MinnEcon: December 16, 2009 Archive

Selling vacuum tubes in a digital world

Posted at 5:00 PM on December 16, 2009 by Paul Tosto (0 Comments)
Filed under: Jobs & unemployment, Small business

Tyler DeArmond's story started like many we've heard in this economy -- a would-be entrepreneur launching a new e-commerce business to supplement a pay cut at his full-time job.

Then he started talking vacuum tubes.

What kind of online market could there be for a turn-of-the-20th century invention, largely extinct? Turns out there's a pretty good one, fed by musicians.

"I've had a hobby of playing with old electronics for years and as a result I've accumulated literally thousands of vacuum tubes," said DeArmond, an associate pastor at a local church and a source in MPR's Public Insight Network.

"It used to be that pretty much all electronics (60's and earlier) used vacuum tubes," he said, kindly suggesting that I might not be old enough to remember that era (I am!).

The transistor pretty much did in the vacuum tube. But there's still a music industry niche: Guitarists who use tube-based amplifiers, and recording studios who use high-end tube gear, DeArmond says.

After collecting vacuum tubes and tube related gear for more than a decade as a way of supporting a Hi-Fi hobby, he and his wife Chelsea decided to see what they could do online, selling vintage tubes.

On the site, Tyler makes it clear, "Starting this small business is our response to the challenges of this economy. We hope to gain enough momentum to be able to hire some folks in our neighborhood who are looking for work."

He told us he's taken a voluntary 20 percent cut this year and Chelsea has taken an involuntary 10 percent cut at her job.

"We've been trying not to take any money out of the business and so far we've succeeded and as a result the business is growing pretty steadily," he said.

12/17 UPDATE:

We asked Tyler for a little more detail on the business.

We launched this business in January of 2009 but didn't go live online until March. We have seen a steady increase in sales over the first 9 months but actually, we've run ourselves out of inventory as a result of a higher than expected amount of demand this fall.

Because we're very small and we're "paying as we go" (no small business loans other than what we can pull together from our own resources) it will take us a little time to recover and get stocked up again. We expect a stronger year in 2010.

So far, we have not taken any money out of the business (yes, we're working "for free" right now), we are simply reinvesting it back into inventory so that we can expand product lines and grow the business as quickly as possible. Of course, for us, this also means that we both are still working our day jobs and we do this business in the evenings and on weekends.

One other aspect of this that is a little unusual is that we are willing to take international orders that most other businesses shy away from. They are typically a bit more risky and always more work due to the added complexities of shipping overseas (to say nothing of potential language barriers, misunderstandings, currency exchanges, etc.).

He also shared the basics on why musicians still dig the vacuum tube:

Musicians who play bass and electric guitars often use vacuum tube-based amplifiers to achieve a desired sound. Mullard tubes from England can help you get a Beatles sound, and so forth.

Happily, vacuum tubes by their very definition keep all of the functional components in a vacuum so as long as the vacuum is intact the tube remains good until used up, much like a light bulb. So, we provide vintage tubes to musicians seeking to mimic a certain sound or creatively establish a sound of their own by swapping out various tube types to see how they sound together.

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Tough job market continues for many Minnesotans, no matter the numbers

Posted at 12:00 PM on December 16, 2009 by Paul Tosto (0 Comments)
Filed under: Jobs & unemployment, MinnEcon maps

On Thursday, we'll get our next best look at Minnesota's employment situation when the state releases jobless data for November.

Thoughts are mixed on whether we'll see an uptick on the 7.6 percent rate from October. Even if it goes up that may be a sign of something good -- people who fell out of the labor force completely in the recession re-entering to at least search again.
(UPDATE: November rate is 7.4 percent.)

No matter the numbers, it's still clear many Minnesota families know a story of job loss or job struggle. They see it in their homes and neighborhoods, among friends or families. Or it's a first-person account.

"Many of my friends and I are recent college graduates and I know very few who have been able to get jobs in our desired fields, if we have been able to get jobs at all," said Dorisa Nelson of St. Paul.

She'd like to intern in an architecture firm and work her way to becoming a licensed architect. But it's a business that's been hit particularly hard in this recession.

She's doing part-time seasonal work at a retail store and likes it, but it will end soon.

We asked Minnesotans in MPR's Public Insight Network recently to take their employment pulse: What's the job climate like? Tell us about your job security or your job search.

Nelson and a couple dozen told us their stories. Click on the map icons below to read some of them. (You can add your voice here.)

Some, like Robyn Kunz of Crystal, said they were relatively secure. She runs the operations department for a background screening agency.

"I am lucky to be in an industry that is somewhat recession proof. I'm confident that our company will continue to grow over the next few years and that I will be a part of that growth."

Others are still feeling the recession's collateral damage.

Jim Dooley is a real estate broker in Apple Valley. He's self-employed and secure but has seen a big drop in business in the suburbs.

I can see an even bigger drop in my real estate business as soon as the next round of stimulus ends in April. There was a big uptick in real estate closings in October and November because buyers thought the $8000 1st time home buyer program was going to end.

I do not see any signs that the job market is improving, only getting worse.

Kim Otterson is a farmer and farrier from Royalton. She shoes horses and trims their feet. Horses have become a luxury in this economy.

"The horse market is WAY down, both due to the economy in general and other factors. People are still taking care of their horses, but they are cutting back as much as they feel they can, to save money," she said. "This affects how busy I am."

Otterson said things will pick up for her in the spring ("they always do") but she's looking for part-time work to get her there.

While tomorrow's jobless numbers might show a lower unemployment rate, she and others say that doesn't necessarily mean things will get better fast.

"I feel that our unemployment isn't accounted for in the unemployment numbers we hear about on the news/radio and because of this, the statistics are misleading," Nelson said." Whatever job growth there is in the numbers it is hard to see the change when so many of the people you know remain unemployed in various fields."

We don't just need jobs (in Minnesota)," Otterson said, "we need jobs that pay a wage people can thrive on. It's pretty hard to raise a family flipping burgers."

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