Dia Matteson is going places… literally. After building up the family business and branching out, she is now Owner/CEO at Kenai Peninsula Harley-Davidson, Denali Harley-Davidson and House of Harley-Davidson in Alaska as well as Legends Harley-Davidson, Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson, Whiskey Row Harley-Davidson and Sedona Harley-Davidson in Arizona! When Dia originally purchased the three dealerships in Alaska back in 2012, she became the youngest female sole owner of a Harley-Davidson Franchised Dealership at 25. Who is Dia Matteson? She is NPDA!
“I want all dealers to join NPDA to help motorcycling and powersports go into the next century!” Forward thinking from a Dealer in Alaska… then again, you have to be able to think out of the box to do business on the last frontier. “Things are changing so fast. It's happening in all industries… there are a lot of game changers hitting the market, the Internet being such a big part of that.”
The pandemic-induced socially distanced customer experience can be hard for any retailer to get their head around, particularly powersports Dealers. “I think that the Dealers have been so siloed, and especially me in Alaska! I never really experienced being able to work with Dealers across other brands, or in different industries. I thought that I was this really small, little Alaska Dealer, you know? But coming into Arizona, I started to realize that I was kind of a bigger Dealer, comparatively speaking.”
“There are a lot of things that we just don't talk to each other about, and we don't help each other with. And so I thought that NPDA could provide an opportunity to get Dealers to not look at each other as competitors, but to collaborate. We need to really look at our sport and determine how we can make sure that we're viable 10 years from now, 20 years from now?” Break out of the silo, share some information and find common ground… this will lead to even more questions.
“How do we get more people riding motorcycles? How do we make sure that we're working with not only the local government, but also the Federal government to ensure that we are protected. As a small business owner, you may not understand all the HR things that you need to know as an owner.” And it is the Dealers who need it the most who have the least access to help.
“I think a lot of small Dealerships suffer with that lack of access and not having the background or the education. So there is a tremendous opportunity for training. I think that NPDA would bring all that together and really focus on the Dealer network to really help them elevate their operations and come up to the next level. We need to make sure that we are all viable.” Viable and inclusive, not just another good old boys club.
“With having three females on the Founding Board of NPDA, we provide an opportunity to educate and bring more women into the industry. It will also help recruitment of more riders. I think that that's a big part of it, too.”
Bottom Line:
“Having more females feel comfortable working in the industry would also result in more women feeling comfortable purchasing and participating. I believe inclusivity something that NPDA offers.
See more at:
https://www.npda.org/about-us