I took a chance several years ago and left my job as a certified welder and entered into the sales field. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I also knew I hated being handcuffed to a daily job with little possibility of advancement. I will admit I miss the hands-on and dirty smell of steel and I really miss the sense of accomplishment when the finish product was sent out the door. Nonetheless I continued on this path of sales. There have been many times I have wondered what the hell I was doing as the stress can by far outweigh the joy at times. The everyday hustle can make you second guess every choice you made to get yourself here. At the same time, sales changed me, it actually made me a stronger person. It also afforded me the ability feed my addictions.
The best thing about being in Outside Sales is everyday is like a little adventure! I cover a territory of about a two and half hour radius of my hometown and I never know from day to day where I will be or who I will meet. There are definitely some interesting characters out there and I am sure some people I run into think the same about me.
Whenever I am out and about there are two things I search for in every town - coffee shops and bike shops. I have found some of the neatest things going into these places. I have had conversations where I have left thinking, man am I glad I found this place! Some of my favorite destinations have been the ones I dreaded going to when planning the night before. Many a time I have told my wife about the dread I was feeling going to such and such town the next day - only to eventually return, with her, so she could see the splendor I had witnessed, first hand.
In fact, that very thing happened the other day. One of the benefits to my job is if the kids are home and want to spend some alone time with me, they know they can jump in the passenger seat and go. They know the day is going to bring them coffee shops, lunch out with dad and a strong possibility of a little something special for them from a local store. The other day my middle daughter wanted to go with me and although I was going to place I had already been many times - and was not particularly fond of - I told her she could go but to prepare herself for a pretty uneventful day. Of course, she still wanted to go.
I was looking for a new addition for my bike, so I googled bike shops close to where we were. We decided to hit the first one on the list and as we pulled up my daughter (who is NOT afraid of speaking her mind) asked what kind of jacked-up store is this? I decided to give it a chance thinking it might have been a diamond in the rough. We walked in and I immediately realized I had given this place much more credit than it deserved, the place was a dump. My daughter and I looked at each other, gave each other the nod and got the hell out of dodge! I decided to check out the next store on the Google list, promising my daughter that if it looked shady we would forego our search altogether and just get something to eat. We drove the 8 miles across town and as we pulled up I was sure that if my kid had it her way, we'd be leaving immediately for lunch. We double-checked the locks on the car door and went inside.
I really believe I almost went to my knees like I was at the Cathedral and thanked God for bringing me home! Not only was this most definitely on my top 5 favorite bike shops I have ever been to but they incorporated a coffee shop into the business!!
To recap: coffee and bikes.....in ONE business.
The conversation with the owner, myself and my daughter was so incredible. This guy had a passion for life, for people and for riding! As we got in the car and pulled away my daughter said, that was awesome! And I couldn't have agreed more - I can say I truly found a diamond in the rough!
Store Name: Buckskin Bikes
Store Location: Anderson, IN
If you have the means, I highly recommend it. And tell them I sent ya!
This is gonna sound silly, but I was thinking about this very thing last night as I was heading to Brian's house. A bike shop with a coffee shop inside! That would be awesome!
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