BY MADELYN HUBBARD ASSOCIATE EDITOR

U Motors of Fargo North Dakota experiences little employee turnover , and owner Jill Arneson credits this to a couple of intentional practices . Arneson and her husband , Cale Arneson , provide benefit packages for employees .

“ For my husband and me , that ’ s important as parents who have had a disabled child with medical complexities . It ’ s important for us because you never know if that ’ s going to be you , and we want to make sure that we can provide that for our people ,” she says .

The dealership also provides employee perks . Arneson refers to Family Lunches that are catered , whether as a celebration or simply to show appreciation on a random weekday . Employees are also encouraged to play on the product they sell , so they have access to demo units .

“ We have many people with kids and there are typically a lot of snow days , so it ’ s not unusual to see a kid or two in here when school is shut down , running around , playing with coloring books and having races in the showroom ,” Arneson notes . “ We get it , we have kids , so we ’ re pretty loose about that stuff . We support them and their families inside the business and outside .”

“ A lot of our people left to go work somewhere else after college and ended up circling back here ,” she continues . “ Many of them have been with us for years . We ’ re like family and we try not to put anybody in a box . We let them show their own personality and have fun .”

PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL MEDIA And the staff ’ s personality is proudly displayed on the dealership ’ s website , which includes comical pictures and lighthearted descriptions of employees . “ We keep it pretty light and loose around here ,” Arneson says . “ It ’ s how we integrate people into our company culture .”

Arneson is involved in the marketing department of the dealership and explains that short form videos like Instagram Reels and TikTok ’ s generate a larger response compared to other types of content and platforms . About six of U Motors ’ 65 TikTok posts have gone viral . And the posts that haven ’ t gone viral , many of them still received views in the thousands . The dealership has impressive 4,000−plus followers on TikTok .

Arneson explains that the dealership ’ s social media showcases the fun that employees have in the dealership . “ When we get more playful and show our personality on social media , that ’ s what people get a kick out of most .”

While it is more to manage , each U Motors location has its own Instagram and Facebook profile . Arneson explains this creates less confusion for customers because different lines are carried at each of the three dealerships .

( Left to right ) General Manager Nate Harms and owners Jill and Cale Arenson encourage employees to show their personalities in the dealership to create a fun work environment for their crew . Photos courtesy of U Motors

The dealership hosted its first open house since the pandemic at the beginning of June . The Twinstunts Yamaha stunt team was in attendance and put on two events during the day .

EXPANDING TO THREE LOCATIONS Arneson met her husband at the dealership when they both started working there in 2008 . Cale Arneson bought U Motors of Fargo , North Dakota , from his family in 2013 , shortly before he and Jill Arneson married .

The couple then purchased a different building in Fargo and moved to that facility

in 2016 . As the marine segment of the business grew , they acquired a location in Lakes Country on Big Pelican Lake in Pelican Rapids , Minnesota . During COVID , they purchased a dealership in Detroit Lakes , Minnesota . The Minnesota dealerships are about 25 minutes apart and an hour drive from the Fargo location .

“ They ’ re spread out a bit so we can cover enough ground , but not too close , so there ’ s plenty of customer base for the three locations ,” Arneson says .

She started part-time at the dealership in college . After graduating , she was asked to come back and manage the apparel and accessories department . “ I just grew to love it ,” she says . For a short time , she managed the parts department , then handled the company ’ s finances and accounting . After taking a few years off to care for her oldest daughter , Arneson returned as a support person for Nate Harms , the general manager who has also worked at the dealership since 2008 .

“ Nate started as a lot attendant and he helped wash bikes , kept the lot clean , arranged the showroom and now he ’ s our general manager . He ’ s fantastic ,” she says . “ My husband works outside of the business , so Nate has our full trust , and I ’ m here to support him and our staff . I do a bit of marketing

now , and I ’ m part time because I need flexibility with our daughters ’ schedules . I help where needed and plan events .”

PROMOTION AND UPCOMING EVENTS

The dealership hosted its first open house since the pandemic began on June 10 . U Motors hired a professional photographer and videographer to capture the fun throughout the day . The Twinstunts , a Yamaha stunt team , were in attendance and put on two events during the day .

“ There will be food trucks ,” Arneson says before the event . “ We will pull a lot of our showroom outdoors so customers can mill around and do a bunch of giveaways and have loud music playing in the parking lot . Our lot is almost a whole city block in town , so we have a lot of space for activities . This is really exciting for us .”

The dealership will also participate in a Dare to Compare event on July 8 . U Motors and Minnesota Inboard Water Sports of Brainerd , Minnesota , will bring a boat from each line they carry to a local marina where customers are invited to compare products .

“ It ’ s not common . People are usually a little apprehensive to do that with a competitor ,” Arenson says . “ But there ’ s more than plenty to go around here , and at the end of the day , we want our customers to be satisfied with their purchase . So , if it ’ s not our product and they ’ re better suited for something else , we get that . And we look at other dealers as niche neighbors , not competitors . It ’ s a really fun event .”

Arneson is especially proud of the dealership ’ s support of nonprofit organizations . Her oldest daughter was born with a brain tumor and had to undergo brain surgery , so the dealership ’ s annual Scooters for Tumors event is important to Arenson .

“ It ’ s going to be on July 16 and it ’ s kind of a unique event ,” she says . “ It ’ s predominantly

scooters , and last year we had about 100 riders . We also allow motorcycles , a couple of side-by-sides come along , and classic cars followed us . We have a really fun day . We raise money for a local nonprofit called Pray for Grace , it ’ s a brain tumor nonprofit here in North Dakota that ’ s near and dear to our hearts .”

“ I ’ ve been holding scooter runs since 2010 ,” she recounts . “ We used to do them for breast cancer awareness and as our lives changed , we shifted gears to a brain tumor nonprofit .”

U Motors recently partnered with Cboys TV , a YouTube channel run by regular customers , and will provide them with a demo boat for the summer . Arneson explains they have a large YouTube and Instagram following , and partnering with them will drive traffic to U Motors on social media .

“ We also send our people out on a lot of bike runs in the summer and want them to enjoy powersports year-round . There ’ s a lot of fun snowmobiling events that we attend and send our people to ,” she says . The dealership also hosts a Black Friday event every year , joined by a bartender who serves drinks and mimosas throughout the day while guests participate in giveaways .

SHOP TALK “ We were in this business in 2008 and we saw what could happen with the economy , so that ’ s always in the back of our mind ,” Arneson says . “ We ’ re always being super cautious , preparing ourselves for the worst and setting ourselves up so we don ’ t fail . We ’ re keeping our eye on all of it .”

The dealership ’ s current focus is on making careful trades to ensure inventory continues to flow in and out of the showroom , “ and focusing on customer service and customers that we already have , so , should the economy go south , they ’ re still coming to us and we ’ re still servicing the products that they have .”