Heins Appliance owner Chris Matson, left, with Drees Electric’s Jake Drees, wears his love of Hank Williams on his tattoo sleeve.
This Young Professional has earned the title in spades
YSN Staff
Chris Matson is a special guy, and not just because of the hyper-realistic tattoo of Hank Williams that stretches across his forearm.
Matson is the embodiment of the BrandSource version of the American dream — a hard-working kid who began stacking and delivering appliances out of high school for Heins Appliance, and 20 years later owns the keys to the Shawano, Wis., business.
He credits his achievement to his former boss and mentor Craig Heins, who took him under his wing and groomed him for eventual ownership. He also cites BrandSource, whose retail support and Young Professionals networking group has helped him clinch his success.
Matson recently discussed his career and the dedication that has fueled his “crazy journey.”
How long have you been with Heins and what are your duties?
Nineteen years! Wow, it’s weird to say, and also a bit dating because I was pretty much just out of high school. I keep up with the day-to-day operations, I do the ordering for the store, help unload trucks and I am the backup delivery guy. But my passion is being on the sales floor with customers. Oh and yeah … I own the business too.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
[Former owner] Craig Heins is my mentor and he likes to give advice, so I have a lot to pick from. But all joking aside, the best advice I ever received is to treat people the way you want to be treated. It’s an old cliché but to me that’s a powerful statement.
As a young professional, how do you make yourself heard when you’re surrounded by older colleagues?
In my experience, people love to tell you their stories and I am right there soaking it all in. Being appreciative of everyone’s hard work and dedication really helps you prosper since they’re paved the road for all of us. It’s like they wrote the book and I’m here taking notes.
What is your proudest achievement and why?
This is it! The opportunity to share my story with you and the readers truly means a lot. I started in the warehouse and making deliveries and never would have thought I’d be here less than 20 years later. But Craig took me under his wing and taught me the business. My family and I are blessed to have the whole Heins family in our lives.
What’s the most important thing a young person should keep in mind when trying to advance their career?
Hard work and dedication. I know that sounds cliché, but there’s a reason it’s so important. I come from a small town with no college education and am now running a business. Without the blood, sweat and some tears, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
What’s one thing you did that surprised your friends?
What I’ve been able to accomplish already, and not even 40 yet. Or maybe that I work with my wife very single day.
What’s a change you’d like to see in the industry?
The perception that a small business like ours is more expensive to serve than the big box stores. Now that we have the technology, like electronic price tags, e-commerce sites and robust POS systems, we really can compete, be less expensive to service and a better option.
If you couldn’t be in retail, what would you do instead?
I would love to be on stage at the Grand Ole Opry! Having an audience of people singing my songs back to me is a childhood dream I carry with me today. I can be found singing karaoke every now and then or singing a love song at a wedding, but for now those are the biggest stages I have performed on.
What have you gotten out of your participation in BrandSource’s Young Professionals organization?
There’s so much it is hard to pick just one thing, but if I were forced to narrow it down to one word, it would be friends. I’m able to share goals, aspirations and can bounce ideas off of just about anyone in the Young Professionals group. Moreover, I can call any of them and just talk. I have gotten so many lifelong friends out of the group; it’s a blessing not just to me but to my family as well.
If you could choose a superpower, what would it be and why?
The ability to stop time. Most days there just aren’t enough hours to do everything I want to do. I wear a lot of hats and thankfully I have a wonderful team that I can count on to have my back. But if I could stop time and do all the stuff I don’t like, like paperwork, it would give me more time to talk to customers and help them with their appliance needs, without the stress of knowing I have a mountain of other tasks that need me too.
Anything you’d like to add?
I’d like to thank my wife Adrienne for standing beside me on this crazy journey.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
