Young Entrepreneurs - My Car Scout
November 13th, 2006 by digerati
From Business Week.
Chuck Branding
MyCarScout
www.mycarscout.com
Chicago
Age: 25
After graduating from Ohio State University, Chuck Branding received an intriguing business proposition from one of his father’s friends: Find him a good lease on a red limited-edition Jeep Liberty and put half the amount he saved in his pocket. Not only did Branding deliver, he enjoyed the car hunt so much that he made it his business. Through Business Network International, a referral organization, he met branding guru Bob Killian, who helped him come up with the name MyCarScout, a logo, and other advice for consulting fees of around $10,000.
Branding charges customers either a flat fee of $450 or half the amount saved from each car he tracks down. He says the majority of clients are business professionals who don’t want to spend time searching for a specific car, but a good 15% of business comes from single women who are intimidated by car dealers. While MyCarScout is limited to him in Chicago and two employees in Miami and Denver—and 2005 revenues totaled only about $25,000—Branding says he may acquire venture capital and expand into new metropolitan markets such as New York City, Washington, Los Angeles, and Seattle, though no firm plans are in place.
EliteGamer Says
That amount of profit is pretty good for starting just out of college.
Nov 13th, 2006 at 12:01 pm