We have over 125 dealers in our wonderful market which translates to over 125 personalities. Needless to say this makes for an interesting workplace. Before I tell any of the funny stories that go on here in fairness I should begin the owners (Karen - me, Lisa and Mari – a.k.a. "The Girls")
The other night we went out to dinner with a husband and wife who are dealers at our store and had a wonderful time getting to know them. The next day the wife told me, “my husband said the three of you were the most unlikely combination”. He was right, if you met us each individually you probably wouldn’t put us together but that’s the beauty of it – we all bring something different to our vision.
Let's start with Mari. She is the free spirit, marches to the beat of her own drum, a Diet Coke addict, our GM (General Manager) with major A.D.D. (in the best possible way). You can’t miss her because of the way she dresses (kind of like she lives) which is Laura Ingalls meets Janis Joplin. Few can pull this off but, it looks great on Mari and people now look forward to seeing what she’ll come up with.
Then we have Lisa. She is fondly called “Stands with a Fist” (as in the movie Dances with Wolves) because she is responsible for much of the not so fun stuff like collecting rent and paying the bills. She’s a list maker for herself and for everyone around her. She’s also the worrier in the group. The other day I could tell something was troubling her. I asked what it was and she told me it was about something that may take place in 2014. That kind of thinking helps keeps the business on track.
Then there is me - Karen. Unlike Mari I prefer to wear my WM t-shirt. Give me five different colors and I’m good for the season. I’m also the dreamer and the builder in the group, always thinking of the possibilities. I’m the one who didn’t think it was too much to go from a 4500 square foot store to 50,000. If you see me kind of looking around more than likely I’m thinking about how we could do something better.
Three unlikely women you would probably never put together but somehow it works. We balance each other. Running, list making, dreaming, this combination works!
