Our digless fence is installed by pounding a pipe into the ground with what’s called a post driver or pounder. Skeptics abound regarding how hard it is to drive a pipe into the ground- and those skeptics included us at one time. The truth is that while it requires exertion, it’s generally not as difficult as you might assume. We can say this with confidence because we have driven lots of pipe into the ground. (Ok, I’ve pounded one or maybe two pipes into the ground, but Steve has pounded in thousands from his former fence days and Clever Joe tens of thousands.)

And let’s face it- driving pipe into the ground on a bad day is still way easier than renting augers and drilling holes on a good day. Plus, drilling holes is just the start of your problems. After that you need to mix hundreds of pounds of concrete, pour it into the holes, and clean up all your excavated dirt and mess.  I’m sometimes prone to exaggeration, but this time I promise you I’m understating the truth by a country mile.

We’ve manufactured 3 manual post drivers to give our customers options to make their post driving experience as pleasant as possible and you can see them in action in this movie.

Posted by Denise Movies 1 Comment

Thinking of renting an auger to install a vinyl fence?

We don’t like to make grown men cry. This is why with our vinyl fence you don’t have to dig holes, pour concrete, or make a mess of your yard.

Posted by Denise Movies 1 Comment

“So what’s going on at WamBam?”

This is a question I get asked often by vendors, clients, friends and business contacts.

Without a public product line and a website, it’s a valid question. I guess one might suspect that we’re taking too much advantage of the nap room or gorging ourselves on Steve’s well-stocked cupboards.

Behind the scenes, a lot has been happening. The amount of work involved in a startup is mind boggling. We have more than 40 SKUs we’re getting ready to launch, and that doesn’t include our ornamental aluminum program. Each fence design needs more than just product design, development and testing. It also needs a 20+ page installation guide, line drawings, images, detail shots, box contents, UPC codes, barcodes, etc.

Then there’s the compilation of 50+ pages of web content. There’s 7 videos. I’m setting up customers which requires copious amounts of paperwork and copy to merchandise the product, not to mention vendor agreements with lots of red tape.

And of course, as in the nature of every startup, things don’t always go as planned.

The Product

Our first container of product arrived late July. The product was to spec and with the exception of a few minor issues, everything looked great.

But there was a problem that became apparent to us when the first container was on the water. Of our 9 fencing styles, 4 were not performing to our satisfaction in final testing. This was not our fault, and not our factory’s fault either. It was a calculated risk we took. Steve knew this issue might creep up, but it was a low risk—around 20%– so it was a risk worth taking. Unfortunately the 20% got us.

Essentially, it became apparent that a few of our vinyl fence panels had bottom rails that would sag (or begin to smile) over time. While some manufactures might let this slide, we couldn’t in clear conscience. Our vinyl fencing is Professional Grade with a limited lifetime warranty, so we want it to perform in 20 or 30 years like it did on the first day.

Back to the drawing board. Change the bottom rail of these styles. Test some more. Testing is good, thus the problem is solved.

However, we have 4 styles of vinyl fence that need upgrading and cannot be released for public consumption. Thus, we needed to order another container with the new products to replace the old. You can’t just order containers overnight- they take time. It is scheduled to arrive in early September so it won’t be until then that we have a full, rounded out line of product to sell.

The Website

The website is coming along slowly but surely. The reason it’s taking so long is that the old one was completely scrapped for reasons I won’t bore you with, and I subsequently hired new developers to redo the whole thing from scratch. So we’re on the second site–with the same design. I take full responsibility for this. I hired the guy who did the botch job on the first site, and in the end it was a big mistake. It slowly became apparent that if we wanted a tight site that we could work with well into the future, it had to be done properly, which meant scrapping a 2-3 month project and starting again.

Steve laughs long and loud at me every time I beat myself up over the site. “Looks good on you, Denise. I love it!” is what he usually says with a wicked cackle. I guess it’s better than yelling and screaming, right?

It’s never easy in a startup, but all things considered, while we’re slightly behind, in the grand scheme of a 24 month project, we’re really not doing too badly. It’s coming along, slowly but surely. And the great thing is that we don’t feel like we’re rushing things, which would mean releasing substandard product or a weak website. The motto around here is, “If you’re going to do something, just do it right.”

So in short, we’re busy. Some days we still feel overwhelmed and wonder if this fly wheel is ever going to get momentum on its own, because pushing non-stop for all these months (and for Steve, it’s coming up on 2 years) requires a lot of dedication, motivation, work, and patience.

But most days we’re still having fun, and that’s what matters.

Posted by Denise Egocentricities 1 Comment

Yeah, it’s wacky and zany, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. See sock puppet Clever Joe interview Firefighter Frank Wambalamo about what makes WamBam’s vinyl fence professional grade.

It’s WamBam fence, the only fence that’s fun to install.

