DO IT FOR A LIVING – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Do It For a Living, we sit down for a followup with brothers Alejandro and Pablo Moreno, co-owners of Tandem Offroad. Their shop specializes in off-road truck builds and general maintenance, serving customers who demand both performance upgrades and reliable day-to-day service. The brothers share their journey of building a business together, the challenges of manufacturing their own products, and how they've grown their customer base in a competitive market.

One of the biggest challenges they faced was manufacturing their own products without properly understanding their true costs. Like many small shops, they were pricing based on what felt right or what competitors charged, not on what it actually cost them to make parts when you factor in materials, labor, overhead, and time. We dig into how they discovered they were losing money on products they thought were profitable, the wake-up call that forced them to completely rethink their pricing strategy, and the systems they put in place to ensure every product they make actually contributes to the bottom line instead of draining it.

Find out more about Tandem Offroad at www.tandemoffroad.com

Find out more about My Shop Assist at www.myshopassist.com
Check out all our content at www.doitforaliving.net

Thank you for listening and be sure to subscribe!

In this episode of Do It For a Living, we welcome back Zach Denney for a follow-up to his first appearance on episode 083. Back then, Zach was running Wholesale POwer (WHP), the US distributor for ECU Master, as a one-man operation out of an 1,800 square foot facility, hoping to hire his first employee. Fast forward to today, and he's now importing several brands including ECU Master, Verkline, and Delta ABS, as well as manufacturing harnesses and components to compliment those product lines.

Zach shares how he scaled from solo importer to running a full team, the challenges of navigating COVID-era supply chain disruptions and tariffs, and how he's positioned his companies in an increasingly competitive aftermarket electronics market. We also dig into product development, dealer training, the shift toward standalone ECUs, and what's coming next — including advanced displays and GDI applications.

We cover:
Growing from a one-man show
Building a team and defining employee roles
Supply chain and tariff challenges
Why everyone's moving to standalone ECUs
Training and supporting your dealer network
Order management systems and software stack
The future of integrating modern tech into older platforms

Check out ECU Master USA at www.ecumasterusa.com
Check out Verkline at www.verkline.com
Check out Delta ABS at www.deltaABS.com

Find out more about My Shop Assist at www.myshopassist.com
Check out all our content at www.doitforaliving.net

Thank you for listening and be sure to subscribe!

In this episode of Do It For a Living, we sit down with Kevin Emr, the visionary behind e-Muscle Cars. Kevin shares the story of his journey to combine cutting-edge electric vehicle power and technology with the classic aesthetics of muscle cars. We dive into the challenges of building an innovative business in a rapidly evolving market, how Kevin approaches modernizing iconic vehicles without losing their soul, and his vision for the future of electrified performance. If you're curious about the electrification of classic cars or looking for inspiration from an industry disruptor, this is an episode you won't want to miss!

Follow Kevin at www.e-musclecars.com

Check us out at www.doitforalivingpodcast.com
or on facebook www.facebook.com/doitforaliving

Be sure to check out My Shop Assist
or watch our video to see how to works in a shop

Brian Mack initially had aspirations of becoming an astronaut and got his Aerospace Engineering degree in college. After college, he took a job at Pratt & Whitney where he got to work on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. He went on to work for a company designing replacement parts for gas turbine engines for power plants. But, within a year, the company was sued by GE for patent infringement. This was Brian's first experience with patent law and got to see the mix of engineering, science, and law together. From this, he decided to move and pursue his law degree. He has worked with software companies, energy companies, engineering firms, and one of the Big Three auto manufactures on patent work.

Lathrop & Gage has a long history of providing counsel for all sorts of legal matters. This podcast covers the specifics of patent law and we will be featuring more podcasts that cover other areas pertaining to the aftermarket automotive industry.

JJ entered the car scene by helping friends out with audio and alarms. When he went to college, JJ opened up a small car audio shop. During his senior year of college, he started working with a friend who owned a performance shop in 1996. Before he finished college, he realized that he needed to devote all of his efforts into the performance shop and decided to work there full-time.

Fast forward to 2004 and JJ has started his own shop. He began buying and flipping cars to make some money. This morphed into buying and selling just Subarus and turning modified cars back into stock cars. Then he would sell off the performance parts to make even more money. 2007 was a turning point for JJ and his shop. He had been selling just parts but saw a need in the market to install these parts as well. But then the market took a turn for the worst. To keep the doors open, he resorted to selling Christmas trees during the winter and scrapping U-Haul trucks. He weathered the downturn and has been rocking ever since!

Nowadays, he is shipping out 5-6 engines each day and installing a few more each week. He is manufacturing parts and machining engines all day long. To get to this point, he had to take on a little risk and lease equipment versus saving up and buying them outright. But this risk allowed his business to grow quickly and get ahead of the market to make some money. IAG Performance now has a total of 5 CNC machines in a 24,000 square foot facility and 30 employees. His latest project is a billet block for the Subarus which should allow them to produce much more power. He plans on expanding the footprint of his business to continue to make more products.

