Back in 2017, AJ was humming along and making composite parts for race cars and street enthusiasts. He was approached by a customer who was wanting to help AJ scale the business, so he sold off 49% of the business. They changed the name to RHR Composites, hired 2 people, contracted some aerodynamic parts to be designed, and moved to a larger facility. Along the way, their vision for the future didn’t align so AJ had to buy out his partner to take back 100% of the company. Even though it was a huge struggle, AJ looks at the events as a learning experience and tries to keep a positive outlook on the situation. He shrunk the company back to just himself, changed the name back to AJ Hartman Aero, and the business is humming along nicely.
He has focused on reducing waste and improving efficiency within his shop. Even though he has moved out of the 6,000 sqft shop and back into the 2-car garage behind his house, he has been able to get more product out and make more money. This goes to show how important it is to focus on efficiency versus trying to make more money. AJ set his mind on improving the business and getting the most use out of his time. This has translated to higher profits with fewer resources.
163: Stewart Waliser of Stews Self Service Garage
162: Nathan Cicio of Cicio Performance
161: Chris Riggs from Speed by Design
160: Ben Silcock and Andre Simon return to discuss HP Academy
159: Bryan Thompson of Powerhouse Racing
157: Matt Beenen returns with BuiltRight Industries
156: Alejandro and Pablo Moreno of Tandem Automotive
155: Theresa Contreras and Sara Morosan of LGE-CTS Motorsports
154: Vadim Belogorodsky from CANtrolls
153: Reid Lunde returns to discuss his interconnectable relay entered in the SEMA Launch Pad Competition
152: Johnny Cichowski of Nine Lives Racing
151: Jonny Mill of WheelWell.com
150: Charlie Eklund of Hennessey's Tuner School
149: Richard Tomlin of Apex Auto Works and White Pony Dry
148: Bob Morreale of The Tuning School
147: Dave Carapetyan of Rally Ready Driving School wants to teach everybody how to drive a rally car!
146: Dan Kahn of Kahn Media started by sending articles about his car to magazine editors. Now he runs his own PR firm.
145: Joe Gambino of Rogue Fabrication couldn't find a tube bender to meet his particular needs so he went out and made one himself!
144: Colin McLemore of Mac’s Custom Tie Downs is working to become the household name for tie downs of all sorts
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