January 2015 NGN Spotlight: Nick Daniels

Next Gen NOW Spotlight

GETTING TO KNOW NICK DANIELS Retail Manager Furniture Fair Cincinnati, Ohio

Nick Daniels, top, walked away from a career in wildlife management and never looked back. These days he works for his father’s furniture store in Ohio. Daniels doesn’t believe he’s superstitious -- unless wearing matching socks and ties count as a superstition. Above left, Nick and his wife Britney spent 10 days honeymooning in Africa. Right, part of Nick’s sock and tie collection.

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Next Gen NOW Spotlight

The secret of Nick Daniels’ success? It’s all in the socks (and tie) : You graduated from Ohio State with a fisheries science degree and now you’re in the furniture business. What changed?

Nick: I grew up in the furniture business

and that made me reluctant to do it the rest of my life. So I had my degree, worked for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the state’s wildlife department and had grad school all paid for. But then I started wondering if I wanted to spend the rest of my life working for the government, where I’d make even less money than selling furniture. That’s when I told my dad that this is what I want to commit to and he was thrilled.

RN: With so many family members around you at work, is it hard to separate business and personal life?

Nick: It’s really difficult. I’ve got so much

family spread out across locations and the warehouse that when I finally see them all I want to do is talk business. My dad kind of brings me in a little. He’s been doing this a long time. When I’m at his house for dinner he has a way of changing the subject so we talk about something else.

RN: What was it like joining the family business? Did you feel like you had to prove yourself to the folks who were not family?

Nick: In the beginning I was really paranoid about that. I had the double whammy of being much younger than everyone else and a family member. I had to prove myself. I think people respect me now because of my body of work rather than just being part of the family. I started out in the warehouse carrying furniture and I’ll still do that today if needed. I don’t care if I’m

in a shirt and tie I’ll pick up that nightstand or chair and carry it over my head if I need to. I want people to know I’m here to grow Furniture Fair—not just sit at a desk and pick up a paycheck.

a specific time. You get off when the last customer goes home. I’ve been trying to do a better job of communicating to her when I’ll be home.

RN: Talk about your ties and socks.

RN: You chose South Africa for a honeymoon? Not exactly the Caribbean.

Nick: They’re my secret weapons. When

Nick Which is one reason we went there.

my ties match my socks, we’re going to have a good day at work.

RN: I missed that lesson in business school. Explain, please.

Nick: It’s all riding on the socks. When I

wear a purple polka-dot tie and my socks are purple polka-dots, we have a good day.

When I wear a blue-and-orange tie, I’ve got to wear blue-and-orange socks.

RN: Do your dad and other longtime employees value your opinion—or do they still think of you as learning the ropes?

Nick: Sometimes I think my opinion is

overvalued. I remember going to (High Point) market a year ago and everyone was asking my opinion on furniture to buy and I was thinking, ‘Look, guys, I’ve only been doing this a few years.’ But I like that they want to hear from younger people.

RN: You’ve been married a few months now. Got any tips?

Nick: Yeah, find the time to be with each

other. The hardest part of marriage so far is just getting to see my wife (Britney).

We got married Aug. 16. She started grad school two days later while still working full time. She’s an accountant and the corporate world is a completely different life than retail where you don’t get off at

My sister spent a year in Uganda and that year really changed her. My parents went over to visit her while she was there and they came back and said that everyone needs to go to Africa at some point in their lives. We did and we loved every minute, from the cultural experience to all the wild animals.

RN: Was it hard jumping back into work when you got back?

Nick: Yes and no. It was such a great trip we

didn’t want it to end, but I knew I needed to get back to work. In fact, our plane landed in Dayton at 2:30 and I was wearing a tie and back at work by 4:40 after 41 hours of traveling and no bed.

RN: What does Next Gen mean to you?

Nick: (Laughs) It kind of makes me nervous.

RN: How so?

Nick: There are a lot of hypotheticals up

in the air about this business and it’s up to people my age to decide what we’re going to accomplish and how we’re going to make those changes. There are a lot of people at Furniture Fair counting on us to make the right decisions. But that’s what’s great about Next Gen. We’re in this together. Nobody has to feel alone and we all have each other we can turn to.

Next Gen NOW (NGN) is a community of young, passionate, engaged industry professionals whose mission is to give a voice to the needs and goals of the up-and-coming future generations. NGN strives to educate the industry on how and why it should attract and keep young talent. The NAHFA supports NGN by facilitating meetings and educational opportunities and introducing the industry to its members through RetailerNow. Connect with NGN members at NextGenerationNow.net or on Twitter @ngnow.

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JANUARY | 2015

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