Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Fix.
Sara, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The winter of 1996 I met David Fix for a blind date. I sat at dinner learning the tale of the race he had just completed. He had been at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. He was a national collegiate swim champion and an Olympic trial finalist. This was his second visit to the big island and I sat in disbelief firing questions at him trying to understand how a person could possibly swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, ride 112 miles throughout the lava fields and then run a marathon 26.2 miles. I was a competitive horseback rider as a child and at 23 had taken up marathon running but, this seemed extreme to me. Fascinating but, mildly extreme. We began dating and the next summer I watched him compete in 1997 Mrs. Ts Olympic Distance Triathlon which he won and it earned him another spot to the Ironman World Championships. So, I went and in awe witnessed the Ironman World Championship. I was amazed by every part of the experience. I decided he was for me and this sport was for me.
Upon our return David tried to teach me to swim and ride a triathlon bike and before I knew it I was racing short course all over the Midwest. I continued to develop a love of triathlon, we were engaged, married and in 1999 I took on Ironman. We filled our fall with an Ironman tour. I raced Ironman Canada, then we went back to Kona for another World Champion race for David and then headed to Ironman Florida for me. So, in 12 weeks we hit 3 Ironman races spanning the globe. After that, I decided I was clearly not getting any younger and it was time to start a family. In August of 2000 Olivia was born and a year later another little rascal came along, Charlie. At that time, I thought I was ready to begin training. David was trying to immerse himself in his career and was not having much luck. He had a dandy job at William Blair and Co. but, was not feeling terribly fulfilled. In 2002 I ran down the finishing shoot of Ironman Wisconsin with a 10 month and 22 month old child in each arm. I finished 1st in my age group and 15th woman overall. The decision as I was getting closer to 40 was one more baby or a visit to the World Championships. I took the visit to Ironman World Championships which took place October 2003. A great experience and fun for the whole family. Upon my return I was pregnant and Andrew arrived in July of 2004. David was growing increasingly unfulfilled in his career. We had a wonderful little family, we loved triathlon and David was not happy in his career….A business is born
David opens Endure it! Sports in May of 2006. It is a Tri/Cycling Shop in Naperville. He chose Naperville as it was the home of 3 local triathlons, a healthy socio-economic community and close to our home in Hinsdale. Endure it sold road and tri bikes, sports specific clothing and accessories. It offered in house training with the new state of the art computrainer program. This is a computer generated program which allows the athletes to ride their own bikes inside. There was an indoor endless pool which allowed him to share his swimming expertise with local athletes. The shop began to develop quite a following and a small tri team was formed. They wore similar race kits and raced locally. I was at home busy raising the kids and continuing to dabble in triathlon. I did not have much to do with the shop. I was an owner in that I had some equity in the business but, nothing to do with the day to day operation. At this point we were entering into the worst economic crisis in history. David made a critical mistake. As the sales declined and the retail climate was changing David expanded. He continued to grow Endure it with other locations that were a distraction to the original brand. Sales dwindled and he would find a way to expand. He bought property which housed a clothing store, then he opened a bike shop that sold mountain, hybrid and cross bikes all of which he knew nothing about. Endure it employed 25 people and had 5 locations all of them being a distraction to the original business. In 2010 I began to get more involved by starting a run program and coaching computrainer classes. I was interested in the clothing shop but, struggled to understand all the ins and outs of the bike business. The kids were 5, 7 and 8 and I was able to be at the shop on a daily basis. I kept immersing myself in every aspect of the business. Boy, did I face new challenges and deal with things I never imagined I would have too. It became increasingly clear that Endure it was in trouble. I had spent a fair enough time in denial and I needed to take action. The first order of business was David needed to leave Endure it and go get a job that would provide a paycheck. The first priority had to be supporting our family. David went back to the world of finance and that is where he resides.
The next chapter, I jumped in and made changes so quickly it would make your head spin. I started by closing two of our locations. I opened a small satellite shop for Endure it Naperville in Westmont providing service, cycling classes, run club and minimal sales. I sold the building we owned closing the retail store. I tried to streamline the business and go back to David’s original vision. We went from 25 employees to 4 employees with 4 coaches. We changed the bike retail structure and everything became custom order vs housing hundreds of thousands of dollars of bikes on our floor. An athlete needs a new bike we do PRO FIT generating a fit and report that allows us to pick the most perfect fitting bike. We give them options and discuss price and all variables, order the bike, custom build and we have a happy customer. The more typical scenario at other shops is guessing a customer’s size and throwing them on inventory that needs to be moved. Slowly but surely the consumer has come to appreciate the process and time we take on educating and providing a full service bike sales experience. In addition, it is virtually impossible to be competitive with accessories, clothing etc with all the vendors selling on line and direct to the consumer. We were turning inventory maybe 1.5 times a year. So, we reached out and got great sponsors. We created custom branded clothing and with sponsorship money we can lower the cost of the products. Voila, all Endure it athletes are wearing Endure it branded clothing which is not terribly expensive due to the help our sponsors. We advertise them on all the club clothing and they subsidies our cost. We now have full turns about every 8 weeks. We have found a less expensive way of doing business. The love of Endure it continues and athletes want to race for the club. So, we have put the club and our athletes at the forefront. The club is the primary focus. Our athletes our representing as we are the largest triathlon club in Illinois. Over the past 4 years we have placed in the top 10 both nationally and internationally (Ironman and USAT point system). The focus on customers by providing value added services such as training camps (Illinois to California), group activities, in house and online coaching and bi monthly seminars provides a sense of community and keep our customers and athletes buying from Endure It.
