Month: November 2016

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The Vow of Poverty

As I flipped through some posts recently on a LinkedIn forum, (specifically a post showing another manufacturer going consumer direct), I saw the following comment regarding bicycle retail staff and their wages:

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I agree with the sentiment of the wages comment. I’ve never met a retail employee or owner who felt like they didn’t deserve more money for the job they did. However, I fundamentally disagree with the inability to attract high-quality employees and creating a high-quality buying/service experience.

I would argue that the reason retailers are still competitive today is that they’ve found ways to inspire their staff to create a great buying and service experience DESPITE their limitations. As Simon Sinek famously said: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.” Or looking at it another way, think about nuns. Well-paid nuns aren’t higher quality nuns. Like those who devote their lives to bicycles, those who devote their lives to God don’t take the vow of poverty for the money.

Minutes later, I happened to find this article on Inc. that inspired this post. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Leadership, motivation and the psychology within are hugely complex and our understanding of them is always evolving. Take some time at the end of the day today to think about how you are inspiring and influencing those around you. Then go make tomorrow a great day!

 

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Retail Training Poll

Thanks for visiting Winged Wheel! I would love your feedback on the first set of training topics I’ll be offering targeted directly to the outdoor retailer.

Please vote for your TOP THREE of the topics in the first poll below.

The second poll designates whether you work on the supplier side (outdoor industry only), at a retailer or are a consumer (you don’t work at a retailer or an outdoor distributor/manufacturer)

If you want to share reasons why you chose what you did, leave a comment for me. If there is a topic you don’t see here, let me know what it is in that same comment field.

Thanks so much for all the feedback!

-Mike


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Friends new and old

I had the pleasure of spending a good part of yesterday working with old friends and making new friends. At the end of the day, I remarked to a retailer (one of the new friends): “This is why I have to start this business. The people.”

My new friend owns a retail store in a great city and is very well established. We were connected through a mutual friend (as seems to always happen!) and we talked for most of an hour about some of the challenges faced. Suppliers deeply discounting inventory early in the season, a range of issues stemming from a frustrating POS system and struggles with efficiency in the workshop. As if the day-to-day weren’t enough, my new friend acknowledged that there isn’t a solid succession plan in place for the business either.

There were several bright spots, too: A great staff, which is a massive asset. Despite the frustrations with the new POS system, inventory accuracy was much improved. Many of the new products coming in now are a tremendous value. And there were several opportunities to delegate responsibility to new, young staff, which is so crucial to the long-term continuation of a great team.

Through all the talk about both the good and the bad, I was struck most by the shared vision for a sustainable, positive impact on the community. My new friend’s community and all the people in it are richer for his retail store.

This is the reason I must make Winged Wheel a success: So that all of my friends (old, new and not-yet-made) can make their communities and the world better than the one they received.

Let’s go make some change!

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Post One

Greetings friends!

Thank you for coming to winged-wheel.com and taking a look around.

Winged Wheel believes that outdoor businesses are at their best when they are cognizant, informed and actively engaged with their customers. We provide the tools and knowledge to live by this philosophy.

I can’t wait to work with you to build a great business, a great community and a great life!

-Mike