Shop Talk: Willi’s Ski & Board on Ski Shops as Conduits and Founding Winter Divas

Kristin Sinnott and Kara Williard caught up with Kjerstin Klein, co-owner of Willi’s Ski and Board. They dove into Kjerstin’s adventurous background as a model and sponsored snowboarder (among several other amazing things); and what it looked like for Kjerstin and her husband Greg to take on Willi’s and maintain it as a family-owned ski shop. Kjerstin explains how to successfully jump into a family business; techniques for how to stay innovative; what it means to truly grow the sport; why ski shops are “conduits” within the ecosystem that is the ski industry; and we learn a lot about the Winter Divas program, a women’s focus group that Kjerstin founded to grow women’s presence and leadership in the industry, plus a whole bunch more. TOPICS & TIMES: Kjerstin’s Background (4:18)Being a Model & Sponsored Snowboarder (9:31)Jumping into a family business (13:12)Staying Innovative (19:01)Advice for family-run small businesses (21:50)Ski shops as conduits (23:19)Families that ski together stay together (26:55)Women-specific gear taking shape (33:07)Winter Divas (49:40)Specialty Retail (1:01:40)Skiing Meets Our Basic Needs (1:04:54)RELATED LINKS:Ep. Sponsor + Exclusive Offer: OpenSnow.com/BLISTERBlister Recommended Shop: Willi’s Ski and BoardBlister Summit Panel Video: Women in the Ski IndustryKjerstin's Music Video AppearanceEp.223: Blizzard-Tecnica’s Women2Women Program with Leslie Baker-Brown Ep.167: Willi’s Ski and Snowboard ShopsBlister Summit 2023 RegistrationOUR OTHER PODCASTSOff The CouchBlister PodcastBikes & Big Ideas CRAFTED Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.