It's good to know that a hometown business can be run like a hometown business and still be successful. That's the picture painted by 29-year-old owner Derran Dugger of Rockin' Ronny's in Mankato, Minn. Mankato is about 80 miles south of Minneapolis with a population of approximately 65,000. 
Truck Add-ons, Accessories,
Wheels, Tires, and Car Audio
     Dugger's history comes from tinkering with hot rods and trucks with his father as a teen. This experience led to the concept of a one-stop automotive accessory shop. 
     "Today, everyone is preaching 'Sell performance or dress-up accessories at your audio store to survive.' We've always had all kinds of truck add-ons, hot rod accessories, wheels and tires - plus - all the custom car audio stuff," Dugger says. 
     The store itself is a freestanding building with three large doors in the back, but there's actually enough room to fit four vehicles inside. There's even a lift to get under vehicles. Up front, the sales floor has ample floor space to display Alpine, Eclipse, Orion, Pioneer, JL Audio, Kicker and Viper
     "Even though were the place to go to in town, I don't really want to carry every line there is. For all the products we sell, we have a good relationship with the factory and they're all good value," says Duggen 
     Keeping it simple extends to the staff as well. There is no dress code for the two full-time and four part-time employees. Every salesman is also an installer. "I didn't want to have the conflict between a salesperson selling what makes him the most commission and the installer who hates to install it," tells Dugger. "This way when a customer comes in, there's no surprises on the install because the installer sold him his gear." As well, every employee is also MECP certified.

Building the 'Room of Doom' 
     In the late 90s it was becoming clear that the car audio world was turning to bass and SPL. The trend for stores and manufacturers was to build a van full of woofers and take it to shows or put it on the store floor and blast it, 
     "We tried a dB Drag Racing show with another guy and while the show was successful, it didn't really do anything for the store's sales," tells Dugger. "So I thought to myself, this is the way things are going, but building a vehicle isn't unique, everyone's doing that. What else could I do?"
      Dugger went to work building the "Room of Doom." With help from Luis del Castillo and Bill Turner at Orion, and builders Mike Eccles and Ben Gruber, the concept of an SPL room became real. While Dugger isn't exactly sure how loud the room is (he estimates 160+), he knows that it's loud enough to sell tickets like a roller coaster at a theme park. The tickets are only a dollar each and are redeemable toward a future purchase. 

Radio Spots1 A Mailing List, and Two 
Yearly Sales Promote Business 
     Dugger is currently steering clear of the expeditor business. He knows that payment from car dealers can take a long rime and the dealers in town aren't interested in selling anything non-factory.
     He keeps weeknight radio spots, called the "Rockin' Ronny's 80's Rage" and the "Rockin' Ronny's Top Nine At Nine"  running, which are geared toward high school and college kids in town. A moderate mailing list also goes out a couple of times per year, but for Dugger it challenging because young customers at constantly moving their residences. 
     Two large sales every year really bring in the people. For these sales, Dugger rents hug spotlights from a company in Minneapolis and has a midnight madness sale, once in earl summer and then again just before Halloween. 
     Even in a small town with little competition, Dugger is always keeping his eye on what the whole industry is doing by making trips to the coasts and reading magazines. He also says you should keep reinventing yourself and the store. By working in the store every day and interacting with the customers, it stays fun and doesn't feel like a job.