Ever wanted your own engine business

[Keithc8]

I have been thinking about slowing down after about 30 years of doing this. The 12 to 18 hour days have gotten a little old and want to spend more time with my boys.
I thought there might be someone here on Club Cobra that would just love to have a great engine business. I would look at a partner or selling the complete business. Our shop is second to none when it comes to equipment needed to do the best engines for the money. We have a lot of new and used inventory as well so you can hit the ground running. Hell we would even sell you the house we live in beside the shop.
Just wanted to put some feelers out to some real car guys and see if there was any interest. Not sure I want to get all the way out just slow down some.

Thanks, Keith Craft

[Excaliber]

Beat you to it, retired last year, loving it!

[Buzz]

The day you retire will be a happy and well deserved day for you and your family, but a sad day for the world of automotive enthusiasts. One of the very fist Cobras that really turned me on to the hobby years ago was a magazine ad for a blue ERA with a "Kuntz & Kraft" side oiler. Your name to me has been as big a part of my Cobra world as many of the other names associated with the originals. I wish you the best of luck in finding an arrangement that suits you perfectly.

[Jerry Clayton]

Kieth

I'm moving to Georgia mountains to get away from these stupid taxes for a school system that won't/can't work to educate kids whose parents don't care about them learning and take them back to Mexico when it gets cold around halloween and bring them back around Easter-- there is a couple more vacant lots next to the 6 acres we doing, near the top, 7 minute walk downhill to one of the best trout streams in USA
( yes, I know, Ark also has good fishing) Don't think I'll take ANY METRIC wrenches with me, just the old standard stuff. As Bob Barker would say "Come on down, the price is right!"

[Roush #1]

Best of luck to you Keith.

You have been a good friend to the Ford and Cobra communities.

Jody

[jhv48]

Hang in there Keith!

You're still running a 99.9% approval rating with your customers.

Better than the president!

[twobjshelbys]

Wow, what a legacy. I'd advise looking for a partner / apprentice to be sure that the knowledge and experience you have is passed on.

Whoever gets it is going to have some big shoes to fill!

Good luck with your decision.

I wish I knew a little more or I'd be interested.

[blykins]

I'd say whoever bought the business would be able to hire Keith as an engine builder. I think after all these years, he's wanting to just punch a clock, work 8 hours, then head home. I don't blame him.

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Ever wanted your own engine business

NO, never ever even considered it.............never ever will either..........

Keith; you do need to slow down in the shop and race more, good luck with whatever you decide.......

David

[SoTxButler]

Keith, it is easy to think you have reached the end of road with every nerve you have frayed like a bad wiring job. I have been there.

BS like this happens. I lived some of these days while in business. From someone a lot older than you....take a deep breath and count to ten. Tomorrow, the sun will come up and life will be good again.

Keith, you have poured your heart and soul in building this business and man, you have succeeded. Keep your focus on the long run, this short run **** can really cloud the view.

Your reputation is envied by many and you've proved over and over again that you are not only in business to make money....YOU DO RIGHT BY PEOPLE AND THEN YOU MAKE MONEY, in that order. Everybody here knows that about you. I don't know you very well, but I feel like I know a whole lot about you and in my book, it's all good.

Hope this blows over and you can find a way to spend more time with your family and continue to be a vital part of this great pastime.

Good Luck

[cdnus]

Keith,
Take 2 weeks vacation with the wife in the Caribbean ( For Buzz) St. Lucia maybe. That will give you enough time to put that cyl. head thingy behind you & be raring to go again.
You are to valuable an asset for the community to loose, someone as respected as you need not worry about opinions of a few disgruntled customers. "You cannot please all the people all the time" That is absolute fact, as anyone in business for themselves have learned, or should have.

Best wishes

Craig

[Jamo]

Keith...I'll believe it when I see it.

[patrickt]

