For Better. For Worse. ForEVER!

Posted QLeave a commentPosted in experience, faith, fun, mattress industry, purpose, relationships

I was 28 years old when I first moved to Chicago. Serta hired me to be their Vice President of National Accounts in charge of the Sam’s Club and Montgomery Wards business. Combined, they accounted for over 1/3 of Serta’s volume which was about $85 million in sales at the time. To say I was “over my skis” would be a HUGE understatement so the pressure was on not to screw this up!!!!

My boss Jeff VanTuyle took me into downtown Chicago to meet with Tom Lore the buyer (RIP Tom), and I was nervous as hell. The doors open on the elevator and we walk to the buyer’s office and there she was.  The assistant buyer, Bridget Gordon, was sitting at the desk right outside of Tom’s office and she was incredibly beautiful. Blond, 22 years young, and totally off-limits because you can’t date the assistant buyer of an account that is purchasing over $30 million worth of mattresses from you. Right?

I was a good boy and didn’t make any moves on Bridget. Really. I swear. We became great friends over the next year but there was definitely a spark under the surface; I could tell, she totally wanted to date me. (That’s how I remember it anyway, Bridget recalls that differently.) 🙂 As any good rep would do, I took her out to dinner at the finest restaurants in Chicago, we went to shows and took horse-drawn carriage rides through the city at night covered by a blanket, sipping on hot chocolate. Typical rep/buyer relationship. Then it happened. Over the July 4th weekend, about a year after the day that we first met, Bridget met me at Navy Pier with a few of her friends for the fireworks show, and let me just tell you that the fireworks didn’t end when the music did. We had our first kiss in a taxi after that, eventually told our bosses that we were in love, and the rest is history.

                   Married May 20, 2000

There’s no doubt the support I get from my wife has helped me to become the person I am. She is always there for me and is my biggest fan and because of that, I’ve been able to do some pretty cool stuff in my business and personal life. So thank you, Bridget Quinn, for marrying me 20 years ago and making my life so much more meaningful. I can’t wait for the next 20 years.

 

Better Together

Posted QLeave a commentPosted in creativity, furniture, Leadership, Management, marketing, mattress industry, Retail, service, social media, strategy

First off…if you have not already listened to this week’s Dos Marcos Podcast with Jon Spoelstra, you need to check it out. Jon was a BIG TIME executive in the NBA working with teams like the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers and the New Jersey Nets and he takes us inside the NBA and talks about how he was able to create positive outcomes for those organizations. His book Marketing Outrageously Redux is all about helping companies breakthrough and he shares some of those insights with us as well as his recent mattress buying experience. SO CHECK IT OUT!

One of the things I like most about working with Mark Kinsley is the fact that I can bring an idea to him, fully thought through with a solid strategy and he always adds something to it that I had not thought of. No matter how good we all are, we are almost always going to be better after we listen to our team and get a different perspective.

Next week on Wednesday, May 20th at 10:30 central Mark and I are going to host a Dos Marcos Campfire Conversation Zoom call that will be open to anyone that would like to attend. We will be talking about how different retailers are operating now to keep consumers safe while maxing out the sales opportunities. We will also discuss marketing messages that are working and the best way to handle your social media these days. If you want to listen in or share some of your thoughts consider this your official invitation.

Maybe you’re stuck. Maybe you’re concerned. Maybe you want to help other retailers think through where they are, but whatever the reason we would love to have you join in and talk about where things are and most importantly where things are going.

If you want to participate then just hit THIS LINK and it will deliver you to the place where you can sign up.

If you get something from the experience then you will be happy to know that we are planning to continue this for the next 6 weeks so get ready for some mattress industry fellowship!

We’ve decided that pants are optional, so come as you are; we will supply the marshmallows.

 

Endless Possibilities

Posted QLeave a commentPosted in creativity, culture, e-commerce, experience, fun, Leadership, Management, marketing, mattress industry, product, product development, Retail, strategy, Uncategorized

Have you noticed that people have been unusually creative during this time of quarantine? My kids have been working on their TikTok game, Mark Kinsley and I have been writing a lot preparing for more Dos Marcos shenanigans, and our good buddy Mike Magnuson wrote, produced, and starred in this awesome music video called Shelter In Place. Who says white boys can’t dance?  Have you been doing anything to flex your creative muscle in the last 30 days?

How is it that people are able to dig down and tap that creative energy now versus before the virus hit? Maybe it’s because some people have more time to work on these projects. So you’re bored in the house and you’re in the house bored (warning, there are some expletives in that link so click and beware), saying to yourself, “What can I do now? I finished Netflix, the house is clean, kids are busy and nothing is open!”  So the combination of extra time and a need to entertain yourself is opening up some doors so don’t miss this opportunity to explore.

