Sharpen that Ax

The cycling industry is a great little community.  Across the country there are roughly 5500 independently owned bike stores.  Of those 5500 stores some have multiplied.  This gives us roughly 7500 bike store fronts in the USA.  Pretty amazing if you think about it.  We're not all awesome.  We're not all horrible.  We can be found all over the spectrum with varying degrees of success.  A common question for much of the leadership is, "How do we improve?  How do we sharpen our ax?"

Terry Storch on Leadership:  Your capacity as a leader is directly tied to your ability to change or adapt in the moment.

I've never been comfortable running my business the same from year to year.  Sure, there are things that I don't change but somethings need to change.  Imagine if you owned a typewriter store 20 years ago.  You're probably not selling ribbons and ink anymore.  You might be closed.  Or better yet, you may have evolved your business to continue to be relevant.  Maybe you're a computer store now.

P2 Host:  BikeLAB OKC

10 years ago I was invited by Leslie Cunningham to be a part of a network of retailers.  It's a program under the umbrella of the National Bicycle Dealer Association called P2.  Leslie Cunningham and Dan Mann were the facilitators of the program for several years.  They grew the program to 3 groups with members from coast to coast and as far south as Chile (I wish I was in that group) and as far north as Barrie, Ontario (I'm in that group!!!).  Each group has from 8 to 15 members.  Members are non competing retailers of various sizes.

Our P2 Group (sans Morgan from Bikeland in Barrie, Ont)

We meet twice a year at different member stores.  I hosted my group in Sioux Falls one year ago.  We sat in a meeting room at the Hilton Garden Inn downtown and watched the river rise...and rise.  We watched all sorts of debris float by the window.  It was surreal!  Our last meeting was hosted by Bike Lab OKC (they have a coffee shop IN the bike store!!!!).  Our next meeting will be at Motion Makers in Asheville, NC.  We spend a significant amount of time reviewing the host's physical store along with it's digital imprint. We are constantly sharing our financials with each other but if there's a specific need, then we'll do a deep dive for the host. 

Kent from Motion Makers in Asheville, NC working on his store review.

Think about a group of business owners visiting (judging) the host store.  One year ago I had a handful of some of the best retailers at my store reviewing every square inch of Spoke-n-Sport.  Nerve wracking stress ball of anxiety is maybe how I would describe it.  Is the bathroom clean?  Is all the merchandise priced?  Did someone leave pizza out on a counter?  Is there a typo on our website?  All the above?

Mark from Landry's of Boston completing a SWOT analysis of BikeLAB OKC.

Think about it through a different lens.  Think about a group of COACHES visiting that love this industry so much that they want you to succeed!  They want me to succeed with my team for the sake of cycling in the region.  HOLY COW!  Talk about an opportunity!  A coach doesn't just say, "You need to ride faster!"  A coach gives you the skills and training you need to ride faster.  A coach creates a training plan that will carry you through to success.  Intervals and meal plans along with encouragement and support.  That's just one part of the P2 program.  It's a team of coaches always wanting each member to succeed.  I feel the same way about every member in my P2 group.

Kent sharing some Point of Sale ideas with Brent of Bike Tech Cedar Falls and Tony of BikeLAB OKC.

It doesn't stop there.  There's more!  I've often imagined specialty retailers being very independent...to a fault.  Independence turns every problem into a new frontier.  When turning on a light you don't have to remember the history of Ben Franklin and his kite to know the switch will illuminate your midnight snack run.  The problem has already been solved.  The problems of retailers often consume a lot of time.  We're not accountants or IT professionals yet those are some of the problems we challenge ourselves with every day.  Some of them are as simple as needing more traffic in our stores or an easy way to make signs for merchandise.  Many of our problems have already been solved.  We are problem solvers!  With a group of problem solvers visiting, all you have to do is ask.  I don't even need to wait for a visit.  They are all there waiting at the end of an email address. The solution might not come from one member but from several at once.  It is often a group project with every member having a piece of the puzzle.  What an incredible resource.  We don't always agree on the solution.  You'll see responses like, "No, that will never work."  "You can't do that!".  That's when the fun starts because the problem solver has the data to back up the solution.  I love it when the answer is, "Not only does it work, we've been successfully doing it for X years and we've reduced our expenses XX%". 

Kent and Brent talk shop with Jeremy of BikeLAB OKC.

Our P2 group is just one method we use to sharpen our ax at Spoke-n-Sport.  We have a vested interest in cycling and when we improve, our clients see a benefit.  We don't squeeze profits out by reducing payroll our gauging our customers.  None of that even makes sense.  It's very short sighted.  We are a sustainable business in a tough market at a tough time that still aims to grow a community of cyclists.  Cycling truly is amazing.

Our P2 Group eats lots of tacos!