Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Weiss
Hi Michael, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Origin stories can be tedious. The short story is that immediately post college I was working three jobs. I had just completed an undergraduate degree in architecture that was more a design degree than a professional degree. I was also doing some bar-tending shifts in the LOOP, and working part-time at a local bicycle store. I enjoyed aspects of all three jobs, the pace and socialization of the bar, the culture and experiences of a bike shop, and the creative environment from studying architecture. I think that by being an entrepreneur it felt like I could blend it all together, although that realization was probably almost subliminal at that time.
I started Big Shark Bicycle Company with two co-workers and friends, and through the trials of starting a small business and the early decisions and mistakes you make at the beginning, ended up being the sole employee/owner. Early on we really had no idea how to brand and what to call our fledgling business. We knew that so many cycling business were pretty cliche, and we also didn’t want to name the store after our municipality (University City).
Since we were launching in the LOOP, we decided we needed to have an eclectic and creative brand, but had no idea how to proceed. One of our founders had a collection of large, stuffed, trophy sharks- and it just felt like a good idea to use them as decor. Strangely, a friend from the Washington University Art Department, who was Hawaiian, mused that we should roll with the Shark theme, because Sharks were considered good luck and spiritual in Hawaii. So here we are…
From a business perspective, we felt that we could succeed in a pedestrian friendly neighborhood that was closer to campus. At that time the LOOP was emerging as one of St. Louis’ great neighborhoods, and we rode that wave as long as we could.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
People get into businesses for so many reasons; the challenge, the products, the community (and probably economics…but that wasn’t our north star). What we didn’t possess at the onset was business acumen and experience. All three of the founding partners possessed an important trait; management, technical skill, sales capabilities- but none of us were fully rounded, and we suffered from not knowing what we didn’t know. We had to learn the hard, inefficient way, to operate a business….and over time, we have learned patience, and are still learning and evolving. We’ve managed to grow and adapt to changing market conditions and all sorts of adversity. We start each day knowing that, despite being all about cycling, we can’t coast.
We have become a larger enterprise over three decades, but the fundamentals of treating people the way that you feel is right, acquiring the skills to work on trends and technologies, and realizing you have to give to get, have not changed. We could always be better and are always looking for areas where we can enjoy and share our passion for the many ways that cycling and bicycles benefit our community.
Along the way we have had the usual challenges, we struggle with competition, with the internet, with staffing, with seasonality, the economy, the list goes on! Retail and local, small business is important to us. We want to be part of a landscape where you can walk in to a place and be greeted, helped, educated, and supported. We hope that the value-add of shopping local earns business, but it is hard when so many things are transactional.
The COVID bike boom was a super high water mark for the bike business, but the last two+ years have been a hard fall from grace, not the predicted soft landing…so we are hopeful that globally, regionally, and locally we can celebrate a normal year!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think a big part of what drives me is the realization that we’re part of an ecosystem. If we create activities and events, in turn, we interact with our community and build relationships, we help people discover cycling, set goals, and engage. By putting energy into supporting the cycling community, providing ride support for local events, creating events, and developing different niche, we create more demand.
Currently we produce over 80 different events per year, some competitive, some recreational, some charity based, and some ‘other’ – we think there’s a lot to be gained by getting our brand out there and by earning and growing business.
We didn’t plan on being a retail store with a weirdly robust calendar of events, but we’re excited to be part of durable, repeatable, consistent list of things to do, all year long.
I’m pretty proud of the Bommarito Audi West County Gateway Cup. We produce one of the top professional cycling race weekends in the United States every labor day weekend. It is literally a world series type event in US cycling- and it’s free to the public. Each year we seem to reach more top national and international athletes and get them to end their season in St. Louis racing on city streets. Seeing people turn out and get their tailgate on, even if they don’t know who they’re watching, is a lot of fun.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Isn’t the adage that it’s better to be lucky than good? I have adopted the mantra that you have to make your own luck. One of my old sales reps said, “Swing big, you might hit something.” I’m sure he stole that from someone else, but it makes sense to me. I’d rather fail at something I tried, than not try.
A good luck moment for us was in hiring some people who have turned out to be meaningful, lifetime friends and peers. You never know when you meet someone what they’ll mean to you in life and in business. I feel very lucky for being able to run my own business and have relationships with customers and staff I’ll carry through my life.
I do believe in the power of small encounters, most of which are luck.
Pricing:
- Our stores can service the first time rider or the highest affinity customer. .
- We try to be a good value at all things, not the most expensive, not the least.
- We are still waiting for online retailers to support local advocacy!!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.bigshark.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigsharkbicycleco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigSharkBicycleCo
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-weiss-0824296/
- Other: https://www.gatewaycup.com
