Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of SWFL
Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
EP# 182 - Kyle & Axel's Blueprint for High-End Golf Carts
Ever wondered what it takes to bring luxury to the world of golf carts? On Episode 182 of the Good Neighbor Podcast, we chat with Kyle and Axel from Midwest Cartz, who turned a simple observation into a thriving business. Discover how these longtime friends transformed their passion for high-quality, customized golf carts into a sought-after brand in Southwest Florida. From custom paint and powder coating to top-of-the-line sound systems, they've got it all covered. Their dedication to quality even caught the eye of the Seminole Casino in Immokalee, which is now giving away their Atlas carts every Sunday in July!
Facing challenges head-on, Kyle and Axel share the bumps in their entrepreneurial journey, including the struggles with their initial brand of carts. Learn valuable tips on what to look for when purchasing a golf cart and understand why their approach to customer education sets them apart in an unregulated industry. If you're curious about the world of high-end golf carts or contemplating a purchase, this episode is packed with insights that will guide you toward making informed decisions. Join us for a fascinating conversation that might just change the way you think about getting around.
Midwest Cartz
Kyle & Axel
16330 Innovation Lane # 102
Ft Myers, FL 33913
239-207-3380
Team@MidwestCartz.com
WEBSITE
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, cabo, jim Schaller.
Speaker 2:Welcome Good Neighbors. Episode number 182 of the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. Today we have Good Neighbors Kyle and Axel from Midwest Cartz.
Speaker 3:Welcome, appreciate it. Thank you for having us. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Always good to get to know people in the community and what they do and share their stories with our listeners. So, without further ado, let's uh, let's jump right in, and why don't you guys share with the listeners what you guys do? Midwest Carts for sure.
Speaker 3:So, uh, axel and I actually have been really good friends for a long time and we both were in different industries and when my wife and I had moved to Florida about two years ago just wanted to try something different and we thought golf carts were really interesting, so we dove right in. We do a lot of customization. We do paint, powder coat, custom upholstery so we do a little bit of everything. Wheels and tires, powder coat, custom upholstery so we do a little bit of everything. Wheels and tires.
Speaker 3:We're a current atlas carts dealer, which atlas is actually owned by the x head designers, a club car, so they're kind of your more high level carts all aluminum frame, full suspension, zero maintenance, lithium batteries, sound system. I mean they have the works. So we do everything from just baseline carts all the way up to your really high end. We've done corporate carts. We actually just the casino over in Immokalee, the Seminole Casino, actually starting yesterday they're doing a giveaway for July. Every Sunday they are giving away an Atlas cart, so four cards that we were able to provide to them, so just doing some really cool things locally.
Speaker 2:That is. I think I'm going to have to hit the casino Right, absolutely so how did you guys choose golf carts, of all things, to to start a business with Kyle was?
Speaker 4:really mechanical and he's always been into high-end boats and ATVs, utvs, all that. And when he moved to Florida he definitely saw that there was a need for a high-end luxury golf cart dealership that carried a high quality product. So he gave me a call, we went down to South Carolina, we met with several manufacturers and you know he's the expert in the quality control and all that and he right away could tell which carts were good, which ones weren't. So we actually ended up carrying a different brand of carts. That kind of launched us and what started as a side business ended up really taking off and we, you know we definitely saw the need for high level cards in the Southwest Florida area and the rest is kind of history.
Speaker 2:That's it. Everybody needs a golf cart down here. It's you know, it's the way to get around, of course. So Through our journey, everybody's had some type of challenge or obstacle. Starting a business obviously is a big challenge. Is there something that happened along your guys' journey or this process that you can look back at now and you know you went through it, but now you're in a better place because of?
Speaker 3:100% and it was the original brand we carried. You know they were really known for their motors and controllers. It was a company out of Canada and you know the carts were were good carts. But you know, the more you get into the industry and the more you learn, you find out the big differences and what people are looking for. And that's the best part of our job is we get to educate the public on the difference.
Speaker 3:Like everybody kind of relays golf carts to cars and they think you know, no matter if you buy a Hyundai or a Honda Civic or a Mercedes or a BMW, you know they're all pretty reliable, whereas in the golf cart industry it's totally different because it's not regulated like the car industry.
Speaker 3:So you know, just being able to educate the public, whether they buy from us or not, is awesome because we get to lead them in the right direction and sometimes that doesn't work out.
Speaker 3:Sometimes they go. You know the cheaper route and some people have come back and said, hey, you know you were right, you want to take this card in on trade and try to help people out as much as we can. But that's the best part and like when we do deliveries and you just see the kids faces light up and and you get calls from people six months down the line and and they just say how much they love the car and they're sending their neighbor to us and and that that's a really cool part of our business. But definitely the biggest struggle we had in the beginning was just learning the industry, learning the carts, what people wanted. Who has the quality cart, um, and, and I don't I don't just say it cause we sell them but the Atlas carts are incredible that they just released. They're the first golf cart company ever in the industry to do a lifetime powertrain warranty, which is incredible.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's crazy and you're. You're doing the right things by. You know educating people enough where they can make their own decisions, but you know, being upfront with them, and that's you know. We need more people like you to do that. So, talking along those lines, there's always maybe some type of myth or misconception surrounding the industry, or you know products or just the industry in general.
