Client Spotlight

Sarah and Scott Gall
The Runners Flat
Cedar Falls, IA

By Rob Williams

Don't be deceived by the Runner's Flat business name, Sarah and Scott offer much more than just running shoes.


Their inventory of running shoes and apparel, sport drinks, and accessories helps make them stand apart from the crowd.While perusing through their store, I even found an ipod pedometer that can be placed inside a shoe and connected to your ipod giving the listener on-the-go stats about their speed and number of steps through their ipod headset.

Sarah and Scott came to the Regional Business Center/Small Business Development Center to help them get their business idea off the ground. After an intense year of planning, they are successfully doing business in downtown Cedar Falls. Through the UNI RBC/SBDC they took Smart Start, Fast Trac and Quick Books classes. In addition to the classes, they also met one-on-one with Mike Hahn for further business insight. They applied for and received three sources of funding though the Small Business Administration, Black Hawk Economic Development, and Targeted Small Business for Women loans respectively.

They had numerous obstacles getting their business on its feet. Sarah admitted being unaware of the taxing procedures for small businesses, but through the RBC/SBDC they found ample assistance. They even recruited the help of their Quick Books instructor for assistance running their financials. Sarah and Scott may be young, but they are careful. Sarah sends her numbers at the end of each month to her banker to make sure that she and her husband Scott are financially on track. She deeply encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to utilize their Small Business Development Center's available classes and counselors for business information.

Another unique aspect of the Runner's Flat, is their Sports Motion program. To best serve their clients, they have a treadmill with a camera attached to monitor runners while they try on different shoes. They play back the tapes in slow motion to give runners performance advice, and to help runners select the best products to serve their needs. It also helps that Sarah and Scott are both avid competitive runners who are knowledgeable in their products.

Sarah and Scott's business also has a very customer-friendly atmosphere. Their dog, Ollie (pictured left), likes to stroll the floor while they serve their customers. While I was interviewing Sarah, Scott was busy helping a customer. Exemplifying their tenacity for customer service, I overheard him offering to custom order a product. He then followed up his offer with a no-strings attached deal, where if the customer was not 100% satisfied, he would put the item on the floor for other potential takers and the customer could try a different product better suited for his needs.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Runner's Flat. When I asked Sarah what she thought the best part was about being self-employed, she responded with "try finding another job where you can take your dog to work with you." She also said that she enjoys being her own boss, and having the responsibility of running their financials, however difficult that may be. "Just make sure to give credit where it is properly due," Sarah reflected.

The Runners Flat
115 E. 4th St.
Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
Phone: (319) 277-1154

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