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Gigi Stetler
Unstoppable Entrepreneur and CEO
Gigi Stetler’s story reads like a best-seller, replete with plot twists, shady characters, and a heroine with many layers. A father-figure mentor who gave Gigi her first opportunity but later stabbed her in the back. An attacker who literally stabbed her 21 times and left her for dead and a good ol’ boys network in an industry that conspired to keep her out. Every time Gigi got knocked down, she kept getting back up. But there are many sides to this tough-as-nails businesswoman: She is also a single mom, an equestrian, and a woman of such immeasurable grace that she visited every day at the deathbed of the mentor who had tried to destroy her.
Working in the trenches is what gave Gigi Stetler, 47, who now owns three RV dealerships, major insight. With a recession under way and gas prices on the rise, big gas-guzzling vehicles could be a tough sell, but her business grosses more than $18 million a year, and she personally takes home over $700,000
That’s a big jump from the $500-a-week base pay Stetler earned as an employee at a Fort Lauderdale RV dealership in 1986 where she was promoted to manager in two weeks and stayed for 13 years. Along the way, she was able to take over the business and start doing things her way – for example, showing up at RV parks with a milk crate full of tools to make vehicle repairs. “We had all these buyers who were unhappy, so I fixed toilets and made homes level and did whatever it took to get them to trust us,” she says. “Then I threw a thank-you party for them at the dealership and offered a $500 credit for every new customer they brought. People saw we were paying attention to them and started coming in by the truckload.
Keeping her customers front and center has also enabled her to successfully expand into new markets. “At the moment, it seems like everyone in the industry is fighting over the same people,” Stetler says. She found new buyers by creating an in-house interior design team that can customize an RV to suit any purpose. They’ve put together mobile hair salons, boutiques, and even a chiropractor’s office, and their success has helped Stetler bring in a roster of corporate clients. The team can also transform an RV into a luxury home, complete with designer kitchen, which appeals to upscale customers who still have money to burn.
“We’ve turned RVs into rock star buses,” Stetler says. “And now we’re selling to people who usually drive BMWs.”
Unstoppable Entrepreneur and CEO
Gigi Stetler’s story reads like a best-seller, replete with plot twists, shady characters, and a heroine with many layers. A father-figure mentor who gave Gigi her first opportunity but later stabbed her in the back. An attacker who literally stabbed her 21 times and left her for dead and a good ol’ boys network in an industry that conspired to keep her out. Every time Gigi got knocked down, she kept getting back up. But there are many sides to this tough-as-nails businesswoman: She is also a single mom, an equestrian, and a woman of such immeasurable grace that she visited every day at the deathbed of the mentor who had tried to destroy her.
Working in the trenches is what gave Gigi Stetler, 47, who now owns three RV dealerships, major insight. With a recession under way and gas prices on the rise, big gas-guzzling vehicles could be a tough sell, but her business grosses more than $18 million a year, and she personally takes home over $700,000
That’s a big jump from the $500-a-week base pay Stetler earned as an employee at a Fort Lauderdale RV dealership in 1986 where she was promoted to manager in two weeks and stayed for 13 years. Along the way, she was able to take over the business and start doing things her way – for example, showing up at RV parks with a milk crate full of tools to make vehicle repairs. “We had all these buyers who were unhappy, so I fixed toilets and made homes level and did whatever it took to get them to trust us,” she says. “Then I threw a thank-you party for them at the dealership and offered a $500 credit for every new customer they brought. People saw we were paying attention to them and started coming in by the truckload.
Keeping her customers front and center has also enabled her to successfully expand into new markets. “At the moment, it seems like everyone in the industry is fighting over the same people,” Stetler says. She found new buyers by creating an in-house interior design team that can customize an RV to suit any purpose. They’ve put together mobile hair salons, boutiques, and even a chiropractor’s office, and their success has helped Stetler bring in a roster of corporate clients. The team can also transform an RV into a luxury home, complete with designer kitchen, which appeals to upscale customers who still have money to burn.
“We’ve turned RVs into rock star buses,” Stetler says. “And now we’re selling to people who usually drive BMWs.”
