Month One...check!

The doors to Adrenaline Motorsports Plus officially opened June 3rd.  This was the real deal...sink or swim!
The first big shipment arrived.  It didn't look so big, until the boxes were opened and the merchandise was set out!  It ended up being almost a full day of just checking in the goods.

Checking out what has to be unloaded

Signing for the goods

Thankfully there was always some movement due to Mark's huge network of friends.  There were also a lot of people inquiring about service work.  Back to the game of should they, could they.  They had anticipated they would eventually need a mechanic,  but not this soon.  With a mechanic comes more overhead, which equals more money spent.  Time to start thinking this through.  Eventually the decision was made, they needed a mechanic.  A tire machine was purchased and a mechanic was found.  Adrenaline Motorsports Plus is now offering service.  

First use of the tire changer

Wanting to attract attention to the store, Andy & Mark put their bikes as well as Andy's dad's scooter in front.  Worked like a charm!  Those bikes sitting in front definitely grab your attention as you go by.  With the bikes in front came the opportunity to do consignments.  

Some of the bikes for sale

There are new faces coming in now.  The word is starting to spread about the store.  Hopefully this will continue and the ball keeps rolling.  On to the second month of business! 


There are so many people that helped get the doors opened!  From physically helping to set up the store, words of encouragement & business advice, to helping us with the boys we thank you all!!  We would like to thank Charles & Linda Mueller, Steve & Kelly Mueller, Mark Smith, Dixie & Jeff Jenson, Rod & Cindy Behlke, Brandon Mueller, Matt Mueller, Will Scott, & everyone else that supported us!

On a side note...we saw our first AMP sticker on a vehicle we didn't know in the drive thru at Burger King!  It's the small things that excite us!!

Getting Ready

The goal the past couple of months was to get as much done for the store as possible before being able to get into the building.  Easy in thought, yet difficult to know exactly what is needed, what to buy, and how much to buy.  As Nikki combed pinterest and the internet for interesting interior designs, her and Andrew began to piece together a plan for the layout.  With budget in mind the shopping began.  Here are some pictures of the process.

The first purchase for AMP

Getting the slat board ready for paint

Brayden had to rock the DP Brakes hat right away!

Work on the building

Needing some green thumb action

Helping?

Planting one of the trees 

Just needs some grass seed

Before:

During:

Before:

During:

 Andy and Mark getting the sign hung

Always have to find time to play!

 Brayden after another late night at the shop sleeping in the SUV...you can only see a sliver of his face

Keegan decided to read instead of sleep

Thank you Wisconsin weather!!

Anxious, anxious, anxious!  This past month has brought many hours of planning, phone calls, text, emails, and research.  All of which has made for tons of excitement in the Mueller household, as well as some overage charges on the cell phone bill!!  It's all worth it though.
As with starting any business you always have good news and bad news.  They were hopeful that they would be getting into the building to begin the "face-lift" process by mid-end April.  Then the news that the current tenants lease until May came.  That was news Andrew didn't want to hear.  He wanted to be up and going to catch the "spring fever" purchases.  Yes, it is only a few weeks difference, but when that weather hits, we all know that people are itching to get out and ride.  However some good news came their way thanks to "Old Man Winter" who just doesn't seem to want to go away!  Cold temperatures and snow in April has helped fend off that spring fever, a little.
Brandon, Andrew's brother, sent out a mass email to his contacts in the industry, and there were many.  Both Andrew and Nikki were shocked at all the responses that came from that email.  Now to read, organize, and get their thoughts together on all the new opportunities that have come from that email.  They would love to take advantage of every avenue that has been sent to them.  Realistically this can't happen all at once, so the tough process of deciding what they will start off with has been running through their heads.  A HUGE thank you to Brandon for all of his help during this adventure of a new PG&A shop. 
Nikki has also gone into overdrive on the business side of running the store.  She has been doing book work for Andrew's appraisal business, but this is a whole new can of worms.  Inventory, payroll, and a store front....oh my!!!  There have been hours upon hours of research from computers to signage that is required when having employees.  If you need to find her...she's the one buried behind multiple computers searching a million different things at once.
With all the purchases for the building and the business piling up in their kitchen, Andrew had to do some "spring" cleaning of his shed to store everything until they can get into the shop.  With each purchase they become more and more excited to see how the store will come together and look.  The game plan is set, now to get in and get it going!   

 

Mark's Send Off Party

Mark is having a send off party Friday, March 29th at 6:00 pm at Missy's Bar & Grill in Chippewa Falls to commemorate his 20 plus years at his previous job.  We are excited to have him as part of our team at AMP and can't wait to celebrate with him tomorrow.  Please feel free to come join us in celebrating Mark's career and his new adventure with Adrenaline Motorsports Plus.

The ball is rolling!

Hundreds of discussions...check.  Hours of researching on the internet...check.  Lots of scattered papers with ideas, check lists, and goals...check.  Going for it...check!
The business plan is made.  The location is picked.  Now it's time to move on to a name.  Something that seems so simple, pick your name and run with it.  Back to that worn out notebook.  The names Andrew had came up with years ago are similar to the one he had written down again.  After telling his wife, Nikki, his ideas, she began to research the names he had given her.  Here is when the reality of the name game set in.  
Run a web search of a name...wow, that name is used all over the U.S.  Alter the name and run the search again.  Narrow the search down to Wisconsin...okay that is better.  Search the Wisconsin's Department of Financial Institutions site for names registered in Wisconsin.  Run searches to see what domains and email are available.  Say the name over and over...does it fit...does it flow out easy...tinker with logo ideas.
Now it is time to see what other people think of the name. Mixed reviews.  Back to the drawing board to see if any other names would work.  After many more randomly scattered notes with names, other people's input, and tons of web browsing they kept coming back to the original idea.  
Yes, it was longer then the original name.  Yes, there may be some issues with the spelling of "Adrenaline" in searches.  Did the name allowed for the possibility of different avenues including other extreme sports as they grow, yes.  They both agreed that the acronym AMP fit perfectly into the theme of the store.  The positives outweighed the negatives...and so the name Adrenaline Motorsports Plus was chosen.  

Is this really happening?

An old worn notebook filled with business plans and ideas hidden away among a stash of books.  Who would have thought we would be searching for that notebook?

A random stop to catch up with an old friend brought up Andrew's hopes of some day opening a parts shop locally.  A few weeks later he found out the guy he had always visioned as an important part of his store may be available.  

The phone call.  Knowing that this was going to be a huge investment and step, Andrew called his wife to "drop the bomb" as she said.  She had been hearing about this possible venture for years and wasn't surprised to hear it being brought up again.  This time was different though, things were falling into place...almost the perfect scenario.  

With the thought of going into business they went into overdrive hashing out all the details of possibly starting this adventure.  Looking at the pros and cons...an overwhelming feeling of could they, should they, will it work came over them.