Meet David McClintic

Today we’d like to introduce you to David McClintic.

David, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My wife Kim and I have been volunteering at Grand Canyon National Park in the Preventive Search and Rescue unit for the past eight years. While preparing for one of our patrols in the canyon, we were surprised to find that only one working radio remained in the charging tray. When I asked our boss if we volunteers could possibly chip in and buy the unit some radios, I was met with a chuckle and was told that they were something like $3,000 – $5,000 PER RADIO. Yikes. I thought to myself that I wanted to be in that business because someone was making a lot of money on some pretty basic technology. About two weeks after this incident, I received an email from a business broker offering an internet-based, B2B, two-way radio website for sale. The price was right, it was a turn-key operation, and it was located less than two miles from my home. Talk about synchronicity! That was in June of 2014. I remember this so well because, Steve, the guy I bought the business from wanted to close in July. I said that I was very sorry, but even if it means the sale wouldn’t happen, I could not possibly close until August because I was invited by some friends to row a boat down Colorado with my wife. (They had been putting their names in for the lottery for 17 years and finally got the go-ahead.) This was quite simply something I could not miss, period. I told Steve that the worst-case scenario for him was that I flipped the boat, hit my head on a rock and drowned. He could then keep the deposit and look for another buyer. Anyway, it started out with my brother-in-law Tory and me. Tory has a great job already but agreed to do the back-end website work part-time. I was full-time and more than full time. I eventually hired his wife, Elena, my sister-in-law. Then, her sister, Bertie and eventually my son Stew started working for HQ98.com. You could say it’s the ultimate family business.

Has it been a smooth road?
Definitely not. I nearly bankrupted the business shortly after buying it because I didn’t know the first thing about how Google Ads worked. Like a numbskull, I believed Google’s recommendations that by spending more money on their ads, I would reap huge rewards in increased sales. The only sales that increased were Google’s. My traffic increased dramatically, but my sales actually tanked because I was trusting Google spend my advertising dollars in the correct place. Anyway, I needed help quickly and hired a company that had helped me out before with another business I worked with. What I remembered was that Hernan Charry (with Split One Technologies in Tempe) had once told me that he couldn’t help me. He could have taken our money and we would have been none the wiser, but instead, he sent us in another direction and one in which his company didn’t compete. Long story short, Split One Technologies and Hernan pulled us back from the brink and got our ad spending under control and directed.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Our website, HQ98.com, sells two-way radios to other businesses to help them with their security and efficiency. Industries include hospitality, restaurants, construction, medical, dental offices, retail, warehouse, farms, ranches, schools and churches. We stand out as a company because we support our customers by answering the phone and providing service. This is something our competitors on Amazon just don’t do. If a customer has any kind of a problem, they know we are just a phone call away. Another thing of which I’m extremely proud of is our discount for schools and churches. Having once been a school business manager and church treasurer, I know how tight those budgets can be. I also don’t like the idea of schools and churches having to spend money on security that could be better spent on programs and outreach. I’m very proud of the work we do with schools, churches, and other charities.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think our city is an incredibly good place to be in business and to live. We have a great influx of young people just starting out and who understand that the greater Phoenix area has it all. We have fantastic art and entertainment venues as well as incredibly accessible hiking, biking and rock climbing spaces like Camelback Mountain Park, the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Phoenix Mountain Park and Tempe Town Lake. Even the Indian Bend Wash is a small paradise. Most cities construct ugly and utilitarian flood control measures like the so-called, “Los Angeles River”. The city planners of Scottsdale and Tempe created an amazing multi-use outdoor space with miles of bike paths, baseball, football, and volleyball courts. I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to live and work.

Pricing:

• 10% Discount to Schools, Churches and non-profits
• We offer volume discounts to all customer ordering more than six radios

Contact Info:

• Address: 6730 E McDowell Rd
  Unit 101
  Scottsdale, AZ 85257
• Website: www.hq98.com
• Phone: 602-635-3300
• Email: sales@hq98.com

Image Credit:
David McClintic

Suggest a story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.