“I remember my college business professor asking the class, ‘What do you want to do?’” says Brad McDaniel, owner of McDaniel’s Do it Center in Snohomish, Washington. “I said,‘I’m going into hardware.’”
Brad knew at an early age that he wanted to be the second-generation owner of his family’s business. He grew up watching his father’s hardware store outgrow its location and move into the large, vacated grocery store McDaniel’s Do it Center still calls home today. He learned much from his father and took the reins in 1998.
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Generational Growth
“I remember my college business professor asking the class, ‘What do you want to do?’” says Brad McDaniel, owner of McDaniel’s Do it Center in Snohomish, Washington. “I said,‘I’m going into hardware.’”
Brad knew at an early age that he wanted to be the second-generation owner of his family’s business. He grew up watching his father’s hardware store outgrow its location and move into the large, vacated grocery store McDaniel’s Do it Center still calls home today. He learned much from his father and took the reins in 1998.
“Working for my dad, I got to experience every part of the business,” says Brad. “More importantly, I got to see how my dad respects people and, in turn, how people r espect him.”
Under Brad and his wife Amy’s leadership, McDaniel’s Do it Center continued to be proactive to their community’s needs, building a large and loyal customer base in Snohomish. But they also began to look at their company’s future and, just as Brad’s father had once done, they realized it was time to start thinking about a succession plan.
“The kids were in middle school when we let them know that running the family business was an option for them,” says Amy. “We wanted to give them time to seriously consider the right direction for their lives before they went to high school or college.”
Today, Brad and Amy’s four sons are all college graduates, and three are active in the business. According to their parents, each has a strength that complements the others. Kobe, the oldest, has a reserved personality and an eye for detail that make him perfect for overseeing the checkouts and developing policies and best practices. Kaden, the middle son, is a people-person like his grandfather and helps run the sales floor and engage with customers. And Karson, the youngest, is a do-it-all builder and handyman who answers customers’ questions and guides them to the right products. Brad and Amy could see that their sons’ diverse talents and personalities have solidly built the next generation of the family business.
Generational Growth
“I remember my college business professor asking the class, ‘What do you want to do?’” says Brad McDaniel, owner of McDaniel’s Do it Center in Snohomish, Washington. “I said,‘I’m going into hardware.’”
Brad knew at an early age that he wanted to be the second-generation owner of his family’s business. He grew up watching his father’s hardware store outgrow its location and move into the large, vacated grocery store McDaniel’s Do it Center still calls home today. He learned much from his father and took the reins in 1998.
“Working for my dad, I got to experience every part of the business,” says Brad. “More importantly, I got to see how my dad respects people and, in turn, how people r espect him.”
Under Brad and his wife Amy’s leadership, McDaniel’s Do it Center continued to be proactive to their community’s needs, building a large and loyal customer base in Snohomish. But they also began to look at their company’s future and, just as Brad’s father had once done, they realized it was time to start thinking about a succession plan.
“The kids were in middle school when we let them know that running the family business was an option for them,” says Amy. “We wanted to give them time to seriously consider the right direction for their lives before they went to high school or college.”
Today, Brad and Amy’s four sons are all college graduates, and three are active in the business. According to their parents, each has a strength that complements the others. Kobe, the oldest, has a reserved personality and an eye for detail that make him perfect for overseeing the checkouts and developing policies and best practices. Kaden, the middle son, is a people-person like his grandfather and helps run the sales floor and engage with customers. And Karson, the youngest, is a do-it-all builder and handyman who answers customers’ questions and guides them to the right products. Brad and Amy could see that their sons’ diverse talents and personalities have solidly built the next generation of the family business.
As great as that felt, it left them with an interesting, yet exciting, dilemma. They had three family members in the business, each capable of running a McDaniel’s Do it Center, but they had only one location. It soon became clear that the best solution was to take the big step of adding a second location.
“When we started our succession planning, we never really considered adding another store,” admits Brad. “But we started challenging that thinking and saw that communities in our county were exploding with growth, and that there were plenty of opportunities available. We were just looking for the right opportunity.”
That perfect opportunity presented itself in Granite Falls, Washington, a small community the McDaniel family regularly passed through on their way to their vacation home. Brad and Amy had built strong personal relationships with many of their regular customers. Through them, they learned about a prime retail lot.
