THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS: Eddie Cole Of SixSixOne, Sunline & Tag Metals (And Answer At One Time)

ÿÿ The men behind the logos don’t always get the publicity that their high-paid racers do. These men toil behind the scenes. These men don’t know the meaning of nine-to-five and would never be happy taking a vacation during the racing season. The motocross industry is forged by these men. They have dedicated countless hours, risked their finances, and based their lives on the premise of service to the sport of motocross.

ÿÿ The MXA staff decided to interview some of the mover-and-shakers of the motocross biz in an effort to share some of the wisdom, inspiration and experiences of the men behind the logos.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE INDUSTRY?
ÿÿ “From the age of 16 to 20 years old, all I did was ride a motorcycle. It was my whole life, so when I realized it was time to really go to work for a living, all I knew was motorcycles. I had always dreamed about and had a passion to create some products of my own, and I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and start Answer Products with a partner. We each had a hundred dollars in our pocket, so I figured we were funded. We were able to create some product that the market accepted. After I retired from Answer, we started Valencia Sport Group, and that’s where I’m at today. We have the brands Sixsixone, Sunline, Tag Metals, and Filtron Products on the motorcycle side.”

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME ANSWER?
ÿÿ “We were in the lawyer’s office and he wanted to know the exact name of the company. We weren’t exactly sure what to call it. I looked down at his coffee table and there was a brochure that said ?the answer to all your marital problems.’ I’d hate to tell you how many calls we got from people wanting to know if we carried answering machines or phone equipment.

WHAT IS THE SINGLE GREATEST THING THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED THROUGH YOUR YEARS IN BUSINESS?
ÿÿ “You should always treat people the way you would expect to be treated. I’d like to think that throughout my 30 plus years in business, I’ve been able to build and maintain relationships and get talented people around me because they understood that they were going to be treated fairly and honestly.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN THE FUTURE?
ÿÿ “It’s no secret that we’re in a really tough economic situation. I think the next year or two is going to be tough, but I still think that we have a really bright future with the brands we have. We have a bunch of new products that are coming out in the next 12 months that I’m really excited about, that I think will take it to the next level.”

website: www.sixsixone.com