I was having a bad day.
It was 2017, very early in my journey at FERAL. We were still in our original tiny bungalow, and it had been a very slow day. Most days were back then.
But that’s ok. I had big aspirations and was receiving just enough kindness and affirmation from our slowly growing community to just keep going. Until - he walked in. Sure, he was friendly enough at first. It was hard to avoid some light banter in our tiny shop with nobody else around. It was awkward NOT to talk in such a small space. There was always a pull to kind of keep the air filled with words.
And then the question came that twisted me up.
“Why shouldn’t I just go shop at REI?”
The question came with an air of superiority that I’ve recognized all too frequently in the outdoor industry in general. He looked me right in the eyes, knowing clearly that his question was sharp - and it landed in a VERY soft spot.
I retorted, “maybe you should.”
Ok. I usually enjoy a good back-and-forth ribbing, but my tone matched his gruffness. I’m not proud of that. I didn’t try to hide that I was annoyed by the question. It wasn’t my best moment. But he seemed to appreciate my willingness to stick up for myself (and my shop) and clarified a little.
He genuinely wanted to know what we offer that he can’t get at REI. Basically, what’s the point? Why are you doing this?
Up to that point - it was a pretty simple answer for me. This is my dream. I want to be doing this. That’s it. Should I have to explain that to anyone? I’d seen the universe reward so many other people for their courage. You do a hard thing, and good things just happen, right? Well, of course, things don’t work out for everyone, but the universe at least tilts towards a balance of effort equals outcome. Right?
I went home that night, licking my wounds, and sat with the conversation. And in a flash, it hit me. He was right. Nobody owed FERAL a chance. That guy didn’t owe FERAL his time. We didn’t just automatically deserve for this to work. It might be romantic for a bit to be following my dream, but how long does that matter? Well, it doesn’t. And here’s the really hard part to swallow - it shouldn’t.
It was the first time that I truly realized that we needed to operate from a position of solving real problems for other people. Our community. Working hard would never quite be enough if we weren’t working hard in the right direction, especially if that meant doing the same thing that everyone else was doing. Outdoor shops are not unique. There are small businesses everywhere. Sure, each one is someone’s dream, but that can only carry you so far. Simply put - it couldn’t just be about me. We were all going to have to take this journey together, and I would need your permission to keep doing this.
The best situation is when someone is following their dreams AND those actions genuinely meet the needs of a community. That is where the real magic happens. That is what we’re trying to create. An environment where we love what we do and you love what we do. Seems simple, but in reality, I actually don’t think that’s very common.
It’s something I think about often now. We now call that our “social license to operate.” We have to deserve to be here. We only deserve to be here if we find novel solutions to your problems. We know that we have to renew our social license to operate with you daily. You get to choose. Not us. And that’s precisely how it should be. It took a difficult conversation with a customer for me to see that. I’m still very grateful for that moment because I’m certain that we wouldn’t be here today without it. It took a little punch in the gut to realize how this needs to work, and we’re working hard to never forget it.
