Dynamic Entrepreneur - Billy England

By Randy Capps

There is no magic bullet for success as a business owner, but understanding the needs of your customers and figuring out ways to meet them is a good start.

That is the fundamental principle at Tired Iron Classics in Four Oaks, where owner Billy England has built a successful business by simply providing people all over the world with the parts they need.

And that’s why he’s being honored as the 2019 Johnston Now Honors Dynamic Entrepreneur.

“We sell restoration and repair parts that are no longer available,” he said. “Original equipment stuff that you can't buy at the dealer any more. They've liquidated it, so we buy it and then sell it. Anything you need to fix your car or motorcycle, and you can't get any more, we've got it.

“We ship anywhere in the world. Anywhere except Russia right now. We can't ship to Russia right now, because eBay doesn't allow it. I don't know what happened. They say Vladimir did something to the guy at eBay, I don't know.”

Growing up in Warren, New Jersey, England got an early start in entrepreneurship.

“I started out when I was, probably seven or eight, pulling old bicycles out of people's trash in the neighborhood,” he said. “And I'd bring them home. The lady up the street worked at the hardware store, so she'd bring home cans of spray paint for me. I'd spray paint the bicycles and put them out. The other neighbors didn't really need them, but they bought them anyway because they felt sorry for me.”

Thanks to the influence of his dad, his interest shifted from bikes to faster machines.

“My dad was a huge antique car collector,” he said. “He bought and sold nice antique cars, street rods and stuff my whole childhood at auction and all over the place. I liked cars, but I've always been more into motorcycles. So, that's kind of where I took it.”

As businesses often do, his evolved by chance after an interaction with a customer.

“A guy had a dirt bike for sale, and I went to go look at it,” he said. “It's been probably 12 or 13 years ago, and when I bought the dirt bike, he offered me this stash of parts that he had from a dealership he worked at that closed. They had thrown out this stuff, and he said, 'are you interested in parts?'”

He bought them, put them on eBay and they “did marvelously well.”

That's how Tired Iron Classics, which England started focusing on full time in 2015, took its modern form.

Sometimes, even he's surprised when an item sells.

“There was a pull starter for a Briggs & Stratton lawnmower or tractor that was recalled by them in the 60s,” he said. “It had a thing you flipped over and spun and spun and spun, and then it had a little clip you undid, and then it spun back and spun the motor over with a spring — it was ripping people's hands off.

“This lawnmower shop I cleaned out recently had two or three of them, and we sent it out to Japan. I don't know

what someone in Japan is going to do with it, but it was pretty interesting.”

Tired Iron Classics started in a barn at home before moving to a store front on Main Street in Four Oaks and finally into a larger warehouse on the other end of Main Street.

“We've got 7,000 square feet now, and it's full,” he said. “Five years ago, I would have never thought I'd be in a 7,000-square foot warehouse. … I don't think I could talk (Amber) into moving again. And I don't blame her.”

Amber is his wife, and her addition to the fold on a full-time basis has been a game changer for the company.

“It's been huge,” he said. “I've had friends come that would help me out a couple days a week and stuff, because we got so swamped last year and the year before and I just couldn't do it all on my own. I would be gone two and three days picking stuff up, and during those two or three days, nothing would happen with the business because I wasn't there to do it.

“Amber came on full time in December 2018, and it's been amazing. She handles most of our inventory. She handles all of our finances, because I'm really horrible at that. And she's been really supportive. She gave up a lot to make this work for me, too.”

She's also in charge of the company's marketing and social media, some of which features their lovely daughter, Eleanor.

“If you see anything on our Facebook page, it has nothing to do with me,” he said. “I give her the picture and tell her what it is, but she does everything else.

“If Amber wasn't helping, we wouldn't be (in the new space). We probably wouldn't have even been in the shop. We probably would have just sunk.”Instead, Tired Iron Classics is floating along, sending out an average of 30 to 50 packages a day. That means a lot of time at the post office, and an intimate relationship with the FedEx delivery driver.

“Being in Four Oaks is amazing, because everybody knows everybody,” he said. “Jed, the FedEx driver, has a key to my shop. So, he'll bring the packages in when I'm not there. It's good. You couldn't do that anywhere else.”

He also gets boxes from area businesses, like Ogi Custom Furniture and All Out Bikes, and packing materials from a local magazine.

All of which helps England to better serve his customers.

“We found the key to our business is versatility,” he said. “If we were just selling motorcycle stuff, there's times of the year we wouldn't have a business. If we were just selling power equipment stuff, there's times of the year we wouldn't have a business. So, all this stuff throughout the year helps us to stay steady in some form or fashion.

“Next year, I might be selling stuff to fix wood saws. I don't know, and I don't care.”

Whatever item, no matter how obscure, people need, he’ll try to make sure he has it in stock.