144: Creating a National Dealership… From the Ground Up… with Trever Varney of Next Ride

Background on Trever Varney of Next Ride:

Trever Varney is a driven American businessman, entrepreneur, speaker and the owner of Next Ride, a multiline full-service motorcycle dealership offering financing, sales, apparel, and service. With two locations in Tampa Bay, Trever’s brand has been a staple for the areas riding community since starting his business in 2010.

At the age of 26, Trever started working at a local dealership when an attorney decided he would invest in Trever’s idea of opening his first business. Trever took this $50,000 loan and flipped it into 1 MM in sales revenue by the end of the first year. By the end of year 2, Trever paid back the loan in full and bought out the equity to make him the sole owner of the venture. After just 3 years, fast success and networking helped open his second location in Tampa which also broke 1 MM in revenue its first year. With this success, he caught the attention of an investor group in California who invested in his next 2 locations in Los Angeles and Huntington Beach. His fifth investment was an industry-changing service center that was the hub for all 4 store locations. In all, Trever employed 57 people in 2 states and in 2016 broke over 13 MM in revenue and over 35 MM to date!

All this hard work paid off and Next Motorcycle with Trever at the helm was awarded #828 on the prestigious INC. 5000 Fastest Growing Businesses in America list. Trever is looking forward to opening a new flagship Tampa store location in early 2018 increasing his store space from ~4000 sq. ft. to a whopping 13,000 sq. ft. and focusing on quality, customer care, and the ultimate online vehicle buying experience.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[1:00] Trever Varney is the owner of Next Ride and he considers himself a motorcycle guru.
[5:06] Next Ride makes money through buying and selling motorcycles. Their formula for success was highly influenced by the movie American Gangster.
[6:48] As a kid, Trever dreamed to become a WWE wrestler. He actually followed through with that dream when he turned 18.
[10:29] After being fired by WWE, Trever moved back to Tampa where he found a job in a motorcycle dealership.
[15:09] Trever differentiates a franchise owner from an entrepreneur who built the business from the ground up.
[18:58] Trever tells the story of how he was able to open up his own business.
[20:42] Building value and being honest are just some of the personal qualities that Trever recommends when you are selling to a customer.
[23:13] Trever was able to hone his sales skills because he has a good friend who was learning how to engage better with women.
[27:19] The latest Next Ride shop has a better ambience with a lot of personal touches and enhanced sensory feel compared to the other dealerships.
[33:40] On the third year of the company, Trever decided to buy out the 50% share of his business partner.
[35:13] A huge part of Trever’s success was when his wife helped him run the business.
[39:16] In 2014, Trever was given the opportunity to partner up with bankers. Their goal was to grow the business up to a hundred stores.
[43:19] Partnering up with the bankers didn’t turn out the way they wanted it to be. After a couple of years, they ended up separating.
[50:27] Getting out of the partnership with the bankers was not an easy process for Trever and his wife.
[56:20] Trever offers his last piece of advice on how to become successful.

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Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? I I don't read much. Most content I consume through documentary or radio/podcast
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? 5 hour energy bulk
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Craigslist
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Patience.. It takes time to grow a bussiness right. I want it all today but am learning to conrtol myself daily