Exploring Life & Business with Jeff Stout of Rado Racks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Stout.

Jeff, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
While taking an entrepreneurship class at Miami University I knew I wanted to start my own business. I had a few ideas but they didn’t fit with anything I was passionate about. I knew if I was going to start a company I’d have to be doing something in an industry I cared about.

What I cared the most about at this time was snowboarding. In 2010, I built a snowboard wall rack for my brother who had a lot of boards. That was the first rack I ever made. It worked great and his friends began asking me to make them racks. Once I saw that there were no companies online selling these things I knew this was the opportunity I’d been looking for.

So I registered an LLC, built a website, and got the business going under the brand name Pro Board Racks. In 2014, I wanted to expand our catalog to offer a more premium style of racks and displays for surfboards, paddleboards wakeboards, skis, skateboards, longboards, and kayaks. That’s when I launched Rado Racks. Both brands are still alive and well but Rado Racks is where my passion is.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I started Pro Board Racks in 2010 we didn’t have any competitors. There wasn’t a single company focused on making storage and display racks for outdoor gear. We had the industry to ourselves! Over the years so many competitors have popped up and that has created challenges for us. We set ourselves apart by making the highest quality racks at the best price.

I think the key to beating our competitors is that our company is so lean. We keep overhead to a minimum, we hire only the best and most qualified employees, we keep a fun and engaging atmosphere in the shop and that has led to minimal turnover.

The first few years were difficult, but our revenue grew by 20% per year for the first 10 years. When the pandemic hit our sales exploded upward. Because everyone was staying home and organizing their houses we had so many orders we could hardly keep up. We had to hire at a faster pace than normal and we had to expand into a second shop.

In 2022, when life returned to normal and spending on home goods slowed so did our sales. We are now dealing with the challenges of the current economy. However, keeping our company lean has allowed us to pivot to deal with inflation, high interest rates, and slower consumer spending.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in the last few years is that consumer spending goes in cycles. It is critical to react accordingly but to not overreact. A good business owner sticks to the core principles that made them successful in the first place. As long as you continue to make the best products at an affordable price and provide excellent customer service good things will happen. You really can weather most storms if you stick to your values.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Rado Racks’ mission is to make the best racks and displays for board sports equipment. We offer designs that are unique and creative, yet perform a function that solves a problem — to store equipment properly. There are now quite a few competitors out there but none of them make products that are functional, durable, good-looking, and affordable.

There are plenty of cheaply-made plastic racks on the market. Our racks are made from premium baltic birch and designed to last a lifetime. We manufacture our racks in our Denver shop on a CNC router. This gives us the ability to replicate precise cuts in high volume.

We named our brand Rado Racks because we’re in Colorado– the most RAD state! People here love boardsport activities and so do we. We love to share our passion for the outdoors with the great people here in Colorado!

So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why.
Our biggest goal is to have Rado Racks be around for the long haul and, more importantly, to build a brand reputation people can trust. We firmly believe our racks are built to last a lifetime and we hope we are proving that with each rack we ship to a customer.

Our racks come with a lifetime warranty. We hope that by putting our money where our mouth is we instill confidence in our customers to invest in a premium rack from Rado Racks!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://radoracks.com/
• Instagram: @radoracks
• Facebook: @radoracks
• Youtube: @radoracks11

Image Credits
Rado Racks