OK, so I mentioned in a thread the other day that I would give everyone the big scoop on my life. As many know, I had many delays in shipping orders and just didn't seem to have my act together. One reason for that was when I decided to take on the Liberty product line, I was very skeptical that the business would be there, so I thought it would just be a little extra project income to fund my Cherokee product line. WOW, was I way off. You guys put me so far behind I dropped my cherokee line to try to catch up, and even that wasn't enough, so about a year and a half ago, I stopped taking orders for a good while, with the occassional order here and there.
Your business and support has been a real blessing, so the insane amount of business was good, but it really made me stop and think about how I really need to run this business, but before I could do that, I had another really big issue to deal with first.
The real problem was something that I kept from public view for a long time. Only USAFCOP, tjkj2002, and dieselenthusiast were the only ones who knew what was really going on in my life, and if they could tell you what they saw through their eyes (which I know they won't go into detail on here) I'm sure it wouldn't be a pleasant story. I can't, and won't, really go into detail, as it is a long story and really hard to tell. I was fighting a losing battle in a marriage that I was trying to keep together for a long time. We finally said enough was enough in June 08, and she moved out Oct 08. Since she stopped supporting the marriage emotionally and financially about a year ago, I had to get a full time job to support me and my kids. So, I was taking care of my kids when I wasn't at my full time job, paying $1000 a month for my kids to be in daycare when I was at the full time job, and trying to play catchup on orders while at the same time watching my kids. And during this, I dropped my manufacturer since they decided to jack my prices 500%, so the search was going on for that replacement. Not saying she hasn't been taking care of the kids as well, but she has a full time job too, so with my hours at my job, the kids had to sleep at her house.
Those of you wondering what was going on, now you know. A lot of people wondered why I wasn't answering the phone or emails, I didn't have time or didn't have any answers. For the last six months, I get up by 9am and go to sleep between 4-5 am, and a lot of times I was still up around 6am to see the sun start to rise. I spent about 20 hours a day working, and never seemed to have enough time and usually didn't have anything to show for it or seem to make any progress forward.
Well, it didn't seem like anything was getting accomplished, but persistance has finally paid off. The stress of the ex has pretty much gone away, old orders from inventory from my old manufacturer is caught up, my job schedule has changed so I have more time for the business, Troy's schedule lines up perfectly with mine so he can come back to work for me, Marlin of JeepinbyAl is my new manufacturer, and during this long nightmare, I have had a little bit of time to spend on the drawing board, so I have a whole mess of products coming out to complete my KJ product line. Rear bumpers went back into production this past week, front bumpers are going in next, followed by my new line of tortoise skids (front, belly, and gas tank), and a few other pet projects. It seems all the other manufacturers of KJ products are dropping like flies. Bad for them, good for me. They won't support you, I will. You have been supportive and patient with me for a long time, so I will continue to return the favor. I have seen a one or two companies come through here that have done some things, and as I read through those posts, many times I asked myself why wasn't I called out like them, as I wasn't really much better at the time. There are plenty of people on here that have ordered and waited well over a year for their orders. There are still quite a few that have gotten on the list and even prepaid for front bumpers, and they haven't bugged me on bit or called for refunds, when they were well within their right to do so. Only three people on here really knew the real story of my life, no one else on here had a clue, and for everyone to still stand behind be, support me, defend me, and trust me, I can't even think of the words to explain how much that means to me. I seriously get emotional just thinking about how I have so many friends from all over the world on this board alone that have always been there for me when I needed you, even when you didn't know it. My own parents didn't even know about my life until a month ago, so I have been carrying a heavy load by myself for a long time, so sneaking on here once in awhile just to read the stories, the jokes, tommudd picking on newbies, Troy pissing people off when he told people the straight up facts without sugar coating anything, and a couple of others that always seemed to have something to post that really made my day.
So, to try to wrap this up, I just wanted to update on where the business is today. As I mentioned, rear bumpers, heavy duty and light duty, are back in production, first prototype will be in by the first week of March according to Marlin, so inventory will be rolling in before the end of March. Front bumpers, yeah, what a project and a half. Those dang things have been my biggest thorn for a long time. Every time I come up with a design, I scrapped it. Just wasn't happy with them at all. Those that have gotten anything from me or been to my place to see me work, I'm a perfectionist, and if it bothers me, it isn't good enough. Troy and I have installed several ARB bumpers, and knowing the reputation they have for making awesome products, I get irrated with myself for being so anal when I find weld spatter all over the inside of their bumpers, air bubbles in their welds, sloppy welds, etc. If I don't like a weld, I grind it off and start over. Troy and Ted have spend God knows how many hours scraping weld spatter from the insides of my bumpers. I have spent who knows how many total hours just inspecting, filling, and grinding any little air bubble I could find. So, the point being, the front bumpers are going to be freakin' awesome. And as I mentioned before, having spent some time on the drawing board lately, the Monitor Lizard convertible winch bumper is finally back to prototype phase, the Rock Monitor budget bumper original plan was completely scrapped and redesigned, so it is back to prototype phase, and I even came up with the Monitor Lizard Pro-Winch bumper, which is a disgustingly awesome critter, I think you guys will like it, especially those that really want funtion over form on the trails.
The belly pans are based off of my SFA belly pans, so you know they will be sick. Front Skids and gas tank skids were a piece of cake to design, why didn't I do those first? Roof racks, I have shipped out a few of those and I was very worried about how they would work out, as there is very little room for mistake in the mounting, and not cheap to ship, so if there was any mistake, a $250-300 loss would be a big kick to the junk, so I am very happy that my jig has proved itself to be very accurate as no one has mentioned any problems yet. And of course there is the SFA kit. What a monster of a job. These are not cheap prototypes, so absolutely no room for error, that is why they are taking awhle, but I think since we have waited this long for a completed project, we'll just keep the stealth covers on until the reveal which will be sometime around LOST Safari. Oh, and since you guys have pretty much killed the Cherokee end of my business, I am getting rid of my trusty old XJ in a few months for a KJ. Already worked out a trade deal with someone, and of course the stockpile of parts has already begun. Have a complete 3/4 ton Ford HP Dana 44 front axle already torn down and ready for build up, and Thursday I picked up a set of Hummer H2 rims with 35" BFG AT rollers for $150. Next on the list is a Dana 60 rear and a Corp 14 bolt to mate together. 36-37" somethings are on the list, relocation of the gas tank, wheel base stretch of 6-10", and comp cut of the rear are on the list as well, but it will be clean, a daily driver, and look almost factory (if Jeep had a clue how to do it right the first time
).
So, in conclusion, things are up and running again. I wanted to get an investor to help me since this business grew bigger than I was prepared for, but they are crazy. So, I would rather give a cut to my customers, who are my true investors. Check out the vendor section Monday morning for the sale I am starting. It is for a very limited time, because I can't afford to do it forever, but it is a pretty sweet deal for those that jump on it. And it is the perfect time since everyone has tax returns to spend...right?
Again, I just want to thank every one of you for your support. You have no idea how much it has helped me get through this hell I have been through.