Posted by Denise Movies 0 comments

Installing the fence the old way sucks, but don’t take our word for it. Clever Joe goes into the streets to ask people what it’s really like to install fence.

With WamBam Fence, you don’t need to mess around with digging holes and pouring cement. It’s digless vinyl fence for the do-it-yourself home owner.

Posted by Denise Movies 1 Comment

This cartoon illustrates why you really don’t want to install fence the traditional way.

With WamBam’s innovative digless vinyl fence system, you don’t need to dig holes or pour concrete. It’s the only fence that’s fun to install.

Posted by Denise Movies 0 comments

All those videos I referred to a couple weeks ago? We’ve decided to start leaking them.

Here’s the next one. It’s not the most polished video in our reservoir, but it’s an important one. It features Joe, whom we affectionately call Clever Joe, and talks about how he came up with the idea behind digless vinyl fence. We have no real affiliation with Joe other than licensing his patents and a lot of camaraderie.

Posted by Denise Movies 1 Comment

Joe is the mastermind behind the digless fence concept

Every once in a while someone comes up with a revolutionary idea that really changes things. Usually these ideas are so radical that they are met with resistance at first. After all, it takes time to start a movement.

Meet Joe. He is an idea man, an inventor- the sort of wild-haired guy who does crazy things. He’s cycled across North America, resided in Cuba off and on for years (no, he’s not a communist!), written a book and invented a solar-powered oven utilized in third world countries where power is scarce.

Joe is a hard working guy who loves to putter. A professional fencer by trade, a dozen or so years ago he was having a few issues installing vinyl fence. One, it took too long and was too messy. Two, the cold in  Manitoba Canada was so intense that even if the posts were put in cement footings 3-4 feet into the ground,  the frost would often heave them out of the ground.

So Joe put on his inventor hat and started to tinker.

First he started experimenting with driving pipe into the ground. It worked quite well, but there was a critical problem with this: it was virtually impossible to get every pipe perfectly straight into the ground, which resulted in slightly crooked fence posts.

Joe went to the drawing board and came up with a couple of simple devices that would compensate for the slightly crooked posts. What Joe came up with was not complicated or outrageous. It actually was really simple. But it worked, and worked well. In short, he invented a simple adjustable post collar to sleeve over the pipe so the fence would be easy to make straight and level.

Within a short amount of time, Joe was installing fence a new way. To old fencing friends who had invested in expensive equipment and were accustomed to installing fence the traditional way, this new concept seemed absurd. But when Joe’s fences went up much faster than theirs and performed just as well, his competitors eventually had to embrace the concept to keep competitive. Plus his reputation soon grew so that this new system was used to replace heaving fence posts that were concreted in the ground.

It’s now been 12 years and there’s a growing movement across Western Canada. Most professional fence companies are installing fence this way. We think it’s such a cool idea that we want to help spread the word.

Sure, it’s only fencing. It’s not going to solve world hunger problems or help mankind live on Mars. But time is important to everyone, and this idea is so clever that it will save homeowners a lot of time and hassle. In short, we’ve been lucky enough to stumble on a movement and we want to spread the good news. We want to change the world of do-it yourself vinyl fence.

Posted by Denise Stories Tags: business 2 Comments

Despite the lag on the website, we’re not sunbathing in the North Carolina sunshine. We are actually working hard behind the scenes on a lot of product development, marketing, and sales. Above is a technical demo of how our digless vinyl fence works.

If you’re a youtuber, check out the original video and give us a good rating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLk6W7u2LY

And by the way, we have 5 other highly entertaining videos that we’re ready to launch, but you’re just going to have to be patient.

Posted by Denise Movies 0 comments

Confession. I’m in charge of the website and it was supposed to go live tomorrow.

But it’s not. It’s just not ready. I’ve been working on the copy, content and design for months. I’ve gone through 2 contractors and am now working with 2 more who are working hard with me on the site. I’ve been working evenings and weekends and fiddling with copy and Photoshop images for what feels like forever, but it’s still not ready.

Sure, I’m a perfectionist, but there is just so much work involved that even if I put my perfectionism aside, we couldn’t release it in clear conscience. I underestimated–waaaay underestimated– the amount of work involved. I didn’t realize that my ideals were bigger than website code. What’s funny is when you finally get to see it, you’ll probably think it’s a nice site, but you will wonder what the heck took so long because it doesn’t look that fancy or revolutionary.

Steve always says that everything costs twice as much, takes twice as long, and requires double the effort for half the results. I wanted to prove him wrong with our website, but in some ways I think I’m proving him wrong the other way: twice as much, four times as long, and quadruple the effort- for most of the desired results.

Yesterday Steve asked me, “When you agreed to this start-up, did you realize how much work was involved?”

My response? “I knew there was a ton of work required, but no, I had no idea just how much.”

