Jenni Peters says a thriving business starts with a feeling that a customer has upon walking through the door. The right surroundings, she says, foster a bond between the customer and the business.
“Retailers will tell you, the longer someone stays in your store, the more likely they are to spend some money,” Peters says.
But far from being a calculated move, creating the right atmosphere starts with what makes the entrepreneur feel most at home.
“Look at my office,” Peters says of her cabin-like space, which is packed with running trophies, CDs and a flat-screen TV. “I could live here if I had a bed and a kitchen.”
Such a feeling defines Varsity Sports, whose standalone locations in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Mandeville are situated in cozy, converted homes. Peters says the majority of her clientele are casual runners and people in need of therapeutic equipment, and the laid-back surroundings appeal to them.
“They feel relaxed in that situation, sort of a family feel,” she says. “If we had a slick, mall-like store, an elite-looking store named Performance Running, we wouldn’t have the store we have today.”
Too much expansion can diminish the personal touch, Peters says, and an emphasis on customer service can make or break a sale.
“The service element, being a part of the store, is really essential,” she says. “Service is putting yourself in another person’s place, talking to them and helping them buy. I tell my staff all the time, ‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’”
The personal touch stretched into all aspects of the business from the start.
In searching for the capital to start what Peters calls her “little running store,” she sought investors who would not only have a financial stake, but who also would serve as advocates.
She enlisted friends who represented various professions related to running and health. “They were going to make sure that it wasn’t going to fail,” she says.
Once Varsity Sports hit the ground running, Peters built support through fostering bonds with the community. A longtime business instructor at LSU, she applied a lesson she taught to her students.
“If an opportunity’s not there—and they’re not always there—you’ve got to create opportunities for yourself,” Peters says. “Go out there, find it, create it, do it and get involved with everything. Over the years, you get a reputation for being that type of business, and people come to you.”
