One of Central Oregon’s leading sports and tourist attractions is Fly Fishing. Did you know one of the sport’s most popular suppliers nationwide, Seasonal Marketing, is located in La Pine, Oregon? Yes, La Pine…who knew!
Seasonal Marketing is the company name behind the brands, Caddis Wading Systems and Waterfowl Wading Systems by Caddis. I recently sat down with Mike Myers, co-owner with his wife Barbara, of Seasonal Marketing to find out how they have gone from surviving to thriving in a down economy.
To look at Mike is to see the quintessential sportsman. I compare him to a bigger version of Tim Allen’s character, Tool Man. Mike is a man’s man. He’s not a big talker, when he does it’s with the articulation of a Wall Street banker. Mike is all business and eats and breaths his passion for creating the best fishing/hunting equipment available. I work with Mike as his sourcing agent in China. He loves the sports of fishing and hunting. He loves the game of business.
CBN: What is the Caddis Wading System?
Mike: It’s a comprehensive line of mid to upper middle price point waders that address the needs of both waterfowl hunting and fishing. Our line consists of stocking foot waders, boot foot waders that we assemble in La Pine, wading shoes with the most advanced sole technology, vests, jackets, luggage, casual wear and accessories. We always try to offer the most advanced features at an affordable price.
CBN: How did Seasonal Marketing begin?
Mike: Seasonal Marketing began in late 2004. I owned a sales agency that was experiencing a number of consolidations by factories we represented. A sales agency either wins or loses based on who buys whom. Since we basically pioneered a prior wader brand named Hodgman, when it was sold and we were fired, I took it a bit personal and elected to start my own wader company. The Northwest is a unique market with many opportunities in Fishing and Hunting waders, which national companies tend to look beyond.
CBN: So you saw a niche market and started building upon it?
Mike: Yes, our business started regionally and has expanded in most of the 50 States and Canada. We have continued to expand our distribution along with our product line.
CBN: How did your business model change with the economy decline?
Mike: We grew when our current customer base was in a decline by continuously expanding our product assortment and addressing new markets. We have had an annual growth of 35 percent through 2010. We are projecting a 15 percent growth this year over last. Since we started small, as all emerging businesses do, my experience told me we also needed to be very lean. It’s kind of like the Oregon Ducks, if you’re not big, you better be fast, innovative and attend to all the details of what your competitors are doing. We are the best in our industry at consumer and customer service, and cut no corners in providing the best product available at the price points we attacked. We ship the day we receive orders or the next, so our customers do not need to tie up their money in our category.
CBN: “Expanding the product line” all sounds good but how did you finance expansion when sales were in decline? This is a situation many businesses find themselves in.
Mike: Just as we were building strong relationships with our customer base, we were also doing the same with the factories that we had subcontracting product production for us. When our growth was facing stagnation without additional capital after the first three years, I went to our bank without success as we spent the first couple of years with losses. I then went to our best production subcontractor and explained the problem I was facing and how it would affect our business. They put their resources behind us and we did not miss a beat.
CBN: Could you share what a production subcontractor is and exactly how they put their resources behind you.
Mike: Basically I negotiated new terms of payment with a key factory supplying us. They extended their terms which freed up our cash flow without an additional loan. Many times a supplier will do this to help a key customer grow. They saw the value of supporting the business and have benefited in the long run. Our businesses continue to grow together.
CBN: What other ways did you secure financing?
Mike: At the beginning it was by taking seconds on the homes my wife and partner Barb had and securing a SBA loan. Traditional lenders weren’t interested despite my prior experience.
Looking ahead after two very profitable years I knew we would be facing another financial challenge to continue growth. I hired a group that specializes in getting companies money and they quickly lined up three banks during the most difficult of banking times that wanted our business. We settled on a business only bank out of Portland that was interested in assisting growth oriented local companies. At that point our line expanded to where it needed to be and we continue to enjoy the support of our subcontractors.
CBN: Who is the group you hired and who was the Bank who leaned and supported you?
Mike: Paine Pacific, out of Lake Oswego is the company and Capitol Pacific out of Portland is the bank. They are both great to work with.
CBN: What are the key factors that define your success?
Mike:
• Customer Service
• Consumer Service
• Correct quality oriented product for the markets we service.
• Affordable product pricing
• More Customer Service.
CBN: You mention “service” three times. Could you define service?
Mike: It is simple to say, but hard to do. We service our customers at the highest possible level with prompt, complete product deliveries. You will never hear of a consumer that calls us with a problem going away unanswered or not taken care of. Our customers know this and it takes that problem away from their personnel. We simply make it easy to do business with us during tough times. Many large companies make it impossible to get to a decision maker. We make it easy!
CBN: What advice would you give to someone that wanted to start a small entrepreneurial business in an existing product category?
Mike: Make sure you have a viable product niche that you are attacking. You must know that consumer and the customer better than your competitors. Know your competitors better than they know themselves. This gives you the means to develop a plan that addresses all known obstacles. The plan gives you a tool to get financing.
CBN: What are your long term goals?
Mike: We don’t want to be another Columbia; we want to be the best at what we are. What we are will always be defined by the conditions we face in the economy, the market, our customer base and the eventual consumer. If I had a crystal ball, I would be retired at our dream home. Our focus is to make doing business with us easy and profitable for our customers. As long as we always try to be the best and have employees and subcontractors with that goal in mind, we will be fine and continue to grow.
CBN: I know you donate shoes to kids at The Cascade Youth and Family Center. Is that your way of grooming the next generation on your product line?
Mike: Maybe, and maybe it’s to help kids who may not have a chance to experience our products otherwise.
CBN: Why did you choose La Pine to be your headquarters?
Mike: That’s simple we bought a log home here ten years ago and love the area and the quality of life. Corporate advantages for our business here are significant as there is a ready labor force of qualified people, warehousing is reasonable, freight out is very competitive. The result is we can be a lean and mean supplier which the times call for and our customers understand and appreciate.
Mike and Barbara’s operation is more than lean and mean, it’s calculated. Mike is a strategic thinker. Next time you are buying a wading system check out the Caddis line. I know firsthand the quality he demands and the innovations he has created to differentiate the Caddis Wading System. Plus, it’s local!
Seasonal Marketing Inc. PO Box 1410 La Pine, OR 97739, 541-536-2726.
If you would like to share your “Booming in Bend” experience with our community please contact Elizabeth at eueland@hotmail.com.
Elizabeth Ueland, International Sourcing Agent.