I just try to remember what my father always taught me: “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”  After all, we intend to change the world of do-it-yourself vinyl fence, and things like that take time.

Provided my sanity doesn’t go first, the website is coming folks, but please be patient. I can promise you that we’re not sitting around here smoking stogies and drinking scotch. (And the napping is limited.)

Posted by Denise Egocentricities 1 Comment

Here is a picture of a little room in the back of our office. It’s ideal for meetings or finding some peace and quiet from the open concept office to do some proofreading.

This little room is small and cozy and well used

But you know what we use it for most?

Napping.

That’s right. Stephen is like an infant. He gets tired easily and needs to nap. Every day after lunch at his desk, it’s like clockwork: He says good night, retreats to the back room, shuts the door, and we don’t see him for 20-30 minutes. When he finally surfaces, it’s mildly amusing. He opens the door, his hair sticking up all over, and stands there with squinty eyes while they adjust to the light. He usually says one of three statements: “Good morning,” or “Wow, that was a great sleep!” or “How long was I out for?”

Once in awhile Ben comments, “You were snoring pretty loudly today.”

Steve is always proud of this.

I can’t poke too much fun at Steve for his incessant napping, because I occasionally indulge in the nap room myself. It’s a dark room with a comfortable couch and fuzzy blankets. The first time I tested it out, it was a Saturday and I thought I would just lay down for 20 minutes or so to get a second wind. Two hours later I awoke with a jolt, unsure where I was. It was a lesson well-learned. Now when I retreat to the nap room for a siesta, I set an alarm. I will say that when I’m tired and take a 20 minute power nap, my afternoon is much more productive.

Other cultures fully endorse napping (the Chinese and the Spanish, for example), so why can’t we adopt it at WamBam? After all, experts claim that it’s very healthy.

Trying to bring this back to do-it-yourself fence that’s fun to install is going to be difficult. Maybe I’ll go to the back room and sleep on it.

Posted by Denise Idiosyncrasies Tags: wambam culture 1 Comment

Ben is an asset to our team

Say hi to Ben, a member of our WamBam team.

You might think that you need to be slightly crazy to work at WamBam Fence, but Ben is pretty normal and easy-going. I think it’s the easy-going part that makes him jive here. For instance, Steve’s 4 year daughter was in the office the other day. She walks up to Ben and shamelessly stares at him. Ben is a polite guy and doesn’t say anything. Finally I ask, “Kate, why are you staring at Ben?”

She gets all shy and responds, “Because I liiiiike him.”

Fortunately Ben doesn’t have to be a heartbreaker because a few minutes later she informs us that she won’t marry him because she’s too young to get married.

Anyway, Ben primarily works on our product development. He essentially takes ideas and transfers them to technical drawings and specs, mainly for our ornamental aluminum fence program. He’s also bailed me out of more than one jam with some great product renders. He’s a busy guy, because not only does he work 20-30 hours a week at WamBam Fence, but he’s also studying Engineering as a full time student at the University of Charlotte.

Ben is a man of few words. Steve will try to pull conversation out of him, and it works best when he asks questions about NASCAR or politics. Ben works out and every so often Steve asks him in jest to flex his biceps. He politely declines with a grin.

“Ben, do you have anything you would like to say on our blog?” I ask him.

He smiles and shakes his head.

We’re thankful for Ben and the work he does here. He’s an asset to our team. With his help we’re creating a do-it-yourself vinyl fence system that doesn’t require digging holes or pouring concrete. It’s fence that’s easy to install.

He may have turned down Steve's request to flex for the camera, but he's got a good sense of humor.

Posted by Denise Egocentricities Tags: employees, wambam culture 1 Comment

inforetailradio.com approached me at the Hardware Show and asked if they could steal a few minutes for an interview. I was surprised because they were interviewing huge companies like 3M and Char-Broil, but they said they were intrigued by the company name and wanted to feature us as well. They have released the podcast, which you can listen to here:

Info Retail Radio Interviews WamBam Fence

(If you don’t have time to listen, it’s all about our do-it-yourself vinyl and ornamental aluminum digless fence that can be shipped UPS.)

Posted by Denise Publicity 0 comments

Injection Molding Machines at our Chinese Factory

We want to communicate something that is important to us, so here is an uncharacteristically serious blog entry:

It’s no secret that “Made in China” is a sticky subject. Here at WamBam, we want to be forthright with our customers, so we don’t want to hide or camouflage this fact. Would we prefer that our stuff was made domestically? Of course. But unfortunately, that’s not an option for us.

Our roots are in New England Arbors, a company that manufactures beautiful arbors, trellises and pergolas. Originally we manufactured our products domestically. We designed everything in Canada, manufactured all the components and pieces with our partners in the US, and packaged it all at our warehouse in Canada. It was “Made in North America” and we were proud of that fact.

