Wendy Osborne welcomes John McNair to the Sussex Rotary Club as the owner/operator of Outdoor Elements on Sept. 22, 2014. John’s business was established in 1985 and has had a storefront from 2005 to 2012.
John spoke on the development of his business and his experiences over the last number of years. He explained the business and some setbacks out of his control. John established the business concept in 1987...
o John established the business concept in 1987.
o He opened the storefront at the Broad Street location in 2005.
o The devastation of a fire experienced in 2012 introduced a whole new complexity in business planning.
o Consider the need for planning and to actively review your insurance coverage, frequently as a top priority.
o The need to consider ongoing continued vigilance in keeping records and inventory, and store overage off-site.
o His business would not be capable of reopening if he had not had fire insurance coverage.
o John spoke on his recent purchase of 597 Main Street and his plans to resume business at that location.
o Plans include reopening the last week in October, as 80% of business occurs during the winter months.
o With the larger space of the new location, John plans to offer a selection of quality products, as well as being able to display the entire annual products offered.
o John would like to add a variety focused on children’s needs in sport with his main business focus to continue in the ski and bike sales.
Kathy Carver thanked John for his interesting presentation and offered John a luggage tag as a token of our appreciation for his talk.