“I was designing the website while I was turning wrenches. It was a year of work before we actually launched it.”
In its third year, the business-savvy Harper calculated that Harper Cycle Works was earning its keep – and more. His well-founded business model pushed him beyond the entrepreneur’s annual growth rate bar of 3-4% with an outstanding 40% growth rate. “I was set up to be very efficient,” recalls Harper. “On an average day, we’d have 20 machines in the shop to work on.” “We’re moving forward with this project because it became clear early on that the social side of our industry has the largest impact. It’s a lifestyle so social media has always been a part of it.” Selling parts, however, was proving more difficult than he ever imagined. “To really be successful, I knew we had to sell parts,” recalls Harper. “So basically we went online to take back what is ours. It was a year-long project. Originally, I made all the content – I did all of it, 100%. I mean we had developers do the coding, but I designed it: the content, the product choice. I was designing the website while I was turning wrenches. It was a year of work before we actually launched it.” SideBySideStuff.com was launched on February 1, 2011 and in its first year tripled Harper’s business. “In November alone of that first year we did US $67 000 online,” he recalls. “Side- by-sides are the fastest growing segment of power sports. The industry is actually split in half: half is utility and half is sport. The sport side of the industry is a lifestyle similar to the Harley crowd. Customers want to make it unique and custom to them. These are the folks looking for a custom wheel or custom seats. You can get your colors no matter what they are. We sell bump doors, bumpers, harnesses, lift kits, gnarly tires, audio systems, you name it. Whatever your riding personality is, we have the product to fit it.” On the utility end of things, Harper explains that side-by-sides offer both safety and comfort on the job. “The farmer or construc-
tion company that uses a side-by-side looks at the cab as a place to keep warm in winter; they look at the roof and windshield as a way to keep safe from debris.” With 106 different brand names, custom- ization options, and close to 3000 ready- to-ship after-market parts and accesso- ries, it is no wonder that SideBySideStuff. com draws in the motorsports crowd from across North America. “We had a particularly memorable customer a few years back,” Harper recalls. “He’s a retired gentleman in Canada who rides his RZR every day. Well, he wanted a cab and a heater for those cold winters. We exported his selections to Canada and just a few days later he sent us an email telling us that he was on the top of a mountain, literally, where it was zero degrees and he was riding around in his t-shirt. He was so happy with his purchase. He could drive his machine around all winter and that was really, really good to hear. We get emails and phone calls all the time. They’ll call in and say, ‘let me speak with so and so who I worked with and they’ll just say, ‘Man, you
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