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Like most stories, this one
starts a long time ago. During a time when life and bicycles seemed a
bit simpler. A time when a person would say "When I grow up I want to
be..." and then would pursue that, whatever it was. Forming the life
they lived with what they felt could take them to wherever they wanted
to go. Bike King's founder, Gil, did that. What he wanted to do was
work with bikes.
Starting in the sixth grade,
at age 12. He set up shop in the families garage and worked there. Gil
would work on his families as well as neighbors bikes. He would pass
out fliers around town to find more bikes to work on. Gil had realized
that the fun was not only in riding bicycles but fixing them too.
While in the seventh grade Gil
had heard the bike shop in Forest Lake, now in a garage, was getting a
bigger place to operate from. Gil now thought "Finally a closer place
to buy bicycle parts." Little did he realize that this was going to
become a stepping stone to his future.
After a few years of seeing
Gil coming in and buying all types of bicycle parts, the store owners
realized this young kid must know what he is doing. This led to a phone
call that even surprised him. The owner had called and asked if he
would be interested in coming to work at the store.
During the next few years, the
owners realized the value he had brought to their operation and when he
finished high school in 1986 hired him full time. Gil would stay on and
gain even more experience. Not just in service, but in sales and
customer relations as well. This was his dream job. He soon was
thinking this is what he wanted to do, own his own bicycle store. While
pursuing such a goal, Gil knew additional knowledge would be needed to
help him achieve this.
Then in 1991 he enrolled in
business school to get that last ingredient necessary to make his dream
become reality. In early 1994, while in business school, Gil had
decided to make a move. After nine years of at he first job. Gil
wanted experience working for another bicycle store prior to opening his
own. This turned out to be a decision that would benefit him more than
he would have ever imagined.
After graduating from business
school in December 1994 the time had come to start what he had been
dreaming of all these years. Opening his own bicycle store. Bike King
was going to become a reality. Having 10 years of industry experience
behind him, he then took the vital steps in finding a location.
Research showed that the greatest need for a bicycle store was going to
be Inver Grove Heights. Gil opened in April of 1995. The choice of
location was perfect.
Now entering his 11th year of
business, Gil has never believed more what his parents had always said
to him, "You can do anything, if you just put your mind to
it."
"Owning a bicycle store is all
I have ever wanted to do. I believe that my customers see that and
that's why they love shopping here. I have a great selection of
bicycles and bicycle products. I have lower prices than other bicycle
stores. My customers have found no reason to shop any place else. That
makes me feel like I am doing exactly what I set out to do. I believe
in having low prices. I believe in having a staff that listens to what
our customer needs are. My belief, by keeping these ideals intact, is
why for 10 years now Inver Grove Heights has been our home." |
