Gear:30

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 (