We recently connected with Justin Hughes and have shared our conversation below.
Justin , so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
99% of the time i am literally the only one in the room while working. I operate out of my two car garage in south Austin, Texas. Staying motivated isn’t always the easiest, especially when things don’t go as smooth as i’d like them to. Wrong parts showing up, aftermarket parts not quite exactly working as described, and overall length/ fitment issues are all common situations that i run into. I’ve found a lot of these situations kill my motivation but have taught me to better manage my time and be prepared for these type of hiccups.
In social settings I have learned that networking is a good way to represent myself as a business owner and promote the business in a direct manner. Shows like the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show are an excellent networking opportunity and i hope to be able to participate in similar events in the future.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I launched Cat Daddy Cycles in the middle of the pandemic in 2020. I am a one man band that handles essentially everything you can think of with the exception of outsourcing paint and fabrication (for now). The past few years i have been taking in bikes for general service and have built clientele around that. In the past year or so i have been working on shifting my focus towards full custom builds and phasing out maintenance. My hope for the business moving forward is to operate as a boutique shop that caters towards custom work of all varieties.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe you have to have a certain amount of drive, patience, and attention to detail to be in this industry. In the past, I’ve always tried to live my life in the fast lane. Im a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I loved the lifestyle that it embodied. Not too long ago though, I was talking with my fabricator and kind of complaining about how I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be with the business. In that brief conversation he said, “It’s a slow burn” and that really stuck with me. It kind of made me re evaluate my whole perspective. I feel like at first, i wanted to complete custom builds back to back to back but things just weren’t working out that way. It kind of made me reflect and realize that progress isn’t always linear. With that being said, progress is still progress and you have to just keep pushing. So my advice would be to stick to the course and keep chasing that dream.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
Currently im having difficulties balancing out the amount of time i spend on clients bikes vs. the amount of time that im putting into the custom builds that i have going on. I get a little overwhelmed sometimes with clients bringing in work and trying to schedule everything accordingly. The problem usually starts to occur when a job turns out to be larger than anticipated and I have already given other clients a date to drop off. I end up kind of getting stacked because the job takes longer and i have to push everything back. When all of this happens I end up having zero time to work on custom projects. So im currently trying to balance out the amount of time that i spend with clients without letting anyone down in the process. Its definitely challenging but at the end of the day it feels good to know that im helping others with getting to enjoy their bikes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.catdaddycycles.com/
- Instagram: @Catdaddycycles
- Facebook: facebook.com/catdaddycycles
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/s2AzIz-Jh_A
Image Credits
Daniel Nguyen Tony Moreno Brandon Lajoie Justin Hughes
