The journey from inspiration to entrepreneur

By Sally Murdoch
The Portland Upside
October 2009

Martin Magnia’s inspiration for converting vintage Beetle’s into modern electric cars has evolved into a new business.

We have all heard stories about a layoff spurring a new business or a mortgage payment becoming the mother of invention. For some, not fi nding a job can jumpstart a latent entrepreneurial urge, while others work decades in a career before the enterprising spirit takes hold.

No matter how one gets there, the change in thinking from worker to entrepreneur can be fascinating and inspiring. Here are some snapshots of local people breaking out on their own amidst turbulent economic times.

Bringing electric cars to the Northwest

Martin Magnia’s reputation as the go-to guy on vintage Volkswagens was well established by 2002 when he started The DDB, his VW restoration business. Visiting his shop is like entering a VW Type 3 museum: fastbacks, squarebacks and Karmann Ghias span 50 years of car technology. Business has been steady for Magnia in his shop on 78th and Northeast Halsey. Nonetheless, he recently came upon a new opportunity that fast-forwarded his skills into the future: turning vintage VWs and other European makes into electric vehicles.

Magnia had long dreamed of making the cars he loved into efficient, carbon-neutral vehicles. He outfitted Beetles as electric cars until two years ago, when he and his friend Matt, owner of Ecos Motors, brainstormed on how to widen the technology. The two put their ideas to the test by placing an electric Beetle on eBay, and watching as it sold for $26,500 within an hour. They formed a partnership that will bring three Ecos electric car models to market in 2010, with Magnia as the western distributor for all three: an electric VW beetle, the Ecos FUN which looks like a jeep, and a luxury sports car called the Ecos Harbinger.

While Magnia can build and sell new Ecos cars, he can also convert cars to electric. There are a number of charging stations in town, and with Magnia’s onboard self-charging apparatus, he says you can charge your vehicle at home for less wattage than a hairdryer. The tax credits, he points out, save money as well. Ideally, he says, it’s the European lightweight metal models from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s that make great conversions to electric engines.

With his thorough knowledge of vintage European car models and electric conversion technology, Magnia’s business is steady.

“No more oil changes, no more tune ups,” Magnia says.

All parts and manufacturing are done in the U.S., except the batteries, which are made of 50% recycled parts in China.

From craft brewing to screen printing

Tim McFall was the vice president of marketing for Widmer Brothers brewery for 15 years and an active part of helping the iconic brothers grow a small batch brewing operation into one of the country’s largest craft brewers. With Widmer looking for ways to scale back in December of 2008, McFall decided to resign his position. After a decade and a half in the beer business, McFall and his wife Robin thought about the next chapter in their lives and were now looking for an opportunity to do something different.

In January 2009, he considered running an e-commerce beer merchandise site, but didn’t see a good fit for Oregon’s smaller beer company needs. His next choice was to look for a business to buy.

McFall found a screen printing shop for sale and the more he researched it, the more he knew he could use his marketing experience at a large company to help others. At Widmer, he had observed that many screen printers began as artists and graphic designers before falling into business ownership. Some were great screen printers and artists but didn’t necessarily understand the business side of things. Widmer sought out the artists that were also good business people and kept them as vendors. Having been on the client side for 15 years, McFall knew what makes a good vendor.

“High quality product and fair pricing, but to be in business you have to know customer service and get it done right, and those were the vendors I used on a regular basis. Whether it’s a coach from a local school or parent volunteer or a marketing manager at a brewery wanting to order a product or service,” he said, “this is the job they have to do, and as a vendor it’s your number one role to help them.”

McFall’s aha moment came while the screen-printing offer was wavering. The gap in momentum allowed him some pause for thought. With some small capital investments, he could build a shop from the ground up, rather than buying one. Infinity Impressions was born.

McFall believes that a thorough understanding of business and client’s needs is what sets his company apart. They now have three employees, including a full time pressman and a team of freelancers and they just completed their first 800-piece screen printing order for a local school, ahead of schedule.

The Frying Scotsman

James King was born and raised in a small town west of Glasgow, Scotland, his home for 40 years until a chance meeting with a Portland girl (that’s me) led him to Oregon. Two years ago they married and had a baby while King kept his UK-based job on an offshore oil rig.

King’s job kept him away for 4 weeks and home for 4 weeks. When the pressure of maintaining a career overseas and a home and family in Portland became too great, he decided to look for a job here this past June.

A chef manager for 22 years in Scotland, he figured he’d be a natural in Portland’s rich restaurant scene. But proving his experience on paper, conducting interviews with a thick Scottish brogue, and competing against hundreds of other applicants, proved difficult. By mid August, he was ready to explore other options.

Encouraged by frequent Portland food cart dining as well as a New York Times article proclaiming that food carts are changing Portland’s culinary landscape, King’s entrepreneurial wheels started spinning. A visit to the British Fish and Chip Shop had him missing tastes of home, and the two ideas melded. Why not, he thought? He’d always really wanted his own chippy some day. A converted trailer showed up on craigslist one Saturday and by Tuesday the trailer was his.

Named The Frying Scotsman, the trailer opened on Sept. 14 in Portland’s eastside industrial district at 22nd and Raleigh. By 12:30 p.m. on day two, King had to post the closed sign in order to catch up with demand. By the end of the first week, he had sold 75 servings of fresh fish sourced locally from Pacific Seafood. What makes his business unique, he says, is the authentic British fish and chips made by a true Brit.

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Fourth-generation Portlander Sally Murdoch has a two-year-old daughter and two stepsons. She has owned a marketing consultation firm for over 4 years, specializing in beer, action sports and art. Contact Sally at sally@sallymurdoch.com