David first realized the potency of a turbo when his dad (driving his Turbo Buick) smoked his V8 Monte Carlo from a light. This led David to trade in his Monte Carlo for an AWD Eagle Talon in 1989. He bought an air filter and an exhaust for the car and ran a mid-13 sec ¼ mile which amazed all the big V8 guys. From this point forward, David was hooked! He immediately began making parts he needed to see what the car was doing and to make it go faster. David got involved with an email community and began selling parts he made all over the country.

David and a few of his buddies got together and had the first unofficial Shootout with a total of 4 people in 1991. The next year, David organized the first official Shootout and 8 people showed up. His attendance to the event doubled (at least) every year as the platform became more and more potent. Now in its 26th year, The Buschur Shootout (DSM/Evo Shootout and some GTR's) is enormous and cars come from all over to compete and show off.

In this interview, David stays true to himself and has no problem calling people out. He was kind enough to keep some names out if it, but don't think he is holding back. When you have been in the industry as long as he has, you learn a thing or two about loyalty. While David refers to himself as the "dumb redneck" sometimes, he continues to push the envelope in the tuning world.

Terry Fair started doing paint and body work at 14 even though his family really didn't have any interested in cars. Terry's decision on which college to attend was based on an invite from a friend to go check out an autocross held by Texas A&M in College Station, TX. He had never seen anything like it and he totally fell in love. He went for a couple rides with people that he still works with to this day.

After college, Terry and his wife, Amy, moved to Houston and he began working in the oil industry. He was still wrenching on the side to keep the automotive passion alive. In 2005, Terry had moved to Dallas and teamed up with an old college buddy to create a real business out working on cars. They created Vorshlag (which means absolutely nothing) and started to specialize in LS swaps back before it was cool. In 2006, they flew to Holland and teamed up with AST to create a mono-tube motorsports shock. Eventually, Terry bought out a business that built camber plates and this became the main product for Vorshlag. He has moved a couple times but stresses having a nice, clean facility for customers to see and experience the level of professionalism at Vorshlag. His current space is 7500 square feet and employs 6 people.

Recently, Terry dove in and bought his own CNC machines to manufacture his parts. He made this decision because he was getting more and more frustrated working with outside vendors to manufacture both prototype parts and production pieces.

AJ didn't really come from an automotive enthusiast family. But when his older brother purchased a white Fox Body Mustang, AJ immediately fell in love. During high school, he began working at a collision business and began working on cars. He worked there for 6 years and picked up body work pretty quickly. After that, he got an associate's degree in automotive technology and got a total of 8 ASE certifications. He began working at Pep Boys but quickly moved back to a collision shop. AJ purchased a house and began doing side jobs out of his garage. These side jobs kept getting bigger and bigger until he finally made the leap to make a real business out of it! His first composite part was a headlight duct for his Mustang.

One thing led to another and AJ ended up purchasing another composites business which really got the ball rolling on AJ Hartman Aero. He leveraged his experience repairing cars to begin making composite parts. His current shop is 5200 square feet with several rooms dedicated to each process of making composite parts.

Greg Caloudas has been tinkering with cars his whole life but he never imaged that he would be developing and manufacturing engine internals. His first experience with an import was back in 1999 when he purchased a 1994 Supra. He had seen an upgraded one at a race track and though, "I've got to have one!" While in college, Greg majored in Business Management with the plan of working for himself. He wasn't really interested in the family business of restaurants and real estate. He began modifying his Supra and quickly realized there was a market for him to become a dealer and sell parts online. What started as a side business turned into GSC Motorsports (using his initials as the business name).

One day, Greg was approached by somebody who had some unbranded cams available for Evo's. There was a long wait for the HKS cams at the time so Greg decided to purchase the 50 or so sets and market them as GSC Cams. He sold all of them in a few months' time with a relatively unknown business. This result caused Greg to focus more of his efforts on manufacturing and selling camshafts. He realized pretty quickly that he would need to manufacture his own products here in the US versus having them made overseas. This ensures that he can closely monitor and control the quality of his product. Once he decided to dive into manufacturing a billet cam, this became even more important!

Steven Aghakhani is a 13 year old who races exotic cars for a living! Everything from McClarens, Porsches, Lamborghinis, and even Formula 1 cars. His racing career began when he was 6 in go carts and it quickly morphed into something more serious. He has participated in several half mile events as well as raced at numerous circuit tracks.

Even though money is an obvious help in getting started racing super cars, Steven explains that there is a ton of mental and physical training required to sustain the strain of racing at 100% for hours at a time. He trains all the time and is at the track almost every day. But he has to balance this racing life with his school life with hopes that he can attend UCLA to study law and follow in his father's footsteps.