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| B2BFriday, October 5, 2007 12:10 AM CDT |
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PROFILE: Winnie Feken of Chuck's Harley Davidson
Feken leads a family at Harley Davidson store
It started with a blind date, recalls Winnie Feken, owner of Chuck’s Harley Davidson. “I met this great guy who liked to race bikes.” That great guy was Winnie’s husband Chuck, who convinced Winnie to leave her job at Country Companies and open a motorcycle shop back in 1972. “I really didn’t know much about bikes then, but I loved business. I was raised in an era when women in business, well, that just didn’t happen. But I discovered I was good at it, and Chuck knew all about bikes. He loved everything about ‘em.” When Chuck passed away suddenly eight years later, Winnie, now a widow at age 38, had a decision to make. “Well, I was blessed with good health, so I figured, we’d come this far together, I may as well keep on going.” Winnie remembers the early days, when she had just 5 employees (including herself and Chuck) and a showroom new Harley cost $2,800. “Now we have” 37 people working here, and our top of the line Screaming Eagle Ultra, well that goes for $35,000. “It’s a privilege to have such a beautiful piece of equipment to sell. The phenomenon of the Harley Davidson – it’s very elusive. A Harley has heart and soul. How do you describe that? And Harley does their homework. You can’t just buy a Harley Dealership, you know. The company awards franchises. We were pretty lucky.” Over the years Winnie has expanded her showroom as well as her staff, which is a real family affair. Her sister Lois, who has been with Winnie’s since the very beginning, makes lunch for the staff every day. “We are one big family,” Winnie shares. Literally. 6 sets of employees are related some how. “We have husbands and wives, a father and son, brothers and sisters. It’s nice.” Winnie was recognized with a Women of Distinction Award for Business in 2000. In that same year, she was also named the Duck’s Unlimited Person of the Year. “How’s that for diversity?” she asks with a laugh. Winnie’s diversity is also reflected in the various influences she credits with guiding her along the way. “I grew up admiring strong women. Women like Mae West, and Gypsy Rose Lee. That may not have been a very popular choice, but I was impressed by their courage in being themselves, and sticking to their guns, no matter what. How can you not admire courage like that? They came out ahead using just what they had. And that just shows you how time marches on. They were once considered what you would call scarlet women, but now they are considered entrepreneurs.” When asked what, if anything, she would be doing if not running her Harley dealership Winnie smiles and says “I’ve just been too busy to think about it. And the word retirement just isn’t even in my vocabulary, though I did just turn 65. I had myself a Medicare party at Jim’s Steakhouse for about 300 of my closest friends.” “If anyone ever asked me for advice on going into business, I’d probably tell them they were crazy. It’s all consuming. You really need to be willing to sacrifice everything in your life. I know the text books say you need to find a balance, but I’m hard pressed to see how that can happen.” Laughing, she continues, “That’s the reason I never remarried. In the early days, after Chuck passed away, it wasn’t really socially acceptable to be a lady Harley dealer. And business needs do come first, so anyone new would have to have been real secure, and not the jealous type. Nowadays, at my age, I’d be hard pressed to find someone who could keep up with me!” Winnie pauses to reflect on the secret of her success. “I just never understood that I couldn’t do something. That concept – that just never correlated in me. I try to help others feel that way to. Over the years, you know I’ve actually had 7 or 8 sets of parents call and ask me to give their kids’ jobs. They wanted me to offer them structure and guidance. What a privilege to be able to help the next generation in such a way. I’m really proud of that.” E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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