Just to be clear, I have no intention of buying Keith's business. But, it's interesting to think about. You wonder how much a business like that actually throws off as net income, what the investment in all those machines must be, how they're financed, what their true value would be if you had to sell them, etc. But that's not the really interesting thought. The interesting thought is how many people actually make a lot of money doing something that they really, really enjoy. I've written any number of times that the ERA labs looked like so much fun to work there that I offered (half-jokingly) to pay Peter to let me come and work for him. And when I would say something to the guys there like "you don't realize how unbelievably lucky you are to be doing this" they just looked at me, politely, like I was absolutely insane. And then I think, maybe it's not so much fun. Maybe it's a huge PITA and you have to deal with nuts all the time -- some nuts being easier to deal with than others. Maybe doing anything (like building high performance engines), if you have to do it for a living, changes the allure of what was once viewed as "tremendous fun" in to something akin to "just another day at the salt mine" -- and then, if you're not making a lot of money doing it, it starts to suck. How much is Keith Craft Engines worth without him working there with you? Or for that matter, how much is Kirkham Motorsports worth without the two brothers? They seem to love their work and make a lot of money too (I hope they're making a lot of money, they deserve to). Hopefully they won't burn out on it all (at least not before they can turn the business over to their children, who hopefully will have the passion of their dads). The same goes for ERA. I don't know -- I wonder how many people in this industry really love what they're doing -- and it's too much to expect to get the real truth on something like that posted on an open internet forum. I've also wondered a few times just how much do the guys at ERA make (or Kirkham)? In my book they deserve to be multi-millionaires, and I really hope they are. Peter told me more than once that "the margins in this business are razor thin." Who knows. Hopefully Keith squirreled away a lot of dough, and if he does sell his business, I sure hope the buyer doesn't run it in to the ground. Which leads me to think that maybe you can't make money in this stupid Cobra industry unless you have a ridiculous passion for it to begin with (and that includes engine builders and others). If you're looking to just make money alone, I don't know if you can do it in this industry. Just rambling thoughts....

[1ntCobra]

Keith,

Instead of looking to sell your business or find a partner, perhaps you might just want to think about why is it that you are working 12 to 18 hour days? Is it possible to delegate some of the things you are doing everyday to someone else? Perhaps to an existing employee or someone you hire?

Why not look at all of the tasks that you perform in your business and figure out which ones you like the most or which ones you provide the most value to your business? Then focus on doing those tasks and let someone else do the others.

If the way you run your business requires that you put in all of those hours, you may be a limiting factor to your business's maximum capacity. That is you are not allowing it to scale to a larger size because you feel you have to be so involved in everything that is going on. If you can find a way to get other employees to do some of your work, maybe you can work less hours and grow your business even more.

[jhv48]

I don't think Jack Roush spends 12-18 hours a day building his engines.

If you get my drift!

You might try the same.

Unless you're a perfectionist. Then you're screwed.

To Jack, there is an acceptable return ratio. As we have all seen!

It might be time for you to "manage" the business rather than "work" the business. You have succeeded in building a good reputation. Now, train others to do the work under your supervision. Learn to "work smart" rather than "work hard".

[csx4910]

Just my 2 cents but after running my own business for almost 5 years I can honestly say that no one would have the knowledge to give me advice about running my business unless they have owned a business similar to mine so I am not sure any of us has the knowledge or experience to give him advice on how to run his business. Everyone has their own reasons when they feel it is time to sell.

Keith, I have never bought a product from you but I can tell you I wish I would of known about you before I bought my Roush. I wish you the beast of luck no matter what happens.
Ron

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by csx4910

Just my 2 cents but after running my own business for almost 5 years I can honestly say that no one would have the knowledge to give me advice about running my business unless they have owned a business similar to mine so I am not sure any of us has the knowledge or experience to give him advice on how to run his business. Everyone has their own reasons when they feel it is time to sell.

Keith, I have never bought a product from you but I can tell you I wish I would of known about you before I bought my Roush. I wish you the beast of luck no matter what happens.
Ron

The advice to consider letting others do some of your work to reduce your workload is not specific to any business, it is pretty generic. Whether he looks for a business partner to buy into the business or finds an employee to help him run the business is up to him, but there are advantages to each situation. Losing a controlling interest in the business might not be a good idea.

Usually when you are selling a business, you don't want to be such an important part of the business that it will fail without you being there. You want to structure the business, so that it can function without you after the sale. If Keith is working all of those hours, is he required for the business to succeed? Will it mean that he will still have to work all of those crazy hours, but not be the owner anymore?

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Just to be clear, I have no intention of buying Keith's business. Just rambling thoughts....

You should have stopped right there. The rest of it reads like a Rick Lake tale, our friend and colleague.

[Seagull81]

Dang it Keith! You can't retire. I'm still saving for one of your engines.
Sorry I missed you at the Texas Meet a couple of weeks ago.

If you really get to retire, enjoy yourself you have worked hard for it.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

You should have stopped right there. The rest of it reads like a Rick Lake tale, our friend and colleague.

I find the whole "Cobra Replica Industry" to be pretty interesting. Keith is part of it, so is David Kee, Finishline, and so on. I also wonder whether there will be a real desire for new Cobras once the likes of you and me have passed on....