Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen Johnson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I’m a former elementary art teacher. I taught for 20 years, I didn’t retire. I quit. When our youngest graduated high school in 2020 we vowed we’d move to the coast even in the middle of a pandemic. Risk #1. The real estate market was beginning to get insane. Bought a cute little house on a canal. My husband had just sold his business and we needed to invest the money in something. My mother was ill and I was taking care of her at the time. Let’s invest in a turn key business that will be semi passive that we wont have to be there the whole time. Husband was still driving about an hour and a half to his job closing it out and I was still taking care of my Mom while searching for small businesses. I would be running the business. Hmmm Surf Shop for sale. #1 problem, I don’t surf. We both always loved the water, big time fishermen and beach goers. Surf Shop was over priced for the actual value. Had my hopes up. Would have been pretty cool to own a surf shop. If the price were “this amount” we would buy it. Two weeks later, the owner calls me back with “that price”. “WE’RE BUYING A SURF SHOP!!!!” Risk #2, I don’t surf… how am I going to run a Surf Shop. A week before we closed on the Surf Shop, Mom passed away. I was able to drive her by and show her the store front. Day one of owning the shop, Friday July 16, 2021 only day with the previous owner, smack dab in the middle of Summer with literally no inventory in a tourist town. Learning Quickbooks, Square, how to instsall a fin, adding employees, shoo away transients, deal with customers…Risk #3. In the end, the biz has nearly doubled the previous owners numbers on his most successful year. I am immersed in the community and involved with beach clean ups, Waves of Impact, and other events. I still don’t surf, but my entire family does! Even my fat chihauhua Poopie Johnson does. She even wins competitions and has her own fan club called “Poopie Groupies”. A Risk worth taking!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

We are Southern Spears Surf Shop! We have been in business since 2011. The original owners were from Galveston and Australia. Galveston is the “Southern” and “Spears” is a slang term for Surf Board. We (Jen and Judd Johnson) Purchased the shop in July of 2021 and have been running it ever since. Jen has always been the HBIC from the get go and Judd is the self proclaimed “Executive Vice President of Rentals”. We rent Surf Boards, Paddle Boards, Kayaks, Boogie and Skim Boards. We also sell them! We carry all major surf apparel brands as well as a variety of local Texas flare. Looking to do a Surf or Paddle Board lesson? We do that too! We pride ourselves in customer service and making everyone welcome. You don’t have to be a surfer to find something really cool in the shop. While shopping, check out our Southern Spears Surf Team Trophies! Yes, we have at Surf Team, and they’re pretty AMAZING! We have some pretty nice handmade souveniers made by Jen out of sea glass and oyster shells picked up on the beach. You might even see Poopie the famous Champion Surfing Dog working at the shop.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

We only have a team of 4. I keep a refrigerator stocked with water, sparkling water and snacks. After I assign tasks, I always give feedback or give kudos. I had my girl make sale signs and told her the next day how great they looked. She responded that they were fun to make. I put up a basketball hoop to play during the slow times. My daughter who used to work for me asked when did I become a fun Mom? I remember birthdays, bonuses on holidays, etc. Random acts of kindness. I ask for their input on future orders on merchandise. They are as much a part of the team as the owners are.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I am a former teacher. I have had to deal with some pretty tough classroom situations from kids to parents to adminstrators. Where our surf shop location resides is the third busiest intersection in Galveston, Texas. There is a pretty large homeless population. Sometimes they decide to wander in to the shop, annoy, beg, agitate customers, etc. They might be on drugs and alcohol. Even rowdy tourists that have indulged a little too much. I have had to run a few, ok a lot out of the shop and off the property a time or two and call the police. At first it was a bit intimidating. But I soon learned to use my “Teacher Voice” to handle a situation or two. This is my shop and I will take care of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: sourthernspearssurf
• Instagram: southernspearssurfshop
• Facebook: southernspearssurfshop