Running a Successful Retail Business with Columbus Running Company
Release Date: 09/28/2021
Mission Driven Business
Brian chats with serial entrepreneur and visionary leader Amanda Bauer-Frisch. As the CEO of Small Legacies, Amanda creates a way to give thoughtful, high-quality learning tools that enhance a child’s development. She also oversees several other small, legacy-driven businesses under the Enduring Legacy brand. On the episode, Amanda opens up about how becoming a young widow and being open to the right, new opportunities shaped her entrepreneurial journey. She also provides a behind-the-scenes look at how she’s purchased several existing brands and shares tips for finding and acquiring...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 71: Driving A Heart-Led Business with Brian MoakMission Driven Business
Brian chats with Brian Moak, an entrepreneur, consultant, coach, and motivational speaker focused on service-based businesses and team engagement. As the owner and CEO of HEART Certified Auto Care, Brian used empathy to transform his family’s business into an industry-leading auto shop. He also owns one of the largest Shack Shine franchises in North America and is a partner in a digital marketing firm. On the episode, Brian Moak details his rollercoaster entrepreneurial journey, riding the lows of losing $1.5 million in one year to growing his business to earn nearly $15 million in revenue....
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 70: How To Create Powerful Mission, Vision, and Values StatementsMission Driven Business
On this special episode, Brian dives deep into the art of crafting your business’s mission, vision, and value statements. These principles are the roadmap to success, and Brian gives a blueprint for creating powerful mission, vision, and values statements that shape the foundation of a successful company. This process is a fundamental topic for any budding entrepreneur or business owner. Episode Highlights How to write an effective mission statement The mission statement is the heart of any business, encapsulating the “why” behind your company’s existence. To be effective, a...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 69: Building A Business For Financial Independence with LaSean SmithMission Driven Business
Brian chats with LaSean Smith, a software developer and business creator on a mission to help businesses and business owners succeed. LaSean spent more than a decade as a software executive at Amazon and Microsoft, where he uncovered patterns to use process as a tool to win in business more often. He now uses those insights to help entrepreneurs launch and sustain bootstrapped businesses. On the episode, LaSean digs deep into what it means to have a values-based business and why owning a business is the most predictable way to achieve financial independence. He also outlines the...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 68: Start 2024 With A Clean Slate With This Year-End ChecklistMission Driven Business
It’s hard to believe that 2023 is almost over. Before the New Year, it’s time to reflect on the past year and get ready for the next one. On this special episode, Brian lists off 10 business and 10 personal tasks that you should check off your list to end 2023 on the right note and start 2024 with a clean slate. Episode Highlights 10 End-Of-Year Business Action Items 1. Review your goals How did you do this year? What were you proud to accomplish? Anything you wish you could have done better? The end of the year is a great time to review the goals you made at the beginning of the year and...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 67: Empowering Inclusive Entrepreneurship with Ebony JanelleMission Driven Business
Brian chats with inclusive entrepreneurship expert Ebony Janelle. As an Empower by GoDaddy manager, Ebony drives GoDaddy’s corporate program that helps underserved entrepreneurs thrive. She manages the day-to-day operations that provide education, networking, and mentorship to small business owners from underfunded communities. On the episode, Ebony discusses the challenges facing LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, including a disparity in funding and resources. She also shares the three pillars that entrepreneurs of all kinds can use to uplevel their businesses and how the use of generative AI can...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 66: Creating Your Personal Brand with Isaac SaldanaMission Driven Business
Brian chats with serial entrepreneur and SendGrid founder Isaac Saldana about his new venture Memo, which helps people build authentic and trustworthy personal brands. On the episode, Isaac opens up about how his introversion initially made it difficult for him to sell his expertise online, and how he's now using his experiences to help other entrepreneurs and creatives effectively showcase their talents. He also gives tips for being a leader with your natural personality and for using your values to navigate difficult business decisions. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses move...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 65: Cultivating Courage with Elliot GreenbergerMission Driven Business
Brian chats with Elliot Greenberger, a new entrepreneur who recently pivoted from corporate leadership to business coaching. On the episode, Elliot opens up about how he felt stuck and drained before he started his business, even though he had a successful career and a fulfilling family life. He also shares the practical steps he took to launch his coaching firm and tips for creating an effective sales process that aligns with your business's mission. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses are born out of a sense of purpose. Every business has a purpose, whether the leaders of a company...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 64: Creating An Inclusive Clothing Company with Spider PerryMission Driven Business
Brian chats with Spider Perry, founder of the inclusive clothing company NerdyKeppie. Spider initially created the company as a side business to provide LGBTQ Judaica for their daughter and now runs NerdyKeppie full-time with the help of several part-time employees. On the episode, Spider shares how the business has evolved throughout its growth. They also list their top tips for keeping a business afloat and emphasize the importance of delegation. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses create the world you want to live in. Spider defines a mission-driven business as a company that...