Things started to change. Raw material costs went up. Packaging costs went up. Labor costs went up. By far and away the tipping point for us was when the US dollar weakened to the point of being worth slightly less than the Canadian dollar at one point in 2007. Currency losses were massive. We raised our prices to offset these challenges, but we were pricing ourselves out of the market and becoming uncompetitive. We had to make a tough decision. Either find a more efficient-faster-better way to manufacture and keep the business intact, or continue to raise our prices at a serious risk of further hurting our sales and business. We really didn’t have a choice but to find a more efficient way to manufacture.

Aluminum Powder Coating Line

Fully aware of all the challenges and potential pitfalls in dealing with China, we were resistant to the idea. We are passionate about quality and didn’t want anything to hurt our reputation. We started doing serious homework in China by visiting numerous factories—numerous times and over numerous years—to do due diligence in finding a good partner we could absolutely trust.

It wasn’t an easy process, but we did find a good partner. We chose a top notch factory with happy, loyal and well treated employees. Thus began a tip-toe, take-it-cautious approach to doing business in China. The factory was also passionate about high standards which was evident by their state-of-the-art quality control. Best of all, this factory had a partner living in the States so there were some solid links back to the homeland.  They were already manufacturing for many large American companies and had a flawless track record and many happy customers. They offered us pricing that could keep us competitive which in turn meant that we could sustain our business.

Quality Assurance Lab

With this change, repercussions to employees were very minimal because we were still largely manufacturing domestically. A few things slowly changed. Some employees left for different opportunities, some were re-positioned, and one went on disability due to unfortunate personal health issues. But the best news was that the existing employees kept their jobs because sales started picking up again.

When we started WamBam we decided to move to the States to be closer to our customers. Here at WamBam, we do manufacture in China. But all our design, product development, sales, marketing, and customer service employs people in the States. If we manufactured domestically we wouldn’t be competitive and would probably be out of business and subsequently out of jobs.

Do we wish it was easier and more efficient to manufacture domestically? Of course. But the bottom line is that for us it’s not. Rather than resist this truth, we have chosen to work with it. Even though our product is made overseas, we’re confident in our factory’s capabilities and quality control. We are confident we are offering our customers the very best product at a very competitive price to give real value. And because we can do this, we’re creating jobs in America.

To sum it up, at the end of the day we believe that we bring better value and innovation to our customers by partnering with China.

Posted by Denise Realities Tags: business 1 Comment

Our booth at the National Hardware Show in Vegas

We showed our purple and blue colors to the world last week, launching our product at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas.

The product was a hit, making the show a success. We had a lot of fun showing how our product works, seeing people’s reactions to our animated videos, and loved the positive feedback on our company name, branding, and literature hand-outs. We weren’t sure if we’d be too crazy for some, but almost everyone seemed to embrace the spirit of WamBam.

Our (admittedly unconventional) Show Handout

So world, meet WamBam, the first ever fence system to ship UPS, and the first digless fence system. It’s D-I-Y fence that’s fun to install.

Oh- and if you want your very own copy of The WamBam Journal, email me your address and we’ll mail you a copy. Warning: Don’t take it too seriously!

Posted by Denise Egocentricities Tags: business 1 Comment

The WamBam Sandbox

Steve doesn't know he's about to encounter a bit of a snag...

First samples have arrived from China, horray!

We take our new treasures to the WamBam sandbox, which is actually just a piece of land down the street that we have rented from John, an 80 year-old businessman. We haggled with John to let us use a sliver of his land for grass roots quality control.

We show up to work in grubs, load up the pickup truck, and start WamBaming pipes into the ground. I want to try out the product myself, and despite my disciplined gym routine, it’s clear I need to pump more iron if I want to drive the anchors into the ground as quickly as Steve. It must be painful for him to watch because after a while, he says, “Give me that thing” as he starts WamBaming the anchors into the ground– quite effortlessly, I might add.

After one particularly successful blow, he remarks, “That’s easier. I must have just gotten past a rock.”

And within seconds we’re standing in a rapidly growing puddle. And it’s only getting bigger.

We’re really hoping that he hit an oil well, Beverly Hillbillies style. Visions of instant retirement with a lifetime of luxury without all the hard work of an endeavor like WamBam start flashing through my head. But then we realize with dismay that it’s water.

Yup, Steve broke a water line. (For the record, he did call the locates prior to driving the anchors and was given the clear.)

Water is gushing everywhere and we have to find John to confess our misdeeds. Things need to happen to rectify the situation: Turn off the water to the property. Dig up the ground to get to the pipe. Call a plumber. Write him a check.

A couple hours later, it’s all fixed.

I will say that I am impressed with our fence system. Sure, the anchors require some muscle to go into the ground. But it was pretty cool to see in practice, and the posts looked as even and white as a used car salesman’s smile. Yup, maybe I’m biased, but our digless vinyl fence system is pretty cool, innovative, and fun to install. Just as long as the water lines are kept intact.