Speaker 3:Is there something that we could clear up for our listeners? I think that would be. The biggest thing is that people think all carts are made equal and they're all regulated the same. But they're not, unless they're an LSV cart, which is a low-speed vehicle, which is like they have to be certified by the state of Florida or whatever state they're selling them in.
Speaker 3:Most carts are considered PTVs, which are personal transportation vehicles which are not regulated so like if you go with one of the cheaper brands, like their tires could be a little out around or their wheels might not be the same or they're not aluminum frame or their suspensions, everything down to the bolts and hardware which people don't think of, like like all stainless steel hardware and aluminum roof struts, because those are the things that down in the Florida weather, especially with the salinity and the rain, it just destroys your cart over time.
Speaker 3:And we tell people all the time, like it's really easy to sell a cart with a tons of bells and whistles and make it look nice, but unless you're a super mechanical person and you dive into everything that matters the motor, the battery, the suspension, the frame, like those are the big things that make the difference and that's the struggle you have is educating the public so they know the difference. Like, hey, do I spend $10,000 on a cart or do I go up to that $15,000 mark and get something that's going to last me 10 years down the line and not break down every couple months? And that's kind of the give and go. You get what you pay for, exactly.
Speaker 2:It's like every car has four wheels, but the difference between a base economy model all the way up to a Mercedes, bentley, whatever, totally different on what you're getting in quality. So 100% yeah.
Speaker 4:I think that's a great point. And then also, you know our carts are lithium battery and a lot of people are used to gas carts. So you know, just educating, you know going back to that topic, letting them know what lithium batteries we carry and what the benefit is, and all that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So speaking about that, I mean obviously there's always something new, like you know, every, every industry, but are there certain things that are trending or things that are new within the industry lately?
Speaker 3:for sure lithium in the last couple years. I mean, club car, who's the biggest in the world, said years ago that they would never do lithium. You know, they said they would never get to that point. Now it's probably 60 70 of their business just because the tech has come so far. Um, and there's, there is still brands that have big struggles with that. I won't name any names, but there is some brands that are struggling with that side of their business and have a lot of breakdowns and issues. And I wouldn't say fires are a big issue and we get that question a lot too, like hey, have lithium batteries, have fires. And the thing about it is is typically that's after like a hurricane or a storm, when carts have been underwater and they say do not try to turn on a lithium battery after it's been underwater but when it's $2,500 to replace a battery.
Speaker 3:People want to try to save it, so I get it. But on the flip side of that, the lead acid batteries that you have to fill with distilled water all the time and if you go out of town you have to leave them plugged in. Lithium batteries shut themselves down and don't have to be plugged in long-term on a battery tender, so there's two sides to it for sure.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. A lot of education and knowledge goes into that. So, Kyle, I know you're from the Midwest originally, hence the name Midwest Cars. But how'd you pick Southwest?
Speaker 3:Florida. So my parents have been down here for the past four or five years, um, and they snowbird, and my wife's originally from California, so we always knew we wanted to go somewhere warm. And then during COVID everything up in the Midwest was shut down and we're like, well, let's just go look, you know, see what we could afford, and came down. That's kind of how we found a golf cart. So I was like, man, I really want a golf cart.
Speaker 1:Can't really afford one.
Speaker 3:I'm like maybe I just start a golf cart dealership? And started looking into it and called up Axel and it was like a Wednesday and I was like, hey, what are you doing on Saturday? He's like nothing. I'm like we're flying to South Carolina, we're going to go start a golf cart dealership because I'm in.
Speaker 2:There you go, there you go. Now Axel needs to get down here, right? Yeah, he's working on it. There we go, perfect. So I know running a business is very demanding on your time but what do you guys enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 4:I like to golf, so I try to do that, keep myself busy, and not only for mental health, but just kind of sometimes with running a business and all the day-to-day. Sometimes you need a little bit of time, and then also I enjoy working out.
Speaker 3:Kyle just had a baby boy, not too long ago, so he's pretty busy got his hands full.
Speaker 2:That's a full-time job, but congrats on that, absolutely yep. So is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about midwest carts that that maybe they're not aware of or don't know?
Speaker 3:I'd say the biggest thing is that we're just always open to help. You know, whether you're buying from us or not, we're not a pushy dealership, it's not, oh, come in and feel intimidated, and we treat every person who walks through our door like family. And you know, maybe our cart is not the right fit for you, but our job is just to educate you so you can make the best decision for you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, I appreciate that. So how would our listeners go about contacting you if they had needs or concerns or questions.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we have our website, which we just launched, our new website. It has a configurator on it so you can design your cart, everything like that, but the best thing to do is just come into our showroom. So we're right off Alico Road, just south of Fort Myers Airport, and then our website is just midwestcartz. com. Our phone number is 239-207-3380.
Speaker 2:And we are open every day but sunday perfect, perfect any last words for our listeners that's all we got for now.
Speaker 3:Um, atlas always has some cool things coming out. You know we we love doing custom builds. Obviously we do custom paint pretty much everything. And, uh, even if anybody needs parts, accessories, maintenance work, if you already have a cart, we're we're here to help.
Speaker 2:So perfect, love it, love it. Thank you guys. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such good neighbors and I hope to see you out in the community soon. And Axel. I hope to see you down here soon.
Speaker 4:Yeah, me too. It was great meeting you and thank you for having us on.
Speaker 2:Take care, thanks, guys, thanks all.
Speaker 1:Bye-bye. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpesterocom. That's gnpesterocom, or call 239-296-2621. To one.