Cyril Huze Blog – World's Number One Source For Custom Motorcycle News

John Parham. Founder Of J&P Cycles And Of National Motorcycle Museum.

“Around 1990 J&P Cycles was growing very fast. Our sales grew over 100% that year and things were out of control. Our business had finally taken off, but with all kinds of sales we weren’t making any money. In fact, we were losing money. It was early January and our small town bank wouldn’t loan us any more money. I knew we had a great future if I could only borrow some more money and get things better organized.

So I made a trip to visit Fred Fox who owned Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialities. I knew Fred and we were one of their larger retail dealers in the country. I thought maybe he would help us get through these rough times. I met with Fred and explained my situation and asked for his advice and the possibility of loaning me some money. Fred spent plenty of time with me discussing all of my concerns and answering my questions, but as far as loaning any money he said he couldn’t do that. But I took Fred’s advice and went back home and immediately started making changes to our business. The first thing I did was raise our prices to slow our growth down which would let us start making more money on the parts we sold. Then next was to hire a first class business CPA firm to get our financials under better control.

For the next two years J&P Cycles sales did not increase. But we did become more profitable and more efficient at running our business. By the end of that second year we had turned things around and it was time to start growing our business again. But this time we were profitable and much more organized and structured with controls on our business.”

Zach Ness. Motorcycle and Accessory Designer At Arlen Ness Enterprises.

“I’ve been lucky enough to meet and learn some valuable lessons from incredible people, but to answer I will go outside the world of 2 wheels…

This piece of advice comes from Sir Jackie Stewart, British former Formula One racing driver, winner of 3 World Drivers’ Championships. A year or so ago we were invited to have dinner at Jackie’s estate just outside of London when we were on our way to the Isle of Mann race. Very memorable experience, but one thing Jackie told me about emotions and racing stuck with me in particular.

He said to imagine your mindset and emotions as a ball each time you’re facing a challenging situation, be a race or business endeavor or uneven surface. If your emotions are high and influencing your decisions that ball is overinflated with air… So when you try to bounce the ball on that uneven surface, it is very difficult to control. Now take that same ball and let some air out of it. You’ll find out that it’s much easier to control. Letting air out of the ball is like removing your emotions from a situation. He said that every race he won he removed his emotions from the situation, kept calm and made conscious decisions that were a part of his game plan. It was a simple truth from an inspiring individual that applies to all areas in life.”

Jeff Decker. Bronze Artist.

“As per the best advice I have received, I would have to go with the boring cliches such as, “spend more time with those you love”, “focus on the ride, not the finish line”, “be happy”, “be kind”, etc…

The advice I would give as a man turning fifty to those younger would be: embrace exuberance, and don’t let wisdom slow you. My life tells me I know little and young people should let denial and the lack of experience brazenly let them push boundaries that hindsight might prevent. The more I know, the less I am comfortable giving advice. Perhaps, “ignorance is bliss” is a complement rather than an insult”.

Robert Pandya. SpokesPeople LLC. External Relations Manager Victory Motorcycles And Indian Motorcycle

“Best advice I ever received: “It’s always best to lead” from Mark Blackwell, Vice President of Victory Motorcycles. Summer 2007. I was leading my first press ride for Victory Motorcycles – the introduction of the still controversial Victory Vision. We pulled out of the hotel in a big group. This was the first time that the bike was to be seen on the road by the public after two years of confidentiality and secretive testing. So along with the twenty five journalists, there was a load of management, engineers, and support staff creating a train of forty motorcycles. I was in the # 2 slot behind Blackwell in front of the biggest pack of motorcycles I had ever ridden with.

We finally got out of the city onto a long stretch of rolling countryside and I looked into the rearview mirror. I shuddered as I saw the number of headlights behind me. They must have stretched back at least ½ a mile. I realized that I was responsible for that group – and this being my first press event for Victory the pressure was pretty intense. Blackwell’s turn signal shook me out of the daze as we rolled into the left turn lane, the line of bikes diligently following behind. I rolled up next to Mark, an AMA Hall of Famer, motocross racing champion and one of the most respected guys in the industry and the guy who hired me for the job only a month or so earlier.

My eyes must have been telling – he asked if I was OK. “Holy CRAP that’s a ton of people behind us!” I blurted out as we waited for traffic to clear so the group could turn left on our route. “That’s why it’s always best to lead, Robert”. As that simple statement sunk in, traffic cleared and I looked over to him to keep guiding the pack. He smiled and waved me forward to lead the rest of the route. I let the clutch out as we rolled into the green rolling hills along the Mississippi River.

