Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chris Fletcher, co-founder of Spoke & Pedal, located in North Vancouver, BC, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Spoke & Pedal is a Canadian children’s sporting goods brand that was created on Vancouver’s North Shore out of love for bikes by myself and business partner Dan Merrell. We currently offer a 12” retro-style balance bike in a handful of colours and have recently done a soft launch on a 3-wheel scooter with a similar aesthetic. Our products offer a more stylish alternative to parents looking to get their little one out and about with a design aesthetic that has been missing in the Canadian marketplace. We have plans to launch additional products, including a 16” pedal bike in the same style and other niche balance bike offerings.

Tell us about yourself

I’ve always been fascinated and passionate about business and am involved in several different business opportunities at the moment. The inspiration for Spoke & Pedal really derived from our children and our passion for bikes. Dan and I found our friendship through cycling as children and grew up riding bikes together. When Dan had his son, he did a ton of research on balance bikes. He identified an unfulfilled need for more stylish children’s bike products in Canada. A short time after, with my daughter on the way, we began talking more seriously about the opportunity of launching a company around this unfilled need in the market by merging our business and operations expertise. The idea of starting something from nothing with the vision of turning this into a full-time operation for Dan really got me excited and continues to drive me today.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We launched our business a few months before the global pandemic, so needless to say, the past couple of years have been quite challenging. Adapting to supply chain disruptions and rising costs which significantly reduced our working capital during this time, made for some rough waters to navigate with our small team. There were many days when it felt as though we might not make it, but huge thanks to the team for their hard work, focus, and dedication, especially Dan. He has been tirelessly managing all of the day-to-day operations in addition to his full-time job. I’m pleased to say that our 2022 outlook is much brighter, and pushing through and adapting to the uncertainty in 2020/2021 is certainly our biggest accomplishment to date. We still face some similar challenges ahead but the learnings of the past couple of years have much better prepared us for growth going forward.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

No matter what size of business you are in, there will always be challenges and plans that you will need to adapt, so you need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be sure you are comfortable with uncertainty and able to adapt.
  2. Ensure you keep an open mind and be comfortable changing your mind when needed.
  3. Progress over perfection… take action. Don’t wait too long to take action.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://spokeandpedalbikes.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spokeandpedal_ca/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-fletcher-canadian-tire/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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