The McDaniels contacted Todd Harris, their Do it Best territory sales manager, to investigate the area to see if the opportunity was truly as promising as it appeared. The market site analysis came back very favorably, giving Brad and Amy the confidence to move forward with the purchase of the property.
“Do it Best has always been pro-growth, and I experienced that firsthand when I served on the board of directors. I knew they would do everything possible to make a new location happen,” says Brad. “Along with the market site analysis, they conducted customer surveys to give us accurate data to base our final decision on.”
The McDaniels, along with Todd and members of the Do it Best Retail Performance team, met with their builder to walk the new lot and develop a vision for the new store. With the parameters established, they turned to the Do it Best Store Design team to put together a final compelling design.
As great as that felt, it left them with an interesting, yet exciting, dilemma. They had three family members in the business, each capable of running a McDaniel’s Do it Center, but they had only one location. It soon became clear that the best solution was to take the big step of adding a second location.
“When we started our succession planning, we never really considered adding another store,” admits Brad. “But we started challenging that thinking and saw that communities in our county were exploding with growth, and that there were plenty of opportunities available. We were just looking for the right opportunity.”
That perfect opportunity presented itself in Granite Falls, Washington, a small community the McDaniel family regularly passed through on their way to their vacation home. Brad and Amy had built strong personal relationships with many of their regular customers. Through them, they learned about a prime retail lot.
The McDaniels contacted Todd Harris, their Do it Best territory sales manager, to investigate the area to see if the opportunity was truly as promising as it appeared. The market site analysis came back very favorably, giving Brad and Amy the confidence to move forward with the purchase of the property.
“Do it Best has always been pro-growth, and I experienced that firsthand when I served on the board of directors. I knew they would do everything possible to make a new location happen,” says Brad. “Along with the market site analysis, they conducted customer surveys to give us accurate data to base our final decision on.”
The McDaniels, along with Todd and members of the Do it Best Retail Performance team, met with their builder to walk the new lot and develop a vision for the new store. With the parameters established, they turned to the Do it Best Store Design team to put together a final compelling design.
“We chose to go with the newest store design because it has a fresh, clean, modern look,” says Amy. “We don’t want to make a serious investment in a new store only to have it look dated in a year or two. Also, we know that we haven’t updated our original location in about eight years, and we already know we are going to use this new design when we do.”
As for the inside of the new store, Brad and Amy are sticking with the proven layout they have in their original location.
“The interior layout of the new store is driven by the success of their current store,” says Todd. “The low interior aisles provide clear sight lines for customers to see the entire store at once, easily finding the main categories. Duplicating the layout will also create symmetry in the shopping experience between their two locations.”
As they prepare for their business transition, Brad and Amy are giving their sons the space they need to run the business their own way. “While generational growth strengthens the brand and culture, it’s important to allow it to evolve with the next generation,” says Brad. “Just as my dad did for me, it’s important to let them try new ideas and see how they work out.”
The next chapter of McDaniel’s Do it Center history begins with a second location and a new generation. Looking forward, Brad and Amy are confident that their family business is in good hands with their sons and Do it Best.
“Do it Best is a members-first organization,” says Brad. “When you’re with Do it Best, the other members are like a second family—you can count on them and they can count on you.”
“We chose to go with the newest store design because it has a fresh, clean, modern look,” says Amy. “We don’t want to make a serious investment in a new store only to have it look dated in a year or two. Also, we know that we haven’t updated our original location in about eight years, and we already know we are going to use this new design when we do.”
As for the inside of the new store, Brad and Amy are sticking with the proven layout they have in their original location.
“The interior layout of the new store is driven by the success of their current store,” says Todd. “The low interior aisles provide clear sight lines for customers to see the entire store at once, easily finding the main categories. Duplicating the layout will also create symmetry in the shopping experience between their two locations.”
As they prepare for their business transition, Brad and Amy are giving their sons the space they need to run the business their own way. “While generational growth strengthens the brand and culture, it’s important to allow it to evolve with the next generation,” says Brad. “Just as my dad did for me, it’s important to let them try new ideas and see how they work out.”
The next chapter of McDaniel’s Do it Center history begins with a second location and a new generation. Looking forward, Brad and Amy are confident that their family business is in good hands with their sons and Do it Best.
“Do it Best is a members-first organization,” says Brad. “When you’re with Do it Best, the other members are like a second family—you can count on them and they can count on you.”
