BUZZPreneur: DrumCity GuitarLand

Tim Wenger | February 1, 2014 | 0 Comments

BUZZPRENEUR OF THE MONTH

DrumCity Guitarland

by Angela Kerr

Welcome to Buzzpreneur, the place to meet entrepreneurs who are kicking it up a notch in the Colorado Marketplace. This month we focus on Drum City Guitarland located at 9225 W. 44^th Avenue, Wheatridge, CO. 80003. A musician’s favorite, this entrepreneurial venture began with Ronny Kae who founded the business with $50 in his pocket and one drum set sold out of the closet of his house. Ronny operated a home based business until a robbery in his home prompted him to get a storefront. He purchased the current location in 1965 and continued to run the company until he passed in 1993. Tim and Jason Kae, sons of Ronny began working in the store as teenagers and made their family business their career. Little would Ronny know that his sons would take the business forward in the last 10 years to international acclaim, as Drum City Guitarland serves clients world-wide.

When asking Tim how they have developed such an impressive internet business, he states: “The internet opened the door for everyone to get business all over the world. We have a lot of manufacturers who will send the customer right to us. It is the best advertising ever.”

Both Tim and Jason chose drums as their instrument growing up, as according to Tim and Jason, “drums were everywhere.” Jason chimes in with, “We started Guitarland in 1970.” Tim goes on to explain that Ronny changed the name from Drum City Inc., to Drum City Guitarland, Inc. He went on to share: “It was a huge thing back then as for us to get franchised for Fender, they wanted $50,000 up front. You had to have tons of equity and the buy-ins were unbelievable back then. The companies require that you keep up with weekly, monthly and quarterly sales commitments in order to offer their products.” This is an amazing feat given the competition with larger corporations.

From the service perspective, the in-house sales are given a tremendous priority. The core team is Tim Kae who focuses on the Drums and Jason with Guitars, Kyle Christy who is all around support and Ross Lawson who has spent 21 years with the Kae’s whose focus is in guitar tech and repair. Ross also plays in a local band named Trail. This gives him personal interaction with musicians all over town. All team members support everyone and no one is paid on commission. This single decision ensured that people were only being sold what they needed; a hallmark decision which feeds their top notch reputation in the industry.

When asking how they have survived so long with such stiff competition in economically challenging times, Jason states: “This is all we know. I’ve worked here six days a week for 30 years, Tim even longer. We have started closing on Sunday and Monday which has been really nice for us.” The team let me know they are sticklers for getting the sale right and ensuring that clients leave with exactly what they want. Kyle adds: “What really makes the difference is Tim and Jason as owners are here every day.” To this Jason adds: “We are a referral based business – most everyone we see are referred to us by existing customers…someone sent them in to see us because they know we are going to take good care of their friends.” To this Tim states: “We always remember the customer when they come back. We like to know how their last purchase worked out for them…it’s the simple things.” This company definitely has a line on “the personal touch.”

When asking how the Kae’s saw the future, Jason suggests: “Everything is going to change in the next four to five years. It will eventually move to internet sales with a warehouse. The industry is all Amazon.com that is where the whole world is going. Most Drum and Guitar companies are moving to a direct sales model where they will no longer need dealers.” Tim adds: “We are watching music stores all over the world put signs out front that say By Appointment Only. You would meet the customer here when you know they need to buy something. It has its pro’s and con’s there is so much involved in shipping a single item. Being able to see, touch and feel the product personally ensures less unnecessary returns by ensuring the correct sale in the beginning.”

Ross interjects: “Thank God for Rocksmith because it is like having a teacher 24-7 and it requires a real guitar. It is a game that teaches you a skill.” Ross spent the day completing set ups for five guitar sales. Tim agrees and suggests that when you buy drums or guitars in his shop they are set up and tuned before you leave the shop.

In my humble opinion, losing the experts to an internet sale is a sad day a coming. The human interaction including the no commission sales model of this successful company would be a serious loss to our local music scene. Drum City Guitarland is a destination for musicians in and out of state as well as international sales. Drum City Guitarland is the official music sponsor of the OWN IT Music Master Mind Series hosted by Colorado Music Buzz Magazine and CREATE MSU Denver.

Online: drumcityguitarland.com