Drop the brakes

Building a business or railing a berm — you’ve got to commit.

Jen Geale
Jen Geale
Jul 24, 2017 · 3 min read

I am co-founder of an online retailer which was recently recognised in a national awards program. At the awards dinner, I had the opportunity to give a short speech (which you can watch here). Below is the text of the reflection I made on the night, which I still feel captures the essence of our approach to business — and why it’s “one hell of a ride”!

I got up this morning, wandered over to my computer, and started to think about writing this speech. I’m sure many of you in the room can relate to what happened next - I stared at a blank page for quite some time, before eventually deciding to go for a ride instead!

Now there’s this mountain bike track that I’ve been struggling with. It’s not that hard, but towards the end is this right hand turn - you come down the hill, through a narrow chute, and then straight into an off-camber right-hand turn. To be honest, I’ve really just convinced myself I can’t do it.

So this morning, I’m riding away, and in my head I’m still tossing around ideas for a speech. Suddenly my awareness shifts, and I realise I’m at the turn. In fact, I’m bearing down on the turn rather fast. Now in that split second I have two options - ONE is to hit the brakes, probably go over-the-bars, and possibly end up avoiding needing to give a speech tonight because I’d have been at home with a concussion. SECOND was to just keep riding. Drop the brakes, and commit.

A few seconds later, I’ve ridden it out. I pull up, and laugh that semi-hysterical laugh you hear from someone who feels like they’ve just cheated death!

Not only that, I realised I’d struck on the perfect expression of how we created and have continued to grow Mountain Bikes Direct.

We drop the brakes, we give it our best shot, and we ride it out. It hasn’t always felt like we’re in total control and sometimes things get a little sideways! Like any good rider, we are often treading the line between being reckless, and being courageous and committed. But whenever we embark on something, we commit. And most of the time, we ride it out, and we’re smiling on the other side.

We are genuinely committed to our vision. To our customers and the promises we make to them. We are committed to each other, and to our team. I’m so grateful to my co-founders - my husband Michael, here tonight. Tim and Mylene, who couldn’t join us because they are currently living in Canada with Mel’s family.

For us, being in ecommerce is not just about the business itself. It’s about the freedom to spend time with our families - our parents and siblings who have always been committed to us, and who mean the world to us. It’s about spending time with our young children - to whom we are all totally committed.

Thank you Telstra, for consistently believing in and supporting Australian business - especially the “micro-businesses” - the businesses that often require huge amounts of courage to drop the brakes, hit the trail, and launch into reality.

Business is one hell of a ride, in many ways scarier than any gnarly mountain bike track! But it’s also incredibly rewarding, and I am just stoked to accept this award on behalf of Mountain Bikes Direct!

Jen Geale

Written by

Jen Geale

Entrepreneur selling mountain bike stuff online | Passionate about community and empowerment | Living the dream with my young family on the beautiful Gold Coast

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