We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joanne Donn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Joanne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2013, I was living in San Francisco. After working in office administration for many years, I decided to try freelancing part-time, focusing on a couple of motorcycle-related jobs that I had fallen in love with while doing my office thing.

I quit my stable, full-time office job and pursued motorcycle-related work. My first job was part-time at a dealership, selling apparel. My second job was part-time as a safety coach, teaching people to ride. I loved it. I still did some office work to cobble together a living, but I really enjoyed the motorcycle aspects.

Unfortunately, I was laid off from my dealership. I was devastated. I really loved that job and thought it was what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to go back to full-time office work. I wanted to find something in the motorcycle industry and pursue my passion. I wanted to talk to people about motorcycles, riding and how to gear up properly.

A friend who was a recruiter for powersports companies reached out on behalf of a growing e-commerce outfit. They needed someone to do exactly what I had been doing: working in a motorcycle store and selling safety gear to riders. The timing was incredible. Problem is, they wanted me to move to Pennsylvania.

I had never lived outside of my home state of California. It was a huge risk, moving cross-country to an unknown city and a part of the country I had never even visited. Turns out, it was the best decision I have ever made, because I ended up continuing to work in the motorcycle industry for the next nine years, increasing my knowledge, experience and skills. I really didn’t want to go back to administrative work full time, so this was truly the best thing that could happen to me. Combining my passion and being able to make a living at the same time was too perfect.

That experience ultimately led me to one of the best motorcycle apparel manufacturers in the world, which is where I am employed today.

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

In 2006, before I joined the motorcycle industry in a professional capacity, I created a website, GearChic.com (@gearchic on social channels). I blogged about women’s gear because traditionally there has been little attention on premium, technical apparel for women who ride. This, in conjunction with my previous work experience, has helped broaden my expertise and build my unique point of view.

After many years employed by a traditional retailer, I now work for REV’IT! Sport USA (revitsport.com). My job is to look more deeply into our collections and how we make them, why we make them, why we’re better than our competitors and how we can help consumers choose our products to be their number-one choice for safety apparel.

I’ve spent a long time studying our competitors. I know where they excel, and I know where we excel. I know how to size and fit anyone in a piece of motorcycle gear simply by looking at them. I also have the unique experience of being a woman of color in an industry that doesn’t have a lot of people who look like me with a high level of influence in the powersports industry in the U.S. market.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

As a woman in business, I have struggled a lot with my self worth, anxiety and overall confidence in making concrete decisions and communicating effectively. I’ve also had doubts about whether I belong, how I belong and where in my industry. These books have made such a huge difference for me ::

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

For me, it was putting the real work in, spending almost a decade learning everything I could about my passion, motorcycle gear. And of course, at the same time, learning how to ride motorcycles!

I took part time jobs while maintaining a full time job in a profession that I had zero passion for, before I was able to make the jump full time in power sports.

I met with hundreds of riders, figuring out how to perfect my skills, learn more and discover all the ways I could help people while having fun doing it.

I spent hours and days in the power sports community, attending events, making connections and friends along the way.

But I also worked really hard to get good at what I do, figuring out what I could also do personally to achieve my goals. Starting a blog and website was one of the best things I did to start my journey, while freely sharing the knowledge that I had accumulated at the same time. Also, not spending any time worrying about or trying to monetize or make money from my hobby I think helped me focus on what I really wanted to get out of it, knowledge!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gearchic.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/gearchic
• Facebook: facebook.com/gearchic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gearchic/
• Twitter: twitter.com/gearchic
• Youtube: youtube.com/gearchic

Image Credits
Myself.