Pedal's dual-lens approach 💪

Last week we started our usual Monday morning meeting by asking our summer interns for their thoughts on our trip to Dallas for The Boutique Summit now that we’d all had time to let the Diet Coke leave our systems. 

Intern Ollie remarked that the most notable moment from our trip was during the closing party when Abby and I tag-teamed a conversation with an important contact. We hadn’t expected this encounter and we hadn’t prepared at all; so when we executed a perfectly timed, super sharp elevator pitch it looked (and felt) like we were telepathically communicating.

It was fun to hear that the moment made such an impression, because when it was happening, it really did feel like Abby’s and my minds had melded, and we were performing an intricate ice dance that we’d been rehearsing for years. (Honestly, it felt so good, that I think next year we’ll be ready for a karaoke duet on the main stage. Please submit your requests.) 

We’re well into our fifth year of business here at Pedal, and over the years we’ve grown to know one another really well. Can you believe that Abby really doesn’t like salmon? Who doesn’t like salmon?!

Most of the time we click along discussing and thinking and figuring things out as we go. Sometimes our brains work in perfect harmony, and we can communicate clearly on pretty much vibes alone. Those moments do feel great. 

✨ But the best moments are when we see things completely differently. ✨ 

From the beginning we’ve said that we bring a “dual lens approach” to Pedal. Abby’s lens is as a broker, and mine is as a retailer. I’d say that our lenses are part nature and part hard-won experience. Both perspectives are critical to our work, and together they allow us to deliver superior guidance to our clients.

Every once in a while, our two lenses lead us to entirely different conclusions. Those moments are so valuable because we’re forced to stop in our tracks and say, “are you insane? Did you just fall off a turnip truck?” J/k, but seriously, are there trucks carrying loose turnips these days?

When we pump the brakes and explain more about how we’re each seeing the situation, we always learn something new — usually about brokering or retailing — and when our perspectives collide, we can forge a path forward and know that it’s a really good one.

I can’t begin to count the number of sites I toured and LOIs I negotiated over my years as a retailer, and I learn something new and important about deal-making from Abby all the time. Abby’s worked hand-in-hand with retailers over long periods of time, but exposure is not the same as experience, and the experience of being a small business owner is only known by living it.

We know we’re doing something special over here, and our clients feel it, too.