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What inspired you to start your business?
What inspired you to start your business?
The desire to offer a “pure” product and to be a truly independent bike fit consultant. I wanted to be a specialist within a specialty void of the pressures to sell high end equipment as most fitters do. My wife Jess was instrumental in believing this could happen and this award really belongs to her.
What sets your company apart from its competitors?
I am completely independent. I sell nothing but service and have no manufacturer’s quotas to live up to. My business model is simple: 100% bike fit. My clients can be comfortable in that our agenda is focused on their personal and unique needs. Not solutions that are based on purchases as in traditional retail settings. I try not to “compete” with other shops by creating an interdependent referral system as I offer a service they generally do not have in house. I have a qualified destination for clients looking to purchase a new bike. After completing their size-bike fitting with me, they return to the shop to make their purchase. Also, more than half of my clients bring in their existing bike with no worries of being upsold. It’s an interdependent relationship; The more people comfortably riding bikes injury free, the more everyone benefits and in a sport that is solely self marketed it’s very important.
What is your favorite part of running your own business?
The freedom to change based on the needs of the client, or to improve the overall product. A close second would be control of your own image/brand. When you are an employee you will always be working under a corporate umbrella.
What lessons did you learn along the way that can help new businesses just starting up?
If you want to make a small fortune, start with a large one. My advice is to have all your information, mission statement, services, prices etc. clearly defined and in place before you take off running. Intuit’s services really helped solidify and consolidate our operations. Keep things simple and try to look at things from the customer’s point of view, work backwards and try to pre-answer as many questions as possible. Once you are up and running it is difficult to go back and change things. Doing so can send mixed messages to your clients. Also if the product is not a commodity or price sensitive, I think it is important for clients/customers to know WHY they are buying from you. They can be your best advocates.
How do you use social media (Twitter, Face book, YouTube, etc.) to promote your business and engage with customers?
We use it as a positive influence to highlight the successes of our clients, promote advocacy and offer help and guidance. Since our business is largely word of mouth it allows candid interactive feedback from the community and information to prospective clients or those simply curious about bike fit.
What’s on the horizon future new of your business?
We’ll soon be offering a custom, moldable foot bed to clients in an effort to solve a common ailment. Looking forward to our partnership with San Diego based Footbalance. Watch soon for their press release. Also look out for video-podcasts, bike fit TV and more. Definitely stay tuned.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Thank you to Jess, all my clients, bike enthusiasts everywhere and especially Intuit for giving small businesses opportunities to compete in a sea of big business.
Thank you again for participating in the Intuit Websites Sites We Love contest, Tad!
Website: www.tadhughescustom.com
Twitter: @MasterBikeFit
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