I am proud to say that nine years later I’m still leading the PR efforts for Victory and have been fortunate enough to add Indian Motorcycle to my portfolio three years ago. The view is better out front, and you have to work to stay there. Thank you Mr. Blackwell for that vote of confidence a decade ago.”

Michael Lichter. Photographer, Author, Curator “Motorcycles As Art” Sturgis Exhibition.

“I have had several key pieces of advice over the years that I took to heart, but one of the best and earliest, was from a New York based magazine art director in the late 1970’s, back at a time when you could still get in to meet art directors and a lot of business was done face to face.

I was just starting to work with different magazines at a time when I was shooting mostly rodeo and motorcycling (I clearly had better success with the bikes!) but I was always trying other ideas as well. Basically, her suggestion was to not keep all of my eggs in one basket. As it applied to magazine photography, it was suggested to keep 10 different proposals out to 10 different magazines at any given time (you wouldn’t want to have the same proposal out to two prospects just in case they both got accepted.) In this way, there were always proposals going in and out, and as one story idea got rejected at one outlet, I would immediately send it somewhere else. There was a constant in and out (by snail mail!) and as the right story got matched to the right the acceptance letters did come. Sometimes they took longer, but there were enough proposals out there that the rejection letters never got to me. I knew that if it was a good idea, it would eventually get accepted. I’ve said for years, “I have a thick skin” and this was part of building it.

I’ve used this approach with other aspects of my photography over the years, like keeping my portfolio out to potential commercial clients when I was first starting out, and it has worked great for me. At this point of my career, it has changed in that I have many different projects going simultaneously, but it is basically has the same results of lessening the impact of a rejection and increasing the chances of success. Of course, you need perseverance to keep going, but if you love what you do and really believe in it, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Rod Woodruff, President Sturgis Buffalo Chip

“Clearly the best advice was the first that started me down a path toward success. That advice came from my first father-in-law, a successful businessman who had legitimate concerns for his daughter’s future. His daughter was about to marry a 19 year old E-1 who was grossing $69 a month and displayed no indication of knowing what life was really all about. He took me aside and advised that, if I didn’t have a plan for my life, I should begin studying others who have been successful in their own lives. That was water off a duck’s back at the time, but it eventually opened me to suggestions from others who saw wasting potential.

Many years later I bumped into some folks who’d integrated very successful professional and personal lives and seemed to be enjoying every minute of every day. They said one’s rewards in life are directly proportional to the number of people you help. They offered to help me if I’d be willing to help myself. I needed a new direction and was willing to listen.

They recommended I shift my reading habits to include daily input of positive information that could actually help me accomplish something. The suggestion was that I start with Napoleon Hill’s “The Law of Success” and Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends and Influence People.” These new friends asked me what I wanted to accomplish with my life. They said the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people was simply what they did with their time, as everyone has the same 24 hours in the day. They sat me down to write my own personal, professional and spiritual dreams, a step-ladder of goals toward realizing those dreams and a timeline by which progressively I was to commit action toward achievement.

Those goals and the responsibilities of making them happen have been updated many, many times since. I’m still following that initial advice.”

Mike Tomas. President Kiwi Indian Motorcycles Inc.

“As a kid I remember digging up a 1/4 acre of potatoes by shovel in our family garden. I was head down and arsed up digging. After what had seemed like an eternity, I looked back and was only part way down the 1st row. I said to my Grandfather, look at what we’ve done. He replied, “never look back, only look ahead at what you have to do”.

Around year 2000 I got an invite from Perry Sands, founder and then owner of Performance Machine. I was blown away by his welcomeness of inviting me to visit and for giving me a personal grand tour. Our original meeting started out because Perry had an Indian that he had “chopperized” when he was a youngster, and he had just put it in his latest catalog as an intro. A common bond was formed.

I asked about some business advice. The one thing that still stays in my mind to this day is ‘Keep your overhead low Mike’. Today, I still live by those words. Yeh, it’s easy to go crazy in good times and to buy adult toys, fancy pickups, big rigs, bigger facilities and so on. But every business has its good and tough times. Good business people look long term and plan for that rainy day. I’m proud to have been in business 28 years financially strong. Thanks Perry.

I have a good mate, Bob Clift who is an executive in the rough and tough casino biz in Las Vegas. He taught me to “always take the high road Mike”. As hard as it is to do at times, always take the high road and you will never regret or feel bad about doing so. It seems like the other side always unravels eventually without you having to do a thing anyway. My own saying is “I can’t change the past but I can create the future”. Unfortunately my future does not include my son Ross. May he RIP, look down upon me and guide me. Thanks for the great memories son and making me into the person I am.”