Posted by Denise Funnies, Stories Tags: business, wambam culture 1 Comment

It’s probably a combination of a bunch of things. Steve is a little larger than life and tends to live life by the mantra “go big or go home”. Or maybe it’s the influence of his Dutch father who survived the war and raised him to appreciate food because “you never know when you’ll go without.” Or maybe it’s the thrill of Sam’s Club, which must still be a novelty coming from a town where there are no wholesale clubs.

Whatever the case, whenever Steve goes to Sam’s Club to stock up on “lunch food”, it’s a little scary. The sheer amount of groceries he hauls in is enough to feed a small army. Plus, that means there will be no available fridge space for a couple weeks at least.

You think I’m exaggerating. But I promise these pictures were taken more than a week after his last excursion to Sam’s Club. Check it out:

The Cupboard Above the Fridge

• 2 “family size” bags of Tostitos
• 3 cans of Pringles
• 1 bag of Doritos
• 60 envelopes of hot chocolate in one big box

The Fridge

• 2 5lb bricks of cheese
• 1 “family size” bag of bacon bits
• 3 1/2 lbs of butter (or 3 boxes and 2 sticks)
• 3 jars of Tostitos cheese mix
• 1 jar of salsa
• 2 large jars of olives
• 4 boxes of grapefruit cups for a total of 32
• 2 “family size” bottles of salad dressing
• 3 extra large tubs of cottage cheese
• 1 large bag of clementines
• 1 large tub of spinach leaves
• 2 quarts of mushrooms

Main Cupboard

• 39 cans of soup
• 1 extra large jar of pickles
• 2 bags of chips
• 1 large jar of mixed nuts
• 3 boxes of fruit cups (48 cups total)
• 7 boxes of crackers
• 2 boxes of ice tea mix (for a total of 48 gallons of ice tea. He insists this was purchased in error- he thought it was regular tea.)
• 3 boxes of baked beans (24 cans total)

Bottom Cupboard

• 1 2.5 lb. bag of croutons
• 5 boxes of cereal
• 1 assorted box of apple cider packages (36 packages total)

I’ll stop now, but there’s still the freezer and the door of the fridge and a couple more cupboards.

When I raise my eyebrows and ask if all this food is really necessary, he replies, “If there’s ever a storm or war, you’ll thank me, Denise.” And in fairness to him, he is very good about sharing.

But just to reiterate, unlike me, he doesn’t usually eat all his meals at the office. He eats breakfast and dinner with his family at home. This is lunch food only.

And yet again, what does this have to do with fence or vinyl fence or privacy fence or do-it-yourself fence installation? I haven’t quite figured that out yet, but if you have any ideas, let me know.

Posted by Denise Funnies, Stories Tags: wambam culture 8 Comments

Contrary to popular belief in their new middle school, Steve's kids never lived in igloos

Have you ever heard of Michael Jackson?

Do you have computers up there?

Do you speak Canesha?

And of course, the classic: Do you live in igloos?

These are questions that Steve’s 10 and 12 year old daughters actually get asked in their first couple days of school by new wide-eyed peers who have just found out that they are from (gasp!) Canada.

We practically think of Canada as an extension of the States, perhaps to the chagrin of Americans. But it quickly becomes apparent that many Americans think Canada is as foreign as Timbuktu.

Some stereotypes are true. Yes, we do say “eh” and get busted for the way we pronounce “about” all the time. And sure, we love hockey and I will echo the claims that our beer is far less watery than domestic American brands. Indeed our health care really is free and we like it that way.

But honestly, we don’t live in igloos. We get hot summers. And by hot, I mean it can creep up to 100 degrees. We’re really not that backwards.

At least Steve’s kid’s peers now know that Canadians don’t live in igloos, are aware of Michael Jackson and they do use computers all the way up there. And the primary language is English.

And hey, I admire his daughters for upping and moving to a new place so readily. They have adjusted remarkably well.

What does this have to do with digless, do-it-yourself fence that is fun to install? Not a whole lot. I guess I got a little off topic.

Posted by Denise Stories 0 comments

Right now I’m now working on at least a dozen projects with people from the following countries: Macedonia, India, Ukraine, Russia, China, California USA, Georgia USA, North Carolina USA, and Canada.

They don’t know each other and they are all working independently of each other.

Yes, time zone and language barrier issues occasionally arise. Yes, it’s a lot to manage sometimes. And of course there are problems. But it’s a very cool way to do business and I’m thrilled with the results so far.

I love technology. Sometimes the rapid pace of the world scares me, but I want to embrace it.  And right now I’m happy to report that it’s working for me.

How can I relate this back to fence that’s fun to install? Um, let’s see…well, it’s good to embrace new ways of doing things. And the new WamBam way of installing fence is very cool, fun, easy, and overall a much better way for a do-it-yourself person to install fence.

