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/BLISTER
• Blister Recommended Shop: Willi’s Ski and Board
• Blister Summit Panel Video: Women in the Ski Industry
• Kjerstin's Music Video Appearance
• Ep.223: Blizzard-Tecnica’s Women2Women Program with Leslie Baker-Brown
• Ep.167: Willi’s Ski and Snowboard Shops
• Blister Summit 2023 Registration

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