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Don Muehlbauer worked with computers for over 22 years in the corporate world and has owned multiple computer businesses over the last ten years. To market his latest venture that sells ecigarettes and eliquid from a Web site, AmericaneLiquidStore.com, he simply had to apply what he knows best. Then he watched his online business rocket from its first sale on October 15, 2009 to between 200 and 250 unique visitors daily just six months later. “Once we had the manufacturing figured out, it was simply a matter of putting up a Web site and driving people to the Web site,” says Muehlbauer. “Because we are computer experts, we know how to sell on the Internet.”  American eLiquid Store sells flavored liquid nicotine that can be customized to contain the level of nicotine desired by customers who are trying to quit smoking or those who want an alternative to regular cigarettes. There have been no U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved studies and there is no medical proof that ecigarettes are healthier than traditional cigarettes, but since the product contains nicotine, but no tar, some customers have commented on a noticeable difference in breathing and a reawakening of taste buds, says Muehlbauer. “There are 42 million smokers in the U.S. and less and less places where they can smoke everyday. The more difficult and expensive it is to buy cigarettes, the more business we have.”
Muehlbauer spends the bulk of his time with his computer support business, TechWorks, which provides virtual IT support to small and mid-sized businesses. It was at Techworks that Muehlbauer first learned of the battery powered ecigarettes, which heat to about 180 degrees and burn liquid containing nicotine and flavoring.
To get his new business off the ground, Muehlbauer turned to a familiar support hub, the UW-Whitewater Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which he used to grow his other businesses. UW-Whitewater SBDC Director, Bud Gayhart, connected Muehlbauer with Bill Hubbard, owner of CaP Biomaterials LLC, a SBDC client with experience working with the FDA for his calcium phosphate materials used as medical and dental filler.
“We are interested in getting our eliquid FDA certified. So we are using this connection through the SBDC to make sure our lab processes are up to speed,” states Muehlbauer. ”They [CaP Biomaterials] are actually acting as our consultant, working with the FDA to head towards approval.”
Another valuable resource facilitated by the SBDC is the PeerSpecitves Roundtable, of which Muehlbauer is an active participant. PeerSpectives, made up of CEOs, presidents and business owners, is a peer-to-peer learning experience group that meets monthly to share experiences and challenges.
Ninety-five percent of problems faced by small business owners are not industry specific, but instead include issues such as rising health care costs, employee management problems, cash flow and a range of other business and personal issues, explains Muehlbauer. “As the owner of a small business, you often feel that you are alone. Just getting together once a month to talk about those issues is invaluable.”
In addition to six employees at TechWorks, Muehlbauer employs two at the eliquid business and expects to soon hire an additional part-time employee. With an extraordinary 40% weekly growth in its first six months, American eLiquid Store is expected to maintain double digit growth throughout 2010.
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