Bob Metcalf, general manager of PowerSports4Less, holds just one of several lightweight helmets the Spring Hill business has in stock. The business, which primarily sells to online customers, specializes in fitting helmets and apparel and also has a selection of accessories. Metcalf regularly deals with customers across the country and throughout the world. (Photo by Jennifer McDaniel / jennifermcdaniel@miconews.com)
Join our Mailing List!
Please click the link below to sign up for your community paper mailing list. Stay up to date with all the events going on in your community as well as the latest news.Sign Up Today!
Love of the ride gives way to business
Emerging Spring Hill business continues to expand its reach to serve customers both locally and globally
By Jennifer McDaniel, jennifermcdaniel@miconews.com
Bob Metcalf’s smoky-colored grey and black BRP Can-Am Spyder Roadster sits parked in a stall along Main Street in downtown Spring Hill.
The motorcycle, with two wheels in the front and one in the back, attracts the attention of drivers as they round the corner.
Metcalf laughs as he looks out the window and watches another driver slow down to get a better look at the motorcycle he patiently waited five months for.
A few minutes later, the curious driver has parked a few stalls away and walks down the sidewalk to admire the bike.
It’s something Metcalf has seen over and over as his unusual-looking motorcycle draws second looks and often questions from complete strangers.
“Before I got it, I was reading the Spyder (Internet) forums, and they told owners to be prepared for questions,” he said. “And you do get them.”
Metcalf used to ride his motorcycle all the time, but as his family grew, he decided to sell it. Years later, his children are now grown. He’s missed the rumble of the motorcycle and the freedom of the ride.
And today, he has his bike, the Spyder.
But it’s not the only way he’s spending his retirement. Instead, after 26 years of teaching middle school students in the Blue Valley School District, today he serves as general manager of PowerSports4Less, a business his son, Matt, started five years ago.
The business was created after Matt saw first-hand the importance of protective gear after his friend was in a motorcycle accident. The friend survived even though he was wearing no safety gear. After that experience, Matt began looking into helmets, jackets and other gear for bike riders. It wasn’t long before he was considering opening a business online. But in order to deal with the distributors he needed for the online business, Matt and his co-owner also had to have a brick-and-mortar storefront.
The business’ Web site was built, and PowerSports4Less opened its first location in a small, dark office on A-Line Drive. The business was there for two years before moving downtown to its current location.
“The first time I walked into the office, it was dark and dusty,” Bob said. “I looked over and saw boxes and boxes of jackets and helmets. The business was starting to get away from them. They both were trying to do it all.”
It didn’t take long before Bob found a new location and helped the two move downtown in the former Spring Hill Bank building. Three years later, he serves as general manager.
After quietly establishing the business over the last five years, Bob says PowerSports4Less is reaping the benefits.
“The walk-in business has been phenomenal lately,” he said. “One reason is that after five years, people are starting to find us.”
While custom choppers, Harleys and even scooters line often line each side of Main Street on any given Saturday, the business itself is chiefly an online one. Customers from across the country and around the world, from New Zealand to France, purchase equipment from the Spring Hill business. Winter is also a busy time for Metcalf, who regularly deals with customers in the northern United States and in Europe, who are all interested in snowmobile and other types of snow gear.
“We’re primarily an Internet-based business, that’s why our selection is smaller in the store,” he said. “We’re lean and mean, but that’s the way we can control our prices.”
The business itself specializes in fitting helmets and apparel and also has a selection of accessories and an endless supply of catalogs customers can order from. It’s those distributors who also have helped customers find the store through dealer links and lists.
“We don’t sell machines, but we sell everything that goes with them,” he said.
“We also ride and use the gear, so I can tell you how something performs. I can tell you why this is a good helmet and why it’s not.”
Metcalf says many of the customers who walk through the front door of his business are those who are a lot like him, former bikers who want to ride again.
“They gave them (motorcycles) up once they had a family, but now their kids are grown and they want to be safe and comfortable,” he said.”
But he’s also seeing customers who are swapping their gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks for motorcycles.
“The increase in gas has been a boon to my business,” he said. “Everybody’s riding something.”
And it shows in the business’ bottom line. Last year, the business was up $50,000, and this year is on par to exceed that.
“I’m extremely pleased, especially with the economy,” Metcalf said. “Even in a flat economy, we’re in the right business at the right time.”
