22 • November 2023 • Powersports Business www . PowersportsBusiness . com

Leibfried was recognized as a 40 Under 40 winner at the Powersports Business 2022 Accelerate Conference .

There are no secrets up here . If you want to know how many units are sold , we ’ ll tell you . If you want to know how shop numbers are doing , I ’ ll tell you . There ’ s no secrets . Our employees probably know more than they should , but I feel that ’ s good thing for them .

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open-mindedness is a necessary practice . " I think you always have to listen to everyone ’ s opinion ,” he says .

He put these practices into action and listened to the advice of fellow industry peers when he moved Nick ’ s Powersports to a new location in October of 2021 . Nick ’ s Powersports was relocated to a 21,000

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square foot building with highway frontage about a half of a mile from its former location , which was about 6,000 square feet . He bought an industrial park and developed part of it for the new location . After building the new facility , he sold all but about 15 acres of the park , ensuring room for the dealership to grow in the future .

While this period of growth was uncomfortable for Leibfried , “ I wish we would have done it three years sooner ,” he says . “ Everybody kept telling us , between vendors and OEMs , that ‘ if you build , it ’ s worth it . We ’ ve never had anybody regret it .’ I was nervous about spending that amount of money , no doubt , but they were 100 percent right . Kind of like the saying , ‘ If you build it , they will come .’”

“ We ’ re a pretty small community ,” he continues , “ and we had people coming in who didn ’ t even know that we existed in our old location . I would highly recommend anybody thinking about doing it – do it . It ’ s worth it .”

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SUPPORT AND TRUST WITHIN THE DEALERSHIP

The Nick ’ s Powersports team gathers outside of work often , whether to attend an event to support a co-worker ’ s child , or simply to hang out . “ The biggest thing for us up here is , we have a tight group of workers . Everyone is like family .”

“ In a small town like ours , that ’ s key ; keeping everyone involved and everyone close knit ,” he continues . “ There are no secrets up here . If you want to know how many units are sold , we ’ ll tell you . If you want to know how shop numbers are doing , I ’ ll tell you . There ’ s no secrets . Our employees probably know more than they should , but I feel that ’ s a good thing for them .”

Along with the trust that is built between management and employees through this leadership style , Leibfried shares that employees are also supported by the dealership . “ They know if they ever need help with something , or extra time off because they ’ re going through something , we ’ re obviously going to work with them ,” he says . “ If you treat your workers like family , they treat your business like it ’ s their business .”

Leibfried shares that he has never hired an employee that he didn ’ t already know . Located in a small community , he has either hired existing customers or approached a peer who he thought would be a good fit for an open position . “ While I was owner , I never ran a help wanted ad ,” he explains .

Despite this , he shares that staffing in the service department is a continual challenge , so bonus incentives are one way the dealership retains technicians . “ We ’ re still a family run business . There ’ s a personal level ; you ’ re not just coming in to punch in without talking to anybody . That ’ s another big part of it ,” he adds .

Ultimately , working in the industry offers countless gratifying moments . Leibfried finds reward in helping customers fix their unit in time to make a ride . He also enjoys seeing families walk into the dealership together and leave with units for both the adults and children . “ It ’ s nice to see the whole family involved together and walk out with a machine together ,” he says .

And as general manager , Leibfried will continue to play an important role in the addition of powersports to families ’ lifestyles , along with his employees experiencing a family-oriented work environment .