After establishing a very successful business selling and installing stereo and other high-tech gear in cars, mainly for dealers and referral clients, The Radio Guy — Eric Kleiva and his wife Carol — have gone back to doing business the way they liked best — working from a mobile unit.

They did well and the pair opened a store in Poulsbo several years ago and grew the business even more, selling to the general public as well as their established dealer clients.
But they recently made a decision to close their Poulsbo store and are back working from a mobile unit still doing the same things they always have — installing high-end stereo, video and alarm equipment in cars, boats, homes and offices, as well as handling wireless phones, mobile video, remote access, two-way communications gear and more.

“Closing the store was a family and lifestyle decision for us more than it was business,” said Carol Kleiva. “We have young children at home. It just got to a point where we were almost living at the store and had no time for our kids or for each other. No matter how successful the store was, that wasn’t going to work over the long term.”

She said the store was very profitable and she and Eric don’t regret doing it for one minute. But it was the constant stress with employees, including ongoing recruitment and retention that got to be too much.

“Keeping installation people was a full time job,” said Carol. “The good ones are in high demand and make top dollar. The problem is, it’s a uniquely skilled job and the competition for them is tough. You schedule work in the shop and all of a sudden someone doesn’t show up because they were offered more money down the street. They just leave, with no notice or anything. Or it’s sunny and they just don’t feel like working that day. But since good ones are hard to come by, you put up with it. That makes doing business difficult because customers expect to get their work done when you schedule them.”

She also cited theft as a problem they won’t miss either.

“Eric is an excellent installer and a great salesperson,” she noted with pride. “I’m very good at my part of the business as well. We did really well when it was just the two of us and we had more time for our family. We closed the store on Saturdays after Christmas and we could see an immediate difference in things at home. That’s very important to us.”

She went on to say that when it’s all said and done, after the overhead of the store is eliminated, that the financial return is about the same. “But the personal returns are greater — more time with our kids, more time with each other — and just more time.”

The Radio Guy will continue to be active in community affairs. They donated over $3,500 worth of equipment to the DARE program and were recognized as a Business in the Green by the county’s GreenWorks program for their recycling efforts. “None of that will change,” said Kleiva

She added that The Radio Guy will be letting all their customers know they’re still open for business, “But now we come to you.”

Reach The Radio Guy at (360) 779-1311 or sales@radioguyinc.com.