It’s not what you know…

Thursday, October 19, 2006 at 12:53pm by Evan Prieskop in Start-Ups

As the gig band became a reality down here on Roatan, we faced the challenge of moving both the kids and the steel pans to and from our various performances. The Geo Tracker we owned for personal use, though a gem for us, was simply insufficient for the task. Steel pans are large and relatively delicate instruments and a Geo Tracker is a small vehicle.

So we went car shopping for the school. Before we started, we had a nice long discussion with our mechanic. Now, neither my partner nor I are ignorant about cars. We have both driven a lot of vehicles in our lives and know a thing or two, but this is a special case. Living on an island brings unique challenges, not just in terms of wear and tear but also in terms of maintenance.

Our mechanic suggested, in no uncertain terms, the Toyota R255 pickup truck. The reason for his strong suggestion was not that the R255 is cheap, nor particularly large, agile, reliable, or inexpensive. The weight of his suggestion lay in the multitude of such trucks already on the island. Apparently, just after hurricane Mitch (which virtually levels the island in 1998, damaging or destroying most of the automobiles) an enterprising local purchased an entire lot full of the trucks and imported them. Now the R255 is the most common truck on the island.

Why should ubiquity be an asset? Repair. With rough roads, stormy weather, and salty air, maintenance and repair are a significant issue. Parts for the R255 are plentiful and cheap, more important then that: they are already here, a major asset when ordering replacement parts from elsewhere requires a boat ride.

Issues like the availability of replacement parts are not obvious to the average driver, it certainly was not for us. Yet, since purchasing the truck we have never paid more than 100 Limpira (5 dollars) for a replacement part and often received them for much less.

It was our reliance upon an expert that served us so well. Experts come in many shapes and sizes. Find them where you may, and listen to them well. It will save your business a great deal of money.

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