Bob Negen: Retail Expert, Author, Public Speaker
Bob Negen discovered his entrepreneurial spirit at the young age of 23 when he opened one of the world’s first kite stores, Mackinaw Kite Company. Over the next 20 years he helped change the public’s perception of the kite from a child’s toy to an eco-friendly hobby for families and people of all ages.
He also grew his company from $17,000 to over $3 million in annual sales. In fact, in 1998 his store was named Retailer of the Year by the Kite Trade Association.
A natural marketer, Bob constantly created very successful promotions. His favorite, the Great Lakes Sport Kite Championships, grew into one of the largest, most prestigious kite events in the world.
Bob was also instrumental in helping create a nationwide yo-yo boom. At one time his company employed eight full time yo-yo professionals performing in schools, malls, nationally broadcast parades, professional sporting events, and other large entertainment venues.
While building the national craze, his company opened Yo-Yo Universe kiosks in over a dozen malls, hired and trained over 150 employees using his unique training system, and sold over $2 million worth of yo-yos. All in a little over 6 months!
His yo-yo adventure forced Bob to boil down 20 years of hard-earned experience about life as an entrepreneur into a fun, but no-nonsense, only-if-it-works outlook on business. This “make it fun, but get it done” attitude has given Bob an expert edge not only in marketing but also in practical, proven customer service practices, solid common-sense employee management, super efficient operations, and focusing the entrepreneurial spirit.
Retail expert Bob Negen shares his retail expertise worldwide as co-author of the Retail Mastery System, the Retail Sales Academy, the best-selling book Marketing Your Retail Store in the Internet Age, and as a highly sought after national speaker in the retail world.
He will bring the same sense of fun and adventure to your audience that he brought to the toy business, where having fun was a job requirement. When you hire Bob Negen as a retail speaker you are getting a real businessperson whose knowledge, skill, and passion come from the trenches of small business.
You get a retail speaker whose credibility and audience connection come from shared experiences, not from academic degrees. When Bob tells an audience something will work, it will. He speaks from his experience as an independent store owner.
Find out how Bob can make your next event a SMASH HIT!
Learn More about the exciting programs Bob delivers as a retail speaker.
Click here for a downloadable speaker’s packet with information that includes program descriptions, testimonials and speaking fees, that you can print off and share with your team.