Ok, that was a stretch. Sorry. But it’s all I got.

Posted by Denise Realities Tags: business 0 comments

So we know WamBam is a zany, unconventional name. But it’s memorable and fun and since our product is digless, you do just sort of “WamBam” it into the ground.

I personally think it’s a great name  and we wouldn’t have it any other way. (By the way, Steve gets all kudos for coming up with the name). But I  realized quickly that there are a few minor problems with it.

For one, spam filters all over seem to be blocking our emails.

Two, trying to set up life here in the US as a Canadian is difficult on a good day. Getting credit, banking, utilities, etc. is a bit of a nightmare as we must deal with stuffy corporate businesses with so much red tape I wonder how they don’t strangle themselves. I am all professional when I talk to them. But when they ask the name of the company that I work at, there is usually a lull at the other end after I say, “WamBam Fence.” The lull is often followed by, “Excuse me?” I repeat myself and assure them it’s legitimate as I picture them flagging my file.

Three, it can get a little awkward in the social scene. I’m brand new here and trying to make friends pronto. Everyone here works for Lowe’s or Bank of America or other highly professional outfits. It’s a common question to be asked what I do for a living. “Sales and Marketing” doesn’t usually appease their appetite for my career-related information. The inevitable question that follows is, “What company do you work for?” I’ve tried the “Cough-cough-Wam-cough-Bam” approach but that doesn’t usually work.

Fortunately I don’t think I’ve lost any friends yet. And it is a great conversation starter.

Plus, the majority of people seem to like it.

So what do you think about this crazy name for a company that is changing the world of do-it-yourself fence?

(Bear in mind that our fence is easier to install than traditional fence, and a heck of a lot more fun. Forget digging holes and tearing up your yard- simply “WamBam” it into the ground. And yes, that was a shameless plug on some keywords for search engine optimization. At least I can admit it.)

Posted by Denise Egocentricities Tags: wambam culture 3 Comments

We got a new sign today out front of our little business park. It’s exciting to get a real sign; it somehow brings legitimacy to our little start up here.

Unfortunately the landlords/sign people didn’t quite get it right: (If you can’t see it, it’s the middle column under “H”)

Maybe we need some animals in the office.

Maybe it would work if our target market was ranchers and farmers. But it’s not.

At least it’s good for a laugh.

What are we doing here at WamBarn Fence? We’re changing the world of do-it-yourself fence. Our fence is easy and fun to install.

Posted by Denise Funnies, Quickies Tags: wambam culture 1 Comment

Some days we feel a little overwhelmed. We sit back, look at each other and Steve says, “Do you think this is going to work?”

I do. I really do. But of course seeds of doubt are always in the back of my mind. Sometimes I can eliminate them, and other times they grow into vines.

Stephen says it best: 90% of me says we’re on to something. 10% of me says we’re cracked and whacked.

So we just put our head’s down, butts up, and get back to work.

After all, we want to change the world of do-it-yourself fence. We’re on a mission to bring the world an easier, better, and more fun way to install fence.

Posted by Denise Quickies, Realities 0 comments

So Steve and I have worked within feet of each other—literally—for more than 7 years now. We get along really well.

But I have to confess that arguments occasionally erupt. There are three particular points of dissension between us that just won’t seem to go away.

#1 Office Disagreement

Hand’s down, office temperature. Steve is always  hot. I’m always cold. He tells me to wear more clothes. I tell him that an undershirt and sweater should be sufficient for me and that clearly he needs to forgo his undershirt given his naturally high body temperature. He marches to the thermostat to turn it down. I sneak over and turn it up, then make myself a cup of tea and wrap a blanket around my shoulders, figuring I have only about an hour until he clues into the thermostat change. But it’s a nice, warm hour, until the process is repeated once again.

#2 Office Disagreement

Music.  He likes to play classical music on the radio. I always thought I was cultured and appreciated classical music, but after several hours of Mozart droning me to sleep, I can’t do it anymore. I have learned not to comment on it, because every time I do, it’s a license for him to pull out the remote, conveniently within inches of his reach, and crank the screechy violins with an evil glint in his eye. Most of the time I just put on my headphones and play high energy music for the sake of productivity. When he’s not around, I throw my iPod in the stereo and blast it. Of course when he walks back into the office he gives me a strange look and says, “You wacko! Do you actually call this music?!” as he marches over to turn it down so low it might as well be off.

#3 Office Disagreement

The last thing we disagree with is my social life. Steve is an introverted morning person, which is completely my opposite (meaning I’m a highly extroverted night hawk). Now that it’s just the two of us in the office, he knows too much about my social life and thinks I am completely whacked to go out as much as I do.

“Why not sit at home and read a book tonight?” He asks.

“What?! On a Friday night?! You have got to be kidding me!”

