Stuart Garner-Finding Your Own Path to Success

Stuart Garner is the CEO of Norton Motorcycles in the UK. Prior to acquiring the Norton brands, Garner went from being his family’s “black sheep” to several successful entrepreneurial endeavors. Stuart spoke with Steve Sims on, “The Art of Making Things Happen Podcast” about entrepreneurship, how to get things done, and their shared passion of motorcycles.

How to Buy a Motorcycle Company

While many fans of motorcycles may one day buy a bike, British entrepreneur Garner turned his passion into his profession. After teenage antics led to him getting fired from his then-dream job of gamekeeping pheasants, his girlfriend’s father gave him a job at his firework’s company. After a year-and-a-half with the fireworks company, he branched out to start his own company at 19 in the firework industry. As his company became more and more successful, Garner invested cash in other businesses, building up a nice portfolio of investments in interesting companies.

One of his investments was in Spondon Engineering, which makes frames for superbikes and race bikes. A few years after Garner made the investment, Spondon was approached by Olly Curme, who owned Norton, to see if they would be interested in acquiring Norton. Garner was super interested in the proposal as he grew up watching the Nortons with his dad in the 1980s in Donington Park, and his biker heart wanted to make motorbikes.

The timing of the deal was less than ideal — the world was on the verge of economic collapse. However, Garner knew what he needed to do to get the deal done and was on a plane from England to Minnesota the next day. Fueled by enthusiasm and excitement, he flew home a few days later the new owner of a collection of Norton trademarks.

How to Personalize a Historical Brand Legacy

Norton Motorbikes has a long history. The company was founded in 1898 and released its first bike in 1902. Given this legacy, Garner’s acquisition of the brand made news in the motorcycle industry. Although he felt unprepared to handle the press, he realized he was in a unique position. For most motorcycle companies, there is no face to the brand, so this was their opportunity to put a face to a brand and make it a little warmer and more personable.

Garner’s main efforts have been to position Norton in its own desirable, aspirational and exclusive niche. This brand now resonates throughout the entire company, from the stately Donington Hall where the bikes are manufactured to the evolving design and engineering of the bikes themselves. Although initially there was external resistance to changing the Norton design, Garner continued to push the brand forward and has seen these attitudes shift.

From pheasants to fireworks to motorcycles, Garner has shown that there’s no one path to entrepreneurial success.

To hear more from Stuart Garner:

Listen to the podcast: Stuart Garner

To subscribe to Steve Sims, “The Art of Making Things Happen — Podcast”