We are about to be in a street fight for the consumer dollar coming out of this shit show, so the details are going to matter in a very big way. What if…

  • You develop a new product that will excite people and fill an unmet need?
  • You think more about your operational process and find new ways to cut cost out of what you do?
  • You think of a new way to sell to your customers that not only surprises and delights them, but builds a raving fan base that tells their friends about your business/products?
  • You not only figure out ways to max out your presence on the internet but you build or improve your ability to convert consumer interest into sales.
  • You task these types of projects to key people in your organization, be specific as to what you want the outcome to be but give them a very wide space to operate in, and give them a VERY HANDSOME reward if they bring back something good.

Creative thinking is free and the payout could be massive. Everybody has a creative brain you just have to tap it, but if yours isn’t as good as you would like, then bring in some people that can light the fire. Be inspired and reap the benefits.

The Blair Witch Project was a film made back in 1993 with a budget of $60,000 that ended up grossing $250 million worldwide. For any of you thinking that to drive big results you need big budgets, that just isn’t true. If you have some extra time spend it thinking outside the box and see what happens.

 

 

Senior Year

Posted QLeave a commentPosted in faith, Leadership, Management, mattress industry, purpose, relationships, Retail, strategy

Bridget and I are the parents of two really great kids; Nick 15, and Gabby 17. As a result of this coronavirus Nick will miss out on his track season and much of his AAU basketball tournaments and I know he is pretty bummed, HOWEVER, he is out of school for the rest of the year which I think brings him a lot of joy. 🙂  Gabby’s story is a little different. This is her senior year and for a teenage girl, this is a very big deal.

She won’t get the chance to put on her brand new dress for prom or host the big dinner we were planning for her friend group at our house. Her graduation ceremony likely won’t happen either so there won’t be a walk across the stage, hat toss at the end, and party to follow. She won’t even get to hug, say goodbye, and cry with her best buddies standing in the empty hallways that last day of school. Gabby is really sad about it all and we get it. Is this anything like losing your business or a job? Not to most of us, but to her class it certainly is.

This is one of those things that you have to figure out as a parent in terms of how you coach them through the valley. Bridget and I agreed that we should let her be sad and morn the loss of what “could have been” because she has every right to those feelings. But, we also don’t want her to settle into a pity party. To Gabby’s credit, she has handled this so well she has inspired me in many ways so I wanted to share her story with you to say this…

I know that I have written blogs like this in the past with a similar feel and punch line but given where we are I think that this is worth repeating. We are all going to experience some amount of stress, sadness, anger, frustration, and worry given what all has taken place in the last 30 days. We are human and entitled to feel those things but we don’t’ get to stay there very long.  If we do, the circumstances we find ourselves in; most of which are out of our control, will consume us, and drag us down to the point where we can’t recover which is not an option.

So have some moments, cry some tears if it takes you there, lean on your relationships for support, be grateful for what you have, and then flush it and get ready to flip the switch into ass-kicking mode. Make your decision to figure this out, work on strategy, and get ready for battle.

To my daughter: It’s hard as a parent to see you sad and robbed of a senior year that should have been much better than what you’re getting, but the tough parts of life will give you the grit you need for things to come. You never cease to amaze me with your positive attitude and ability to put things into perspective so thank you for the light that you shine into all things. I am so incredibly proud of who you are.

 

 

We’ve Got This

Posted QLeave a commentPosted in faith, mattress industry, purpose, relationships

From the coronavirus, we will see illness, death, drug abuse, child abuse, poverty, political infighting, loss of personal income, loss of business, loneliness from the isolation and divorce among other things.  We are all living through a tragic event and we have a long way to go to get to the other side of it.

We’ve all had trials in our life. For some of us, this might be the worst thing we have ever faced, but for others maybe it’s not as bad. In my world, I handle the valleys pretty much the same way.  I try to first focus on the positive things going on in my life, assess the situation and create a strategy to help myself and others find a way out. Then, I set my mind to do battle with the problem. Digging out of this one is going to suck, there is no doubt, but whenever I’ve been put in the fire, there has always been learning and opportunity mixed in with it all. We just have to figure that part out.

Today is Easter Sunday which is perfect timing for this particular holiday. If you believe, then you know that Jesus died for us on Friday, but he beat death today rising from the dead. There is promise in that for all of us. There is hope that even in the worst possible times that Jesus is capable of pretty much anything.

So today I will gather my family, watch our church service online, pray big prayers with HUGE expectations that things get better soon, and eat a great meal knowing that God never said it would be easy, but he did say he will always be with us no matter how bad things get. So ask for His peace today and know that my family will be praying for all of you.

Happy Easter everybody. Here’s to better days ahead.

With love from the Quinn’s.