Through his connection with the Kansas City Jeep Club, Starkebaum said he realized that there were a lot of Jeep owners in the Kansas City area that did not have easy access to a shop that offered the kind of work he specialized in.

"I spend two or three nights a week driving to Kansas City to pick up Jeeps," he said. "Then I bring them back to my shop, service them, and return them to my customer's driveway."

He said he charges the owners for the fuel it takes to pick up and deliver, which he said is more cost- and time-effective for his customers.

Starkebaum, who said he knew as a child that he would be working in the automotive industry, said he didn't get involved in Jeep and 4x4 work until the late 1990s, after he opened his own repair shop and stumbled on some Jeeps at an auction. It was then that he said he started building and selling Jeeps and discovered that there was a special Jeep niche in the market.   

 
"That side of the business kept growing," he said. "We got involved in doing custom modification work on Jeeps and buying and selling old Jeep parts, and it took off."

In 1999, Starkebaum said he built his own custom Jeep and took it to the Briggs Jeep Jamboree. About 175 other Jeepers were at the event that day, along with Beth Schmidgall, also a Jeeper, who he said three years later became his business partner and eventually his wife.

In 2002, he said he sold his existing repair shop to one of his technicians and opened up 4x4 Land. For the first three years in business sales doubled each year until the fourth year, when a competitor opened in town, he said.  At this point, he said he had to fine-tune his business, which rebounded when he focused on his strengths-customer service and knowledge, he added.

4x4 Land accommodates all customers' light-truck and off-road needs, including engine swap and conversion, axle change, transfer-case rebuild, custom metal fabrication, roll-cage bending, ring-and-pinion installation, drivability, and everything automotive -- except automatic transmission overhauls, he said.

Although Starkebaum said he offers all services, constant changes in the 4x4 and light truck accessory market make it difficult to keep up with customers' desires from year to year.

"It is an ever-changing evolution as far as what customers want," he said. "One thing is true in the Midwest, though; we deal with a lot of farmers and ranchers, so we do a lot of bumpers, grill guards, step bars, tool boxes, and things for outdoor truck types, rather than low riders and fancy wheels."

Starkebaum said the accessory market in the Midwest is far different than on the East and West coasts. Trying to be a leader and promote new products can be a challenge, he said, because Midwesterners are typically less susceptible to change and a little more apprehensive about putting something on their truck that they have never seen before. Sometimes it takes awhile for a trend to make it to Kansas, he said.

One trend Starkebaum said he has noted is the repercussion of rising gas prices, which has caused a downward trend in serious extreme off-roading in his area.

"With fuel prices jumping a 1.75 per gallon in the last two years, I think a lot of people who live on a fixed income simply can't afford to build a vehicle that has to be hauled to the trails," he said, noting that the closest off-road park is about an hour and 40 minutes from Topeka.

"It is tough to be in this business and rely on off-road stuff when we are so far away from all the trails," he said. "It makes it kind of restrictive as to what people will spend on a hobby that is not readably accessible." 

A related trend he has seen is customers getting rid of a lot extreme vehicles and buying vehicles that can be driven to the trail and then off-roaded, he said, like the new four-door JK Jeep.

"The new four-door JK Jeep has made off-roading become a lot more family friendly because they can take everybody and not be so cramped. The new JK Jeep has also opened up a new marketplace with accessories for performance, suspension, and just regular accessories as well."

Along with the challenges of proximity and gas prices, Starkebaum cited his competition with Internet and mail-order pricing in a time when younger generations are being taught to buy things online.

"The Internet will be the demise of all small business sooner or later," he said. "It cuts out on small, local businessmen, as well as cutting into the sales tax budget for the state."

Since Internet shoppers do not have to pay sales tax when a product crosses the state line, states are falling short on estimated sales tax revenue every year. That results in an increase in sales tax, which greatly affects small businesses, he said.

Starkebaum said he orders his truck accessory parts from Arrow Speed Warehouse in Kansas City, Kan., and Keystone Automotive Industries in Kansas City, Mo. For drivetrain parts, he said he uses Randy's Ring and Pinion in Washington State.
Starkebaum said that to maintain and generate customers, the bottom line is communication and relationships. "You can buy the parts and get your service done anywhere -- it is all about communication and relationships."