My First Million: Gail Worth of Gail's Harley Davidson
All According to Plan Gail Worth of Gail’s Harley-Davidson knew if they followed the plan, they would achieve success. By Gail Worth
When we reached $1 million in sales, I expected it completely. I am never surprised by how well we do, because we plan so well. When I bought the dealership in Belton, I knew I wanted to move to a new and bigger location and I needed a plan. It wasn’t any one thing that pushed us to the mark. It was just getting our heads on straight. The first year my goals were outrageous. The second year I had it figured out. I knew I didn’t want to put the carrot so far in front of me or my team that we couldn’t ever reach the goal. We put a plan in place and started to take smaller steps.
$1,000,000! It was so amazing and so fabulous to get there. It was hugely exciting to think that we actually attained the goal that we set. We have a celebration every Saturday, so we just included this celebration in one of our regular parties. It was a chance to give kudos to everybody for working extra hard. Everyone here at one time or another gives kudos to others for things that they have done especially well.
Setting the Goal When you plan and set goals, you achieve so much more. We knew we had to have the sales to reach a point where we could move. I had borrowed so much to start that I couldn’t borrow any more. The original location was so small that we had only a third of the staff that we have now. We didn’t have room for any more people so we had to meet our goals with the staff we had. Now we have 72 employees. The old dealership had about 15,000 square feet, only enough space to show 13 motorcycles. I new I had to add on or move. The new space, which opened in November 2004, has 55,000 square feet. We have 75 motorcycles on the floor and storage for many more. I knew if I kept up the momentum we could afford a place like the one we are in now. I have always had a plan. We set monthly goals, which sometimes turned into weekly goals. If we fell short one month, we would make it up the following month.
How It Changed Us We reached that first million in sales before we moved, but that success made it possible for us to build our new place. It took us two years to reach the mark. Since we have gotten here, it has been incredible. We still have goals because once you stop making goals you start going backwards. After they broke ground on the new building, I would come and sit on the lot every Sunday and just look around. One of the most memorable was when the 70-foot-tall side walls went up. They just looked humongous but it all came together. From my office on the second floor, I can survey the showroom floor. I am proud of what I have built. The idea that I may help influence other young women to choose a similar path makes success all the sweeter. It makes me really proud when a customer wants to introduce me to their daughter because they want their daughter to grow up like me. I can show them that even though the odds may seem insurmountable, they can be anything they want to be. I also happy our success allows me to give back to the community. The dealership supports many charities including Wayside Waifs and the Cancer Society and we sponsor rides and events for such charities as Toys for Tots and the March of Dimes. Gail Worth is president and owner of Gail’s Harley-Davidson. You can reach her at (816) 966-2222 or