I remind him that even after going out, I’m usually more functional in the morning then he is in the afternoon. He can’t dispute this fact so we share a laugh and get back to work…until he asks me if I have plans that evening and I give a squeaky little “yes” in response.

It’s all in good fun and if these are the biggest brawls we have, I think we’re quite lucky.

How can I bring this back to fence that’s digless and therefore fun to install? I really can’t, so I’ll just leave it alone.

Posted by Denise Funnies, Stories Tags: wambam culture 0 comments

Note to Steve: Don't call your graphics designer's wife a stooge

Steve sometimes says things without thinking. And other times things come out the wrong way. This is always a great source of amusement to me. For instance, yesterday he was talking to our graphics designer, Sid, on Skype.

Steve is talking to him about our instruction manuals. I hear his side of the conversation and it goes something like this:

“You know Sid, these instructions have to be really good. They have to be designed for the end user who doesn’t know a lot about fence. We need a total stooge to proofread them.  You know, someone like your wife…”

From my end of the table: uncontrollable laughter followed by, “Um, Steve, do you realize what you just said?”

Of course Steve doesn’t think Sid’s wife is a stooge. He was just trying to communicate that he wanted someone who knew nothing about fencing to read our instructions to see if they made sense. But it came out all wrong.

Fortunately Sid is still doing work for us.

And those instruction manuals? They are all about fence. Digless fence. Do it yourself fence. Fence that’s fun to install. You know the drill.

Posted by Denise Funnies, Stories Tags: wambam culture 1 Comment

Gotta Represent the Homeland

First twinge of homesickness since I got here. It’s Sunday afternoon and it’s an important day. It’s the gold medal hockey game between the Americans and Canadians.

Despite my lack of cable TV and friends who have any desire to watch hockey, I simply can’t miss this historical event.

Because what many Americans probably don’t realize is that for Canada, this game is at a whole new level. It’s just not just about winning. It’s about winning at our most prized sport. Hockey is practically a religion in Canada. Our national identity is pretty much at stake with this game.

So with a self confidence I do not feel, I walk into a bar heavy with blaring TVs and plop myself down in a bar stool. Everyone is watching the game intently, and it takes only seconds for me to get into it. It’s clear that despite the fact that I’m in North Carolina, a state not generally known for it’s love of hockey, there are some diehard hockey fans in the place.

It feels a bit strange to be what feels like the only one in there rooting for Canada, but I’m determined to support my country. After the first good play by Canada, I notice some happy exclamations two people down, and I realize there is indeed another Canadian fan in the bar, and a female one at that. We are instant friends.

Fast forward to the last 30 seconds of the 3rd period. It’s 2-1 Canada. It looks like we have won, but I remark to my new friend that you can’t always trust hockey. Things can change quickly.

And they do.

The wild cheers of “USA! USA!” from the Americans as their country ties up the game with only seconds to spare is depressing. My new friend and I put our heads down on the bar and groan. We’re anxious and nervous. The intensity is killing us. We simply can’t lose!

When Sidney Crosby scores the winning goal in overtime, there is a quiet, upset hush over the bar as everyone grows quiet and somber. Everyone, that is, except the two Canadian girls. We stand on the foot rests of our bar stools, and clap and cheer for our homeland, shamelessly and probably obnoxiously.

My cell phone rings. It’s an excited Steve calling. We Canadians have to share the moment, right? My phone lights up like a Christmas tree with text messages from elated friends back home.

Our cheers are not totally appreciated. Most people ignore us. Some shake their heads at us. A few give us dirty looks. One guy jokes that he is going to have us deported from the country. I find it amusing as I update my Facebook status from my phone: “Surrounded by bitter and angry Americans and loving every minute of it!” (Had the tables been turned, I surely would have been a bitter and angry Canadian, so no ill will towards my new American friends.)

It certainly isn’t the celebration it would have been back home; actually, quite the opposite. This makes me a little sad. But I am happy to make my own personal celebration in a sea of morose Americans as opposed to drowning my sorrows in their celebrations.

And not only are we up a gold medal, but I’m up a friend too.

Go Canada!

Oh yeah- this is supposed to be a blog about fence, right? Specifically digless fence and do-it-yourself fence and fence that’s easy to install. Well, our product is all that and more. I’m sure Crosby would endorse it given the chance.

Posted by Denise Stories 2 Comments

Humble Headquarters

It’s a small and cozy office.

There are no desks. No offices. And certainly no cubicles.

There’s simply one huge boardroom table with some rollie chairs scattered around. Steve and I bring our laptops in the morning and set up camp.

Unconventional working space

I’m not going to lie. At first I didn’t love this idea, admittedly because I generally keep a messy work area.

One might think it's a day spa. Unfortunately it's anything but.

Steve loves this idea because he keeps a very neat work area, and I’m suspicious that he thinks this is one way of controlling my clutter (news alert: it’s not working, to Steve’s chagrin).

