We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gina Olsen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gina below.
Gina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Despite the perception that the Midwest is endless “flyover” fields, there is actually diverse terrain for outdoor adventure at any level. Kansas and Missouri are home to lush forests, over 180,000 miles of rivers and streams, rolling prairie hills, world class climbing walls, and miles of hiking and mountain bike trails. This diversity brings a community along with it, and that community needs gear for their adventures.
When the idea for Big Muddy Gear Exchange began to take shape, the closest used gear store was 600 miles away. We were both working at REI when I [Gina] approached Nathan during a shift one day bringing up the possibility of a used gear store in KC. Nathan replied that he was already on the same page and had even filed an LLC. We met up for coffee that weekend and Big Muddy was formed.
We were lucky enough to land our first brick and motor location on the second floor of a historic building in the West Bottoms (Shout out to Heather and Sean for believing in us!). We opened our doors in November of 2021 and are still growing to this day.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Big Muddy Gear Exchange is a consignment outdoor gear retail and repair shop. We sell and fix high quality used gear to keep things out of the landfill and lower the barrier to entry in a traditionally expensive field. We want to get as many people as possible out and enjoying the outdoors. If we don’t have something, we probably know where else to look to make sure you are fully prepared for your next adventure.
One of the best things about the outdoors is you can choose your level of adventure. At a minimum, all you need is to walk out the door! As you continue to gain experience in your outdoor adventures, you quickly find having the right gear, knowledge, and preparation helps you have a better time. In addition to gear, we offer advice and stories of past adventures of our own to help aid our customers in their own explorations. A big part of Big Muddy, and one we’re most proud of, is the community we’ve built.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
We’ve always operated with a “this need to be fun for everyone” mindset. We both came from a retail background and were all too familiar with the continuous push for profit and curated marketing schedules. We didn’t want any of that and work to give Big Muddy a spur of the moment authenticity and a bit of a good ol’ dirt bag feel.
Profit is a driving factor in any business, but we don’t want it to be the only bar with which we measure our success. We set out with very little initial capital. One of us was working in retail and the other as a barista. We did some research on the best way to start with little and found consignment to be the right business model. We then called on our friends, many of whom had a backlog of gear they were looking to offload, and that’s how we filled our shelves. We’ve continued to invest profits into new fixtures, a new point of sale system, and continuous upgrades to the store over time. Always focusing on sourcing secondhand when possible.
The great part about running our business with low overhead is that if it’s a nice day and we want to close the store early to paddle the river, we don’t think twice and get right out there. We think it’s important for others to realize you do not need to immediately go into debt to build something worthwhile. Just start and grow at a sustainable pace.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Pop ups in the community have been the most beneficial for getting new clients in the door. Our business has grown mostly from word of mouth, and a small part on social media, but nothing has brought more people in than striking up conversations with everyone who passes by our booth.
We would encourage small businesses not to be afraid to close the door on Saturday and attend a market, or pop up at your local brewery and just start talking to folks. Get out and be the face of your business. People love to connect to our story and build a camaraderie with our comical failed adventures and experiences on the road.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bigmuddygear.com
- Instagram: @bigmuddygear
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/bigmuddygear