The business itself has given him a chance to meet people from various walks of life, from a meteorology professor from the University of Kansas to Garmin engineers, all of whom just simply want to ride.
“It’s a fun business, but it’s also a pretty demanding one,” he said. “I work all day long. Before heading to the store, I’m working answering e-mails and updating our stock online. I work at night after I leave the store. I work pretty much seven days a week. I’m constantly busy. There’s never a time when there’s nothing to do. And the business has just continued to grow.”
printable version
e-mail this story
The motorcycle, with two wheels in the front and one in the back, attracts the attention of drivers as they round the corner.
Metcalf laughs as he looks out the window and watches another driver slow down to get a better look at the motorcycle he patiently waited five months for.
A few minutes later, the curious driver has parked a few stalls away and walks down the sidewalk to admire the bike.
It’s something Metcalf has seen over and over as his unusual-looking motorcycle draws second looks and often questions from complete strangers.
“Before I got it, I was reading the Spyder (Internet) forums, and they told owners to be prepared for questions,” he said. “And you do get them.”
Metcalf used to ride his motorcycle all the time, but as his family grew, he decided to sell it. Years later, his children are now grown. He’s missed the rumble of the motorcycle and the freedom of the ride.
And today, he has his bike, the Spyder.
But it’s not the only way he’s spending his retirement. Instead, after 26 years of teaching middle school students in the Blue Valley School District, today he serves as general manager of PowerSports4Less, a business his son, Matt, started five years ago.
The business was created after Matt saw first-hand the importance of protective gear after his friend was in a motorcycle accident. The friend survived even though he was wearing no safety gear. After that experience, Matt began looking into helmets, jackets and other gear for bike riders. It wasn’t long before he was considering opening a business online. But in order to deal with the distributors he needed for the online business, Matt and his co-owner also had to have a brick-and-mortar storefront.
The business’ Web site was built, and PowerSports4Less opened its first location in a small, dark office on A-Line Drive. The business was there for two years before moving downtown to its current location.
“The first time I walked into the office, it was dark and dusty,” Bob said. “I looked over and saw boxes and boxes of jackets and helmets. The business was starting to get away from them. They both were trying to do it all.”
It didn’t take long before Bob found a new location and helped the two move downtown in the former Spring Hill Bank building. Three years later, he serves as general manager.
After quietly establishing the business over the last five years, Bob says PowerSports4Less is reaping the benefits.
“The walk-in business has been phenomenal lately,” he said. “One reason is that after five years, people are starting to find us.”
While custom choppers, Harleys and even scooters line often line each side of Main Street on any given Saturday, the business itself is chiefly an online one. Customers from across the country and around the world, from New Zealand to France, purchase equipment from the Spring Hill business. Winter is also a busy time for Metcalf, who regularly deals with customers in the northern United States and in Europe, who are all interested in snowmobile and other types of snow gear.
“We’re primarily an Internet-based business, that’s why our selection is smaller in the store,” he said. “We’re lean and mean, but that’s the way we can control our prices.”
The business itself specializes in fitting helmets and apparel and also has a selection of accessories and an endless supply of catalogs customers can order from. It’s those distributors who also have helped customers find the store through dealer links and lists.
“We don’t sell machines, but we sell everything that goes with them,” he said.
“We also ride and use the gear, so I can tell you how something performs. I can tell you why this is a good helmet and why it’s not.”
Metcalf says many of the customers who walk through the front door of his business are those who are a lot like him, former bikers who want to ride again.
“They gave them (motorcycles) up once they had a family, but now their kids are grown and they want to be safe and comfortable,” he said.”
But he’s also seeing customers who are swapping their gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks for motorcycles.
“The increase in gas has been a boon to my business,” he said. “Everybody’s riding something.”
And it shows in the business’ bottom line. Last year, the business was up $50,000, and this year is on par to exceed that.
“I’m extremely pleased, especially with the economy,” Metcalf said. “Even in a flat economy, we’re in the right business at the right time.”
The business itself has given him a chance to meet people from various walks of life, from a meteorology professor from the University of Kansas to Garmin engineers, all of whom just simply want to ride.
“It’s a fun business, but it’s also a pretty demanding one,” he said. “I work all day long. Before heading to the store, I’m working answering e-mails and updating our stock online. I work at night after I leave the store. I work pretty much seven days a week. I’m constantly busy. There’s never a time when there’s nothing to do. And the business has just continued to grow.”