But I don’t mind it now. Sure, my stuff gets scattered around the table and Steve occasionally comes by and tries to be such a nice guy by asking if I need any help throwing anything out. (I usually politely decline. And sometimes not so politely.)

But our office is cozy and quaint. There’s lots of nice lighting and it’s peaceful. Steve has taken this ambiance to a new level with the purchase of a little fountain that sputters all day, leaking peaceful sounds of gurgling water.

He enjoys this, it drones me to sleep. But that’s okay because I plug in my headphones and get to work. It’s just that sometimes he has to wave his hands at me to get my attention.

Despite the unconventional bend, I like our little office and this is a good thing. After all, it is my home away from home.

And just in case you forgot what WamBam Fence is all about-  we make fence of all kinds. Privacy fence, pool fence, vinyl fence, and aluminum fence, just to name a few. And our fence is fun and easy to install.

Posted by Denise Egocentricities Tags: business 2 Comments

Singing Wishes

First business trip. We’re going to walk the annual fence show in Orlando. It’s 5am when Steve picks me up and we’re giddy that we can get to the airport in 20 minutes. No customs! No chance of bad weather! No driving through Detroit traffic! No 1.5 hour commute! We’re excited about this small pleasure in life.

Everything goes as smooth as Johnny Walker black on the rocks.

When we land in Orlando we’re parched and make a pitstop in one of the over-priced airport shops.

I plunk two bottles of water on the counter and after the smiling, middle aged man at the counter gives me my change, he looks me in the eye and belts out loudly in song:

“Thank you for the business, I hope you have a great day!”

His sing song voice rings through the quiet store like church bells and Steve and I are completely amused.

He looks at Stephen right in the eyeballs and repeats his song.

We’re loving it. I encourage Stephen– who enjoys breaking out in a bit of song himself, much to the dismay of his children—to return the song-like favor to this cheerful man who has just brightened our day. So there goes Stephen, standing in the airport store, singing this man a good-day wishes in a loud and slightly-strained baritone.

Rules Were Made to be Broken

In the interest of exercise and taking advantage of the Florida sunshine, Steve, our coworkers from our sister companies and I decide to walk from the convention center to the hotel after the trade show. Ironically we bump into our supplier who is driving a shiny Tacoma pickup truck, stuffed with a load of people in the cab.

He rolls down the window to say hello and someone jokes about scamming a ride from him.

“Hop in the back,” he says.

So the 7 of us in our business clothes throw our briefcases in the back of his truck, hop in, and get whisked around Orlando. The responses vary according to personality. For example, there is Guy, a rule abiding man, who is concerned about the illegality of the scheme. “We’re going to get fined, or worse, Denise here is leaning on the back of the tailgate. This is a Toyota! What if it’s been recalled and the latch comes loose and there she is, lying on the pavement? I’m sweating bullets, and there you are, loving this, aren’t you?” He asks me. My grin gives away my delight and the wind whips through my hair.

The latch stays intact and not long after we unload from the back into the hotel, thanking our ride and apologizing that his shocks might have just taken a bit of a beating.

More Singing

The next morning we take a cab to the convention center and our driver is a jovial African American man who loves to let out hearty belly laughs. There is a Bible on the seat next to him and Stephen asks, “Do you actually believe that book or is it there just for show?” With the confident orating ability of a black preacher, he enthusiastically replies that yes, he is a God fearing man and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Somehow him and Stephen get to talking about hymns. Within minutes they are belting out a hymn in unision, the black man singing and laughing at the absurdity of it. He is loving it. I’m loving it too, purely for entertainment value. These two characters sing their hearts out as we get dropped off at the convention center.

And um, yeah, let me try relating this back to fence, whether privacy fence, vinyl fence or just privacy vinyl fence. It was a fence trade show we attended. Promise.

Posted by Denise Stories Tags: business 2 Comments

So here Steve and I are, sitting in a little office in Cornelius NC, new residents in a new country, trying to launch a start up.

It’s not really that ad-hoc. It’s been about 18 months in the making and there’s some serious R&D under our belts. The product concept is really cool and we believe in it, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.

But it’s fence. And fence is usually a snoozefest.

We kind of like to defy the norm and convention. And we want to spruce up fence. Our product is fun to install. We want our marketing to be fun. We want our blog to be anything but stuffy corporate.

Having said that, what does an “anti-stuffy-corporate” blog look like?

I really have no clue, but I’m going to try. Hopefully it will at least be a bit entertaining. And hey, it can’t help our search engine optimization efforts either, right?

Suggestions are welcome.

Posted by Denise Egocentricities 1 Comment

Our goal is to change the world of do-it-yourself fence.

It’s the world’s first digless fence.

It’s the world’s first fully UPSable fence.

See the product launch at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, May 4-6, 2010 Booth #11975.

Posted by Denise Egocentricities 1 Comment