04-05-2018, 10:49 PM
In the 60s a long time motorcycle shop employee told me that sales were 6 years on and 6 years off. It seemed to work that way.
When my government job was moved to New Brunswick I took a job in a very large and successful motorcycle shop. While others shops were small and had bikes and helmets, this shop had a lot of accessories and riding gear as well. They also sold snowmobiles in the winter. Their parts department was so large, other dealers bought parts from them.
They had a contest between the salespeople to see who could sell the most Yamaha 350 R5s in one week. The good looking lady salesperson sold 7. Things looked good, but unfortunately we were on the downside of the sales cycle.
Shortly after that the owner began stuffing his pockets with the large bills from the cash register at the end of the day. I was let go the following week. It turned out to be the silver lining in the dark cloud. I got paid, but two weeks later nobody else did when the shop declared bankruptcy and closed.
The lead shop mechanic and his brother opened a small greasy bike repair shop in the bush at the far east end of the city. People that had dealt with them knew they did good work, so they survived during the lean years.
When sales picked up, they opened a brand new shop selling Yamahas, Harley Davidsons, and snowmobiles. They did well for a while, but when the down cycle hit they sold the shop, and opened a marina. That marina became very successful, making the two brother very well off.
When my government job was moved to New Brunswick I took a job in a very large and successful motorcycle shop. While others shops were small and had bikes and helmets, this shop had a lot of accessories and riding gear as well. They also sold snowmobiles in the winter. Their parts department was so large, other dealers bought parts from them.
They had a contest between the salespeople to see who could sell the most Yamaha 350 R5s in one week. The good looking lady salesperson sold 7. Things looked good, but unfortunately we were on the downside of the sales cycle.
Shortly after that the owner began stuffing his pockets with the large bills from the cash register at the end of the day. I was let go the following week. It turned out to be the silver lining in the dark cloud. I got paid, but two weeks later nobody else did when the shop declared bankruptcy and closed.
The lead shop mechanic and his brother opened a small greasy bike repair shop in the bush at the far east end of the city. People that had dealt with them knew they did good work, so they survived during the lean years.
When sales picked up, they opened a brand new shop selling Yamahas, Harley Davidsons, and snowmobiles. They did well for a while, but when the down cycle hit they sold the shop, and opened a marina. That marina became very successful, making the two brother very well off.