01/17/2025
We are trying something a little different for Feature Friday this year. We will be interviewing the business owner for the business that we are featuring. Please take the time to read this interview.
Feature Friday is Carolina Stance Shop. They are your one-stop shop for anything stance related. We want to say a huge thank you to Ryan Wright for taking the time to answer our questions.
1. Can you tell us about Carolina Stance Shop and what all you do?
Here at Carolina Stance Shop we build custom show cars from mild to wild! Whether it be from just a simple lowering springs job to a fully built show car with all the bells and whistles, we can and will do it all. Just two car guys building cars for the public and having a blast doing it as a full time profession.
2. What inspired you to start Carolina Stance Shop? How has it changed since you first started?
I got my first car when I was like 16/17. It was a 1992 Honda Prelude Si. As a kid I had no money to pay to modify my car and wanted to fit in with people with nicer cars. So I got on YouTube and taught myself how to build cars. Messed a lot of my own cars and parts up learning. But made the most out of what I had at the time. As time went on, my goal was to always open a shop to build cars for people but also still keep it affordable enough so even the little guy can get some cool stuff done to his car.
3. What is your favorite build so far and why is it your favorite?
* Honestly we’ve had a lot of really cool projects we’ve pumped out in the last few months. The cool thing about our business model and what we do is that the majority of our customers give us creative freedom when building their cars. They give us a budget, maybe a color scheme, but the overall outcome is up to us. Obviously not every single project will be like that, but we love when they do come in because we get to be really creative. We got to do a really cool 10th Generation Accord recently that the guy literally gave us a color scheme, and gave me the go ahead to do whatever we saw fit to make the car the best version of itself. We ended up doing a full interior build, lots of red, a crazy trunk setup with hardlines, led lights, custom speaker boxes etc. The guy absolutely loved the outcome, and it was one of the best reactions we’ve ever had.
4. What’s one trend in the stance or customization scene that you’ve embraced or are excited about?
Stance has had its ups and downs in recent years for sure. There’s been periods of time where “builds” lacked depth, and didn’t focus on the details. Details are what makes or breaks a stance car build. That’s why we absolutely love doing trunk setups because we can get so creative, and break the mold on what can be done in these cars. The trunk setup is really where you can express yourself the most whether it be with hardlines, leds, audio, etc.
5. Where do you seen Carolina Stance Shop in the next five years? What goals or plans do you have for the future?
Last year, Carlos and I took the year off from traveling from shows, doing local meets, and doing anything outside of general business. We wanted to lock in, focus on building the brand and perfecting our craft. Now that we have passed that year mark “off”, it’s time to lock back in and start traveling again, working with locals on meets, and start being active in the community again. We plan on boothing a lot more at shows, and showcasing some of the crazy builds we’ve been working on the last year. We hope to see each and every one of you at some of these events!
6. What is your favorite part of being a small business owner? What is the hardest part of being a small business owner? What advice would you give to someone who is wanting to start a small business?
The freedom is probably my favorite part. We do get to set our own schedules (whether we’re actually able to keep them or not is a different story) but we do try. The downside of being a business owners is just that. You’re an owner. It’s a lot of responsibility, and you have a lot on your plate 24/7. Handling money, making sure things are perfect, and the unfortunate reality of losing money on mistakes, oversights, bills, etc. it’s a lot of work and it’s not for everyone. Being in it 100% and giving it your all is one of the biggest keys. If you thing your giving it your all, 100%, your not. There’s always more you can do, there’s always more you can improve on. It’s never ending. One piece of advice I would give someone that’s wanting to start a small business would be patience. Owning a business is like a rollercoaster, there’s lots of highs, and lots of lows. The key is to keep the same mindset 24/7. Act like you’re always down. Because if you ever act like your up and doing well, at any moment it can all be taken away from you
