Mid-Week Mugging is a series of features by BayToday. Each Wednesday, we will run a profile on a local business or organization that will be "mugged" with BayToday coffee cups. The subjects will then "mug" for our camera and we will tell a little bit about their story.
Paul McLean took a risk and like many successful entrepreneurs before him, his paid off.
The owner of Skaters North, formerly Skaters Edge, has been operating his sports store out of the location on Fisher Street since 2008.
Since then, Mclean has expanded from a simple hockey store to an embroidery business, goalie equipment hub, and a central location in the city where many hockey parents congregate to buy gear and also mingle.
“The service we provide, that coffee shop mentality downtown where people just come in and chat with other hockey parents, chat with the staff you never know who is going to walk in here,” said Mclean, who also sells baseball, lacrosse, soccer, football, and cricket equipment out of his store.
The Collingwood native got his start by reaching out to the owner of Skaters Edge in Sudbury. MacLean had previously worked as a manager at the local Sport Chek and was looking to take the next step.
“I walked in completely unannounced and said I am looking to open a store to North Bay and wondered if I could pick your brain for a bit,” said McLean reflecting on the conversation.
“He was kind enough to take me into his office and we chatted for over an hour and he had some ideas and suggestions and it was really helpful in the process and I think he liked what I had to say back as well.”
The next day the owner, Norm Bouffard called Paul back and in 2008 Skaters Edge in North Bay became a reality.
“He (Norm) called a day later and knew he was interested and led to opening a partnership and opening a second Skaters Edge store in 2008,” recalled McLean.
Three years ago, McLean bought Bouffard out of his business around the same time the Sudbury store was changing locations.
The store started with three employees and has now expanded to more than 15.
McLean, a competitive hockey goalie himself, admits he is a hockey equipment nut which is what keeps him going every day. He also praises his wife and three kids for being so supportive with this very busy work schedule.
“I have a very supportive family that lets me spend a lot of hours doing this because it is not a Monday to Friday job,” he noted.
He believes that passion helps him understand the industry and makes him comfortable when he has to take a business risk.
“I don’t need to go to the casino to gamble because I am gambling all the time on which products are going to sell,” he said.
With all that experience, McLean says he would one day look at passing the torch to a young entrepreneur like him in another smaller community.
“Any young, hungry individuals who are looking to get started I would like to pay it forward from that chance that Norm took on me and I would be certainly open to helping set up a satellite store in another town in northern Ontario,” said McLean.
