the advertising department for a motorcycle magazine. "That was OK for awhile, but I wasn�t personally suited for Southern California," he said. Returning to Grants Pass, he worked at his family�s business, ECS Composites, founded by his grandfather and overseen by his father. "It was great," Becklin said. "My grandfather and father were a wealth of resources � my grandfather on getting the business up and running and actually starting something from the ground floor, and my father with his business background and his analytical way of dealing with how businesses should be run. "They told me, �Look, if you�re going to do this, you have to do it in a way ... that the company is going to be profitable and you�re able to do all the things a company does to remain in business.� " Following their advice, Becklin has not only built a viable business out of his personal interest in motorcycles, he has provided jobs for 14 other people, including his 24-year-old brother, Sterling. Becklin is the first to admit he hasn�t built the business alone. He credits his employees for their willingness to forgo the stability of former jobs based on their belief that the venture would be a success. "Everyone here has a little bit of a risk-taking and entrepreneurial spirit, otherwise they wouldn�t be here," Becklin said. "They believe in working for ourselves, and trying to make a living at it. With that kind of spirit, It really makes just about anything possible." "I think we�ve made some really big strides and overcome a lot of obstacles that could have put us away," Becklin said. "When I first started this it was really a dream to get to a position where you could actually make some money. "There are still a lot of things to accomplish, but it�s nice to be in a position where you can actually analyze that, when there are a lot of dot-com companies are out there analyzing how to file chapter 11." Reach reporter Shari Downhill at 776-4463, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.