Thursday, April 23, 2009

Lazy Days of Spring

We have a closing date now for our little summer respite. Our last day for the season will be May 3rd. After that the staff will be heading to Bend Oregon to ski at Mt. Bachelor for a bit. Our traditional trip has been to Mammoth but we decided to change things up this year. The director of Marketing at Bachelor sent us an email with some very attractive lodging and lift rates so we thought- why not?

Right now is a weird time at the shop. Business is very slow when temps outside are in the high 80's. We always have Lot's to do on my lists, but it is hard to get motivated. After going hard all year, it just seems like it's time for a break. That break is coming but it is still a few weeks off so we try to stay motivated and stick to the list of chores. But we get spring fever too and so we lallygag quite a bit along the way. I will admit that this year I am probably the worst offender too!

Overall we had a great year. Business was up a bit from last year making this our biggest grossing season ever. We anticipated more sales in a number of categories so are carrying over more inventory than I would have liked in a few areas but overall I am very pleased. Thanks to all of you for making this a great year. Even more thanks should go to my fantastic employees. Without them I would have very little- they are the best in the business!

After Mt. Bachelor I will keep recreating for a month total trip. There are no real plans but to carry my skis, bikes, fly pole, tent, and golf clubs and see what happens. I will spend a few days in Boise with some ski folk that like to mountain bike. I need to end up in Missouri for a family reunion. I'll pick up my dad in Montrose Colorado on the way. Sounds like fun to me! I will be back in the shop during June. It will be good to get away for a bit, and then I am sure it will be good to be back.

See ya then!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

It's all about the boots...

Snowcovers in Vancouver and Whistler is one of the most advanced boot shops in the industry. They are also the distributors of the foam liners and other products that we sell. They sell fit products and back shop tools that are the best in the business. This group of products is called the Soze group. Over the last year or so I have been talking to them about their philosophies and drooling over some of their tools. They have a boot summit each year at Whistler which has been impossible for me to attend but this year the destination was Salt Lake City which was feasible. John and I traveled there with Jarrod who is our Salomon sales rep and now sells the Soze products as well. Jarrod is one of the good guys. I decided the event would be worthwhile and I thought it would be more fun to road trip than to fly. Good call Greg, as we had a great time! We boot fitted and skied with some serious professionals. We learned a lot and we partied hard with our peers. We had my car towed, skied four days (two powder days), stayed in Sandy at a good friends house, had a great social event, and learned a heck of a lot about boot function and biomechanics within the ski boot. Awesome right? Awesome and then some! I feel like John and I just got back from 4 days at Boot Camp. At 8:30 am in the meeting room, the first day started like this: Pete says “It dumped last night so lets ski and then meet again at 11:00”. Yahoo! Utah powder for all! What a way to start the event! Jarrod provided skis for the trip so I spent the day on some Salomon Rocker skis. Wow! 130mm under foot with a big rockered front end. Fantastic! I skied great and had an amazing time. After the rumpus of a powder celebration in the morning, fit theories were then put forth by the hosts in a lab environment. More fun than skiing? No, but almost! Modifications were done to individual’s boots, and then the afternoon “on snow” session was used to evaluate the changes. Round table discussions were ongoing. Most attendees were already on board with the company, it’s theories, and products. I can’t blame them. Everything was first rate. Overall, I was very impressed with the company and its products.
We also got a visit in at Dale Boot. Dale makes boots right there in Salt ake City. The address has not changed for decades, and they make an interesting boot. Seeing the big plastic injectors and shll molds was a first for me. Their method for hand making custom liners was a new one too. There are the marks of a mad scientist inside this facility! Mike and Adam were very nice to give us the tour. A few other people from our trip that need a shout out are- Jay from the Sozo group. Very Impressed with the man, the mission, and the motivation. Jay is a man with a vision and a plan. He reminds me of my old bike shop partner Dave Bekowich. Both men speak with intelligence and conviction. Ernie from Bootworks in Park City- Ernie, Thanks for the space and the mentoring. You are THE MAN and only you should wear the optic-grab in public. Pete- Thanks for the good time…see you this summer in Boise. John from Colorado Springs- I hope you found your Oakleys…Sorry! Larry- I’ll be mum and not embarrass you. Linda (from Greenwoods in Boise- go see her there if you are in the area)- You weren’t too bad for the token female bootfitter -LOL. Let me know when you want to move to California. I would love to have you on board here! Brian- From Fischer Tech Rep to Shop Owner/Partner is a great move. Good luck in Frisco! Jeremy and his Dad- I would love to visit your shop. You are as technical as it gets. Thanks for the tips. Glen- Dude, No more backwards skiing- OK? That was gross! Willie, Newt, Marielle and Ross- Thanks for letting us hang out. We really enjoyed the time together. Willie, next time you are coming with us. Mandatory. J-Rod- You might make it in this business yet. Thanks for the great trip!