We recently connected with Brad & Kathy Walker and have shared our conversation below.
Brad & Kathy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
At the beginning of 2023, we had many folks telling us to put on the swap and show because Novi Snowmobile show is the same weekend and it would be convenient for our Canadian friends and out of state friends to attend both our show and Novi’s show. We weren’t sure if we wanted to take on the big task of putting on a swap and show for over 1,000 plus visitors/swappers. Even the track owner at Birch Run Speedway kept telling us “you HAVE to do this show”. Brad is the “pit crew” for the world breaking fastest sled on asphalt and we have so many friends in the snowmobile and Powersports world that it was a no brainer. We decided in February of 2023 to take the plunge and went all in! The work started then and there and we’ve never looked back. This is an annual show and our 1st year of “Mid Michigan Powersports Swap & Show” exceeded our expectations and we plan to make it bigger and better every year!
Brad & Kathy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Brad has always been in the snowmobile drag racing world – grass, ice, asphalt, and snow racing. This, as well as trail riding, has put his name out in the snowmobile community and he has many friends and contacts. Also, dirt biking and other Powersports have always been his thing so we decided to incorporate the whole spectrum of the “power sports” into this year’s show and will continue to highlight snowmobiles as well as dirt bikes, side by sides, mini bikes, and basically anything with a motor. This year (2023) we did not feature a year or brand of unit because it was our flagship year, but next year we will start featuring different types of units/snowmobiles – antique, vintage, classic, race, and so forth – every year we will change the type featured. This year we had over 60 show units and many swappers as well as Top of the Lakes Museum out of Naubinway, Fast Eddies from Houghton Lake and Antique Snowmobile Club of America and other associates honor us with their presence, it was amazing! We offered different food trucks/vendors and hourly door prizes. We also gave folks and companies a chance to be sponsors and offered different sponsorship packages with great advertising for their company/products. We kept the swapping, associations and vendors on flat ground and asphalt/concrete, so no mud or hard terrain for folks walking around. Overall, we could not have asked for a better event! Everyone kept telling us they were having a blast and keep up the good work. We are beyond thankful for every single one of our friends and supporters and our goal is to make this annual event bigger and better for everyone every year, start a new tradition! We are passionate about this and we always want to make sure that people that come to our show are happy and taken care of, most of all we are so grateful!
How did you build your audience on social media?
We immediately appointed Zoe, our daughter, as our social media guru. She posted and boosted posts on Facebook, InstaGram and we did TikTok a little bit. Our following grew and grew! When she posted videos, we mostly always got over 1k+ viewers. We advertised for not only our swap and show as well as for other swap and shows around the state of Michigan. We always showed support for others and our posts weren’t always about our event, we posted other’s triumphs and different content to keep engagement going. For our 2024 show, we will post more on TikTok as well as FB and Insta. Our followers do keep growing yet at the time of our show and just after, the numbers jumped up for sure, that was exciting! We keep our content positive and uplifting, we always wish the best for everyone, EVERYONE! Our goal is to be successful by taking people’s thoughts and ideas and implementing and growing our show as well as with positivity every step of the way. This is our way of getting our name out there and staying on top of everyone’s minds.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
We don’t have employees per se, we have a team of helpers that are AMAZING!!! Mostly, family and close friends, we make sure they are all doing what they enjoy doing at the show and keep them happy with meals, snacks, gifts and lots of fun! The positive vibes keep smiles on their faces as well and this rubs off on our visitors at the swap and show. Every one of our helpers will have a smile on their face most of the time and it’s because they are enjoying themselves. We are beyond thankful for each and every one of our helpers, we are blessed!
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Pictures taken by us