3: Disrupting The Industry Standard and Niche Markets with Elsbeth Cool
/Where can you find Four Star Family Cyclery?
Instagram: @fourstarfamilycyclery
Website: www.fourstarfamilycyclery.com
Elsbeth Cool is the owner of Four Star Family Cyclery. She and her husband, Nate have been car-less for 10 years all while have two babies in between. Elsbeth has been riding cargo bikes since the beginning which eventually inspired her to start FSFC 7 years later.
The biking industry is largely athletic men who tend to scoff at women riders who want to use biking as a mode for transportation - especially with kids. Elsbeth saw an opening in the industry after hearing countless stories of women who had poor experiences at bike shops. There is also a specialized knowledge set that comes with owning and caring for a cargo bike. So she decided to turn her industry on its head in multiple ways by opening up a cargo bike-focused shop that is by appointment only. Her friends who also owned bike shops and were in their retail spaces 6-7 days a week said it would never work but FSFC is thriving.
Elsbeth hardly does any traditional marketing - she relies heavily on referrals from her customers! She also never got traditional funding either - she started small and didn’t go into debt in order to start her business - she feels like this keeps you from feeling like you’re being ruled by your business.
They are a 100% family friendly business and have all sorts of things to entertain the youngest members of the family while the parents are testing out the bikes!
Books Mentioned:
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalowicz
Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz