You want money to join this? What are you thinking?
Well, as crazy as it sounds at first, my goal is for each & every person in the Bicycle Industry to find a value here that will more than pay for itself. Pricing is designed to not just be affordable, it’s designed to encourage as many people as possible to get involved and form what I feel is a much needed community in the Bike Industry. It was a hard decision as charging for advertising would be an easier, steady stream of traditional revenue, but Industry Grease isn’t here to sell or promote goods & services, it’s here to provide a place for the Industry to share, learn & communicate on a broad scale. I decided, while much more of a risk (for me), the success of Industry Grease should depend completely on whether or not members felt there was something in it for them. Just like a bike shop’s success rides on how their community values them, I decided there was nothing more authentic than me doing the same. I will let my customers determine my success.
I’m happy with how things are and really don’t need anyone’s advice. Can you give me a reason I might still want to join?
I would never want someone to join if they felt there was nothing in it for them. That said, I have yet to meet one person who does their job today the same way they did 10 years ago. Even if we just want to keep things rolling along, we at the very least have to be prepared to adapt a little as we go. Two of the most important things I want myself & this community to accomplish involve, giving consumers the best possible experience and our own personal happiness… and often that means adjusting to keep things the same. I also believe everyone has something to offer others who might be in a similar situation and nothing feels better than being a value to those we are aligned with.
Do you offer any bulk discounts if I want to purchase memberships for multiple people?
I have been asked this several times but in short, we can do bulk memberships, but there are no discounts. The reason I decided not to offer discounts for bulk memberships came down to me wanting Industry Grease to be as inclusive & fair for everyone. On one hand, I kept the memberships cheap so that everyone at every level in our industry could easily afford it. Secondly, a business with 30 to hundreds of employees should not be given an advantage over those with only a few. Besides, Industry Grease is designed to offer a value that benefits individuals & businesses far beyond what the annual fee costs… and you can probably deduct your membership fee on your taxes!
Why should multiple employees become members vs just someone with a management role?
I know this sounds like a loaded question designed to boost memberships… and you’re not wrong! Regardless of my evil-doing ways of capitalism, I really want the content here to spark discussions… and not just on this page. This platform isn’t designed to be a bubble that holds information internally hostage. Practically all of the content here is designed to spark conversations within your businesses. Sure a person in management could organize a discussion with fellow employees and surprise them with subject matter that they’ll glaze over within the first 20 seconds… but what if they were already engaged on the topic going in and armed with feedback prior to the meeting? Having everyone involved not only provides a value to the business, nothing feels better than when an employee feels their opinion is valued and often shows that appreciation by following through on what said discussion was about. This level of involvement also gives every person within a business a better perspective of the challenges each person faces and suddenly, your team is working together more effectively! That small annual membership fee can go a really long way if used properly!
How private is my information… what is your angle here?
I often desire to become a hermit living off the grid just to avoid every thread of my being constantly being watched. I say that as I have just enough knowledge & experience with digital marketing & lead-generating tracking campaigns to really creep you out. Just having a website gives me insights as to where my visits come from but that all changes when you start having people sign up… even more so when you take payments. I have zero interest in sharing or selling any information I gain access to on this site. All the cliche lawyer speak covers this in our Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, & Cookie Policy as we have to disclose what information has to pass through the things that make all websites functional. At most, I may discuss & compare the answers on a survey from different regions of the US or look at my levels of participation from different parts of the country to determine if I need my content to shift but I will never share an individual’s identity or contact info with anyone for someone else’s gain. Aside from that, the fact that access to the content as well as other member’s profiles involves a paywall, the potential for spam & scammers is all but eliminated. I have even chosen to invest in membership & payment platforms that have been well-established in providing the best online security available.
I don’t want to get put on anyone’s mailing list. Will members from suppliers have access to my contact information?
I have a rule for this. Industry Grease is not a platform for suppliers to sling their goods to retailers or mine data. We might give suppliers an opportunity to increase their presence and share up-to-date information that retailers can benefit from, but that’s where it stops. By default, members’ emails will not be listed on their profile page UNLESS, you decide to provide your email in the optional ‘Visible Email’ field on your profile page. Still, if a member begins sending excessive emails or internal private messages please let us know. Anyone abusing their membership, outside the scope of why we’re all here, will initially be warned. If it continues, the individual or organization will be permanently banned. *(you’ve been formally warned)
What if I want to share something I don’t want certain others to see?
While comments under each article are visible to all members, we have a few ways you can be a little more incognito. If you want to say or ask something without exposing yourself, we welcome content suggestions and may consider including it in a future article *(please understand, we can’t possibly cover every single inquiry so don’t get butthurt if we don’t get to it). For retailers, we have the Retail Chatter page. This is a forum of sorts that only other retailers can access. I wouldn’t suggest anyone say anything here that could risk their relationship with a supplier but it’s a safe space where dealers can discuss all things retail amongst themselves. Lastly, I decided to have a ‘Dear Bike Industry’ page where any member can submit a question or concern anonymously that may or may not be chosen by us or a special guest and answered. Dear Bike Industry is designed to be as fun as it is informative so don’t hesitate to check this out! *(please understand here as well, that we will do our best but can’t cover every inquiry).
What membership do I purchase if I am associated with both a retailer & supplier?
We realize there are a few shops out there that sell a product of their own to other shops & suppliers (or something of the sort). In cases like these, AFTER CONSIDERATION & APPROVAL we will allow someone to purchase both a Retailer & Supplier membership. THIS MUST BE APPROVED BY ADMIN as we want to let Retailers & Suppliers collaborate privately in their respective places and should we discover what looks like someone being sneaky by purchasing an opposing membership with the intention to spy, they will be immediately banned and their membership fees will be put towards getting jacked up on Tim Tam Slams.
On the other hand, if you are primarily a supplier that also sells directly to a consumer, you are NOT permitted to purchase a Retailer Membership. Is that unfair? Perhaps in some ways but for purposes of what I created Industry Grease around, a ‘Retailer’ as far as how things tick around here, is either ONLY a retailer (both online & brick & mortar) and/or a retailer who operates within a community with regular hours for walk-in traffic who might also do supplier things on the side (as stated above this paragraph). Besides, The supplier page (Supplier Row) has an entire forum dedicated to d2c so that is exactly where you want to be anyway.