Events with a purpose provide visibility and success. We started a 5k on Thanksgiving over the past 4 years it has grown from 40 runners to 600. In addition, we have 2 Indoor cycling events during the winter which sell out year after year. Our final event will be the mile race which will start next spring. We have attached ourselves to Chicago Hope Academy and all of our proceeds go to Chicago Hope, a private school for inner city children. Right here at home as I say, Chicago inner city children are more at risk of being killed than any other demographic in the world. Endure it and its club members are doing what they can to help. Over the past 3 years we have raised over 350,000.00 dollars for Chicago Hope Academy.
So, the past 4 years have been busy. We have gone from a debt of 2 million dollars to virtually no debt. The remaining debt we easily pay down the principal each month. I actually receive a paycheck for my 100(ha ha) hour work weeks, David had several names involved in the LLC as he had reached out to investors to keep Endure It afloat. They are off the LLC and have been paid back. I am sole owner of Endure It as David sold his shares to me. Endure it is showing a profit for the first time in 10 years. The good news just goes on and on. The balance sheet is clean and Endure It is doing what it needs to do in order to help athletes find their finish line.
Through the journey my children have grown up. They are in 7th grade and high school. I cannot qualify my kids by a sport they play, their level of play or their grade point average which seems to be the norm. My kids are human beings that inspire and amaze me every day. They are kind, loving and thoughtful people. They are true individuals that challenge me and make me laugh a lot. I love my kids
Throughout this time period I have gone on to complete 24 Ironman races all over the globe, I raced a few more times in Kona and in both 2015 and 2016 I was 7th in the World at Ironman World Championships in Kona, I have carried an All American ranking as top 10 in the country for the past 10 years, at 50 I PRd my 23rd Ironman in 2016 with a 1:21 swim for 2.4 mi, 4: 25 holding 23 mph for 100 miles and 3:40 on the marathon finishing in 9:40 minutes. So, I have continued competing and not only talking the talk but, walking the walk.
In closing, I refer Endure it as mine. Actually, that is not true: just wanted to save the best for last. . The smartest thing David Fix did in his reign of Endure It was hire Erik Walter as a bike mechanic in 2009. Erik worked alongside 25 other employees running from shop to shop doing what he could. He was confused with the business model but, did what he could to help in any of the shops. He did his job and went home at night. Throughout the transition there was no more going home at night and calling it a day. The days became nights as he stood by my side and helped me navigate my new found responsibility. I truly could not have done this without him. He had a profound understanding of the bike business, bike fit, sales and IT. He does things I could not dream of doing. He stepped up day after day and provided Endure It with the support it needed in unbelievably uncertain times. So, yes we did get rid of every partner and owner of Endure It and made someone a very deserving owner, he is my partner and Endure It would be nothing without him, Erik Walter.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think in the first question I answered the hardships. However, the most obvious industry issue is probably the fact that internet changed retail. The focus had to become that you provided a service that encouraged a customer to buy from you. The internet changed the face of all retail. The only way to survive in retail with the evolution of the internet was to focus on unbelievable customer service and developing a sense of community. A retailer has to create other reasons for customers to be in their shop. So, we provided services they could not live without such as education, training, really fun events and coaching.
In addition, many bike lines became dealer direct. They have taken out the middle man. So, shops with huge inventory are hurting. A consumer can buy a bike directly from a dealer. But, when we provide the service of bike fitting, education, depth of knowledge on all bike lines and service the customer needs us so, they chose to buy a bike from us and appreciate the custom approach-value added.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Endure It! Sports – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a triathlon a cycling retail shop
We are a training facility for road cyclists and triathletes
We provide online coaching and training programs for swim, bike and run
We host training camps from Illinois to California
We provide value added seminars and classes that help educate athletes and consumers
We put on 4 events a year
We do pro Bike Fits
We are a triathlon club that races with nationally and internationally
Over the past four years we have really made our name for ourselves as a club. We have put our name on the map by ranking in the top 10 as the most winningest club in the nation and the world. We are also the largest and most visible club in Illinois. It is fun having a big club because then you continually have people in your shops training and participating in all the activities. There is a lot of care taking and customer service that goes with a club but, it keeps Endure It busy. I think what sets us apart from other clubs and coaches is we have brick and mortar locations where we can service our athletes. We can provide every service from training in house, bike maintenance, nutrition plans, physical therapy, training groups and swim team.
What sets Endure It! apart from other bicycle and triathlon pro shops, is that we truly are a one stop shop for ALL endurance athletes and we pride ourselves on exposing every customer that walks through our door to the full menu of services we provide. We make it a point to try and incorporate every athlete into what Endure It! does and want to make sure every custom receives the support they need to grow and progress in endurance sports.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our goals moving forward into the future is to continue to try and perfect this picture. We feel that we have finally found a system and a process that works, and while we consider that to be one our greatest accomplishments – it can always be improved. In the immediate future, our goal is responsible growth, primarily in the areas of marketing and advertising – there are still people right in our own backyard that don’t know we’re here to help them accomplish their goals.
Pricing:
- Run Club – $125-$190 (Depending on length of program)
- CompuTrainer Punchcard – $220/12 Punches
- CompuTrainer Program October-April – $1000 (Unlimited riding and bike storage)
- Personal Online Coaching – $190-$250
- Group Online Coaching – $150
- Masters Swim Team (West Superior Training) – $70/month $10 Drop In Rate
Contact Info:
- Address: 504 W 5th Ave
Naperville, IL 6056337 W Quincey St.
Westomt IL 60527 - Website: www.endureitsports.com
- Phone: 630-305-6771
- Email: sarajfix@hotmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/endureitsports/
- Facebook: facebook.com/endureit/
- Other: facebook.com/sarafix/
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
