Guidant Audeo client learns that, on the road to success, it’s best to travel in a “Neighborhood Electric Vehicle”
Miki DeZorzi, an Orangevale, Calif., mother of two, discovered an opportunity to strengthen her family’s financial health while contributing to the health of the planet as well.
“I used to be a sales manager for a telecom company, and, after my first child, I quit to be with her,” says DeZorzi. “But I’m a ‘type-A’ type, so I wanted to go back to work but in a business I could own and control while doing a lot of the work from home.”
DeZorzi found her dream business in a nearby Lincoln, Calif., company that had been enjoying some success selling golf carts and other Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV). “The gentleman was selling his business for all the right reasons, and I knew the industry was getting ready to boom.”
Also known as Low Speed Vehicles (LSV), these lighter-weight, eco-friendly modes of transportation are being introduced into a growing number of communities, many of which are accommodating them by widening bicycle lanes.
“Many counties and states are creating Low Speed Vehicle initiatives, encouraging people to get out of their cars, off the roads and use LSVs to get around,” DeZorzi says. Currently 38 states have LSV laws, and many allow LSVs/NEVs on public roads with posted speed limits below 35 miles per hour. Lincoln has such an initiative, and the neighboring city of Rockland recently passed one, too. “This really is the wave of the future,” she says. “These kinds of vehicles are right on the verge of universal acceptance.”
DeZorzi knew she’d found an untapped treasure, but she wasn’t certain how she was going to get her hands on it. “I did a lot of research, and I discovered Guidant online,” she says. Excited about the possibility of using her own retirement money to purchase the business, she presented the idea to her CPA and financial advisor. “I even had them talk to a Guidant representative,” she says. “They both agreed this was the best way to go.”
In October 2007, DeZorzi rolled more than $50,000 from her previous employer’s 401(k) plan into a customized 401(k) that enabled her to buy Electric Car Living as a retirement-account investment. “Although I could have gotten an SBA loan, I didn’t want to pay interest,” she says. “It just makes sense to utilize money you already have; even if the business goes bad, you only owe yourself the money. My father also became a partial owner of the company by rolling his 401(k) into the Audeo, too. This is especially great since he knows more about servicing vehicles than I do!”
DeZorzi has been building her business by offering customized and modified golf carts (“streetrods”) designed to look like fire engines, model-Ts, etc., which she sells at her shop and across the country through her website (www.electriccarliving.com). These carts have been a hit with organizations wanting LSVs/NEVs customized with their company colors and logos for promotional purposes. DeZorzi has also elected to be the only Zap electric vehicle dealer in the area – a move enabling her to provide electric city buses and other kinds of electric vehicles that can reach up to 40 m.p.h. and, potentially, even a freeway-safe electric car that can reach highway speeds.
DiZorzi is pleased she used the Audeo to launch her business. “I appreciate that I was hand-held by Guidant through the whole process,” she says. “They gave me a lot of time and attention. There wasn’t such a thing as a dumb question. And now I’m getting an even better return on my 401(k) than before.”
DiZorzi admits that her booming business is keeping her jumping, but she’s glad she took the leap into self-employment. “It’s a lot of work, definitely, but I’m in control of it. For me, with my kids and how I want to structure my life, it’s ideal. I want to be in charge, be my own boss, take off time and not feel guilty. I like what I’m doing!”
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