info_outline The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 63: Disrupting the Status Quo with Miki AgrawalMission Driven Business
Brian chats with serial entrepreneur, social innovator, and author Miki Agrawal. As the founder of disruptive ventures Tushy, Thinx, and Wild, Miki is known for challenging the status quo and driving cultural change. She is also the author of best-selling books Do Cool Sh*t and Disrupt-Her. On the episode, Miki dives deep into her experience building multiple 100-million-dollar businesses. She also shares the questions she asks before starting a new business and opens up about how some of her hardest times have led to growth. Episode Highlights Mission-driven businesses do well and good. Miki...
info_outlineBrian chats with Matt DeLeon and Eric Fruth, the founders of Columbus Running Company. As the first retail entrepreneurs on the show, Eric and Matt discuss how they turned their deep passion for running into a long-running mission-driven business. They also share why community is central to their work and how they have used kindness and determination to overcome obstacles and land major opportunities.
Episode Highlights
A mission-driven business is like planet Earth.
Matt used a distinctive analogy to define a mission-driven business.
“A mission-driven business is like the Earth,” he said on the episode.
Like the core of the Earth, a mission-driven business starts with an inner layer of dense, fiery passion. In Matt and Eric’s case, that passion is a love for running and what running can bring to someone’s life.
The fiery core then creates gravity and attracts things to it, Matt said. On Earth, that means the creation of mountains, deserts, and glaciers. For a mission-driven business, it means resources and people who are attracted to the passion.
“It’s our job to take things that are attracted to that passion … and build with it,” Matt said.
A mission-driven business relies on community.
Eric was a little blunter in his definition of a mission-driven business. He said that, at least for Columbus Running Company, it all goes back to the community.
“We tried to build a business that had, at its core, sort of this moral, ethical belief system that we’ve followed,” he said. “And at the end of the day, it’s all built on a community.”
Columbus Running Company lives this mission by leading a youth running club, timing charity road races, and training people for their first 5K or marathon. Their work has made a real impact on the lives of their customers and the greater community.
“At the end of the day, yes, it’s a profit-driven business. But our goal is to reach out to the community and find ways like that to just improve the world around us,” Eric said.
Kill them with kindness.
Columbus Running Company’s community focus is one of the reasons that Matt and Eric have succeeded for so long, including earning the accolade of the best running store in the U.S. Matt attributes their success to a culture of kindness, which he learned from Eric.
“Eric would sit there and be on the phone and have a smile on his face with kindness,” Matt said. “That’s literally what he did.”
While their kindness may not have always been rewarded immediately, it helped the company to build crucial relationships — some of which are just coming to fruition now. It also helped the duo build a loyal customer base in the competitive retail space.
“If you can win over a difficult customer, you’ve got them for life because no one’s trying to win them over,” Eric said. “It’s all about relationship building and being part of the community.”
Obstacles can be catalysts for growth.
When Matt and Eric opened Columbus Running Company in 2004, they planned to run just one location as a “Mom and Pop” store. But as soon as they opened their doors, a national franchise came into the market that wouldn’t let Columbus Running Company buy their product. This became a problem when consumers came to their store and didn’t understand why certain products weren’t in stock.
To show the public they were serious, Matt and Eric decided to open a second retail location. It proved to be a catalyst for growth, and Columbus Running Company now operates five locations throughout the Columbus area.
“I actually wonder what would have happened if we didn’t have that initial obstacle,” Matt said.
Matt and Eric also overcame obstacles by creating their own events, which is now a hallmark of their business. More recently, they’ve learned how to deliver products in 10 minutes to compete with Amazon.
“At this point we have a fully evolved event management company with its own staff that’s separate from our retail operation,” Eric said. “It’s a wild evolution that the two of us in 2004 would have no idea how to operate the business that we have 17 years later.”
Resources + Links
- Columbus Running Company: Website, Twitter, Instagram
- Matt’s Social Media: Twitter
- Brian’s Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast
Brian Thompson, JD/CFP, is a tax attorney and certified financial planner who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.
On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.