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Last night Sierra Commons hosted The Exchange’s first social night of 2010, with guest speaker Duane Strawser of Tour of Nevada City bicycle shop. Duane reflected on his success–an inspiring story for those who want their business to be rooted in the community they live in.
Duane’s story centers around the remarkable service he’s provided to Nevada City by organizing the Nevada City Classic for the last decade. The exposure he’s gained by association with that famous bike race has contributed to the success of his store. (The store had grossed less than $200,000 in the year prior to his 1996 purchase–several years later, they were grossing four to five times that.) But his first attempts at community service weren’t instant successes. The first service organizations he joined turned out to be “more about networking” than real community service, he reflected.
Throughout his ownership of the Zion Street shop, he’s refrained from two of the most common suggestions: business loans and square footage expansion. Business improvements have, of course, been an important investment. They’ve always been done with the store’s own working capital, though. The shop is an object lesson in business success without going into debt and without turning yourself into Kmart/Big 5/the big box in your sector.
Not that Duane complains too much about the big boxes. He actually argues that, if anything, Roseville funnels customers to his business by providing mediocre bicycling products. These products need frequent service–which his shop does a better job at than the big boxes.
This success should hearten everyone who wants to see a human-scale economy of community-minded businesses thrive in Nevada County.
