Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas 

Coffeyville’s Doug Misch has been an entrepreneur and entrepreneurial thinker even early in his career when he worked in his family’s office equipment and supply business. Today, at 77 he can’t stop thinking--when he sees something, he starts thinking about how he might improve it—even five years after selling his business, Misch 4 x 4 Products. We call that entrepreneurial thinking, a way of looking at life’s problems as opportunities for solutions. 

He was an OK student in school but was certainly more interested in cars than in class subjects. He was not a particularly good college student, but college was interrupted by being drafted and then able to join the Air Force. When he got out, he went to work for the family business Misch and Sons Printing Company. 

Early Practice of Persistence  

Early on, a seasoned retired Phillips Petroleum employee and family friend came to the office one day and told Doug to go home and put on a coat and tie. They were going to Bartlesville.  He took Doug to the Phillips offices and thrust him in the midst of two top purchasing executives with scant introduction then left, leaving Doug to fend for himself. Not knowing for sure what to do, Doug acknowledged that he knew Phillips had most of the office related needs covered by existing suppliers. He asked if he could check in with them every week to see if there was anything they couldn’t find. They said that would be ok and took him to the warehouse where they introduced him to a skeptical buyer. Three to four long months went by with Doug checking in every week. He was persistent. Finally, there was a small fastener—a four-inch brass paper brad--the Phillips warehouse guys told him they couldn’t find but they were sure he wouldn’t be able to find either. They had exhausted all of their resources. Doug found 12,000 of them at one of his suppliers in New York; Phillips bought all of them. Eventually, Doug became the “go-to” guy and found several other scarce items. That persistence in solving this customer’s sourcing problems lead to a decade’s long relationship with Phillips that included the family business supplying office furniture and fixtures for around 1500 offices in the new-at-the-time Phillips office building constructed in the mid1980’s. 

Solving a Jeep Challenge 

Fast forward to 2000 after many more years of varied experiences solving customer problems, Doug and wife, Gail, enjoyed driving their Jeep to Colorado for mountain recreation; except for the fact that, at the time, arm rests weren’t standard equipment on Jeeps. To solve that problem, Doug invented several iterations of an after-market arm rest for his Jeep. He applied for and received a patent. He sent a sample to Quadratec, a world leader in after-market Jeep products. The Quadratec product manager had the same Jeep model. He loved the armrest and what became “Misch 4 x 4 Products” was born. The arm rests became popular over the years with thousands of sets being sold world-wide by the time he sold the company in 2016. He wanted to do more traveling. Jeep made arm rests standard equipment in 2011, but over the years, Doug invented many more aftermarket parts and accessories that made driving and riding in a Jeep more comfortable. These products included several that helped organize travel items as well as seat brackets that added several inches of leg room for those with long legs and/or bad knees. He became very familiar with the diverse manufacturing capabilities available in Southeast Kansas and never set up his own manufacturing. Today, he recognizes that as a strategy, using the varied capabilities of all the fabricators within a 60-mile radius rather taking on the headaches of manufacture. As Doug puts it, “We have amazing fabrication and finishing capabilities right here is Southeast Kansas.” 

Persistence and Problem Solving Continue 

After the sale of Misch 4 x 4 in 2016, Doug says “I can’t stop coming up with solutions. It’s in my blood.” He drives a Toyota FJ Cruiser now and is prototyping a dashboard organizer as well as other convenience products with an eye toward marketing and production in the near future. 

It took me two years of asking to get Doug to visit one of my Entrepreneurial Mindset classes to share his story. Finally, in 2013 at one of the Coffeyville sessions, Doug visited and everyone in the class really liked hearing his stories of working with customers. I’ve asked him to return to nearly every class section since then. 

In 2016, Doug agreed to join us, as a volunteer, to help our members take their ideas from thought to market. We’re fortunate to have someone with Doug’s knowledge of inventing, patenting, and sourcing to share with our members. 

Recently Doug came to the Lab and we recorded a two-part podcast interview. You can find the link to parts 1 and 2 at www.fablabicc.org/Correll-Files. He will be a guest entrepreneur during one of the upcoming Entrepreneurial Mindset classes starting January 28.  

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349 or by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu. Archive columns and podcasts at www.fablabicc.org.