We were lucky to catch up with Neal Kielar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Neal thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

I’ll admit that when we opened ten years ago, it was more a leap of faith than a well thought out business plan. There was definitely a bit of planning, but it was just for a three-month popup – an experiment that might or might not work or suit us. The minute it became clear that we had caught onto something, that we were offering something unique in our market, that’s when my buttoned up business background kicked into action.

We believe – and it’s been proven out – that slow and steady wins the race. We’ve kept our expansion organic over the years, never growing faster than we could sustain. Sometimes the business accelerates on its own, but we always seem to be prepared with a great inventory pipeline, the ability to optimize the space we have, embracing store contributors and adding or subtracting offsite storage.

Developing relationships with businesses that provide complimentary services has been important. They include local delivery services, upholsterers and upholstery fabric retailers, interior designers, real estate pros and others. The best relationships stand the test of time and they allow us to be more versatile and resilient. We make sure the relationship works both directions.

And although we’re open to some experimentation – and willing to make a mistake or two – we’ve held fast to our brand: from what we say we offer to how that really feels when customers are in the store or interacting with us online. That consistency is not only reassuring to customers, it serves as guardrails for us as we make continuous decisions about how we move forward.

Neal, 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?

My partner and I created the store we wanted to shop in when we were customers and always stay true to that design-minded and customer-centric focus.

Since 2012, MidModMen+friends has offered authentic mid-century, modern and made-in-Minnesota furniture and decor at its best. We hand-select vintage items and then clean, rejuvenate or restore each one according to need. Store partners source and restore their own finds and add them to the mix.

Plus, we feature local artisans who complement our style, like the furniture making guru who designs and handcrafts distinctive chairs, coffee tables, desks and more. ModiLumi Lighting creates lamps, lampshades and light fixtures. And we showcase local and regional artists – weavers, painters, printmakers and more – through our Future Heirlooms program.

One of the great pleasures of being so hands on with our inventory is learning the story behind each one. We pass along those stories as a value-add in a way, creating a deeper connection for the new owner.

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

Very few people—or businesses—can claim to have been unscathed by the challenges of recent years. But in 2021 the challenges piled on us. I was diagnosed with cancer in January, underwent major surgery in March and had a long period of recovery. It took me out of the loop and that was extra tough because business had never been better or brisker. Then I had to take a mid-year hiatus to deal with some difficult family matters.

When I got back we were still on track for a record year. Then in late September we had a fire in our store and the physical and smoke damage to the space was extensive. We had to completely empty the store – every piece of furniture, dozens of lamps, artwork and hundreds of decor items. Miraculously, we suffered only minor damage to our inventory—all of it easy to remedy. But the space renovation, over which we had no control, stalled and we were closed for almost five months.

My partner and I are pragmatic optimists. and we considered a handful of alternatives to how we’d been doing things. But remember that banner year we were having? It was based on our legacy business model and there was no reason it wouldn’t still work. The business is so much a part of us that we couldn’t be made to walk away from it, couldn’t turn our backs on a business we loved, let alone our customers and partners. The community was kind to us. ModiLumi Lighting gave us a temporary home in their own store – full circle back to our popup days. Friends pitched in and business partners stayed true. Our customers continued to cheer us on and our online community kept growing.

It was a happy ending all around. The business is thriving, I’m cancer-free and family matters are in hand. But it was a hell of a ride for an entire year.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

One major thing we had going for us was timing. We entered the market when there were few alternatives and then rode the wave of mid-century popularity. By the time other stores arrived, we were known as a pioneer and had become a fixture on the scene. Our brand was well known and it was truly a brand known something specific and distinctive: authenticity, accessibility, consistency and a welcoming environment in the store and on social media.

Our strong, positive reputation wasn’t just a boon for attracting customers. We became a go-to connection for people selling the vintage mid-century furniture and decor at the heart of our offering. People knew us as fair and responsive and trustworthy. That word of mouth is now one of the most powerful assets we have as a business.

We’ve never been shy about being the focus of media coverage and have garnered best-of designations multiple times, and been featured in magazines, newspapers and even on bus boards for a while. Being visible is a big part of the plan because it allows people to discover us and then have their own experiences with us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://midmodmen.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midmodmen/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midmodmen

Image Credits
All images courtesy of MidModMen LLC.