If you’ve ever driven through downtown O’Fallon and crossed the railroad tracks on Vine Street, chances are you’ve seen Bike Surgeon & Gears and thought, “Oh…there’s a bike shop.”

But step inside. Give it about 30 seconds and you’ll realize there’s a whole lot more going on.

We started our morning on the Gears side of the business, where Jon Greenstreet welcomed our students with doughnuts and shared his entrepreneurial journey. And before he got too far into his story, he made a point of telling them how impressive it was that every single one of them was already there by 6:45 for a 7:00 AM class. Everyone was early.

Jon talked about how simply showing up, getting things done and being able to do it consistently is something that stands out these days. It may seem like a little thing, he told them, but being able to “show up and hit repeat” matters.

I loved that he started the morning that way. He wasn’t just welcoming them. He was recognizing something our students are already learning: showing up matters.

Kyle was our CEO of the Day and did a great job researching Jon and introducing him to the class. Jon grew up in Lebanon, went to SIU, and had a bike shop there while he was in college. In 2004, he bought a tiny bike shop with very little inventory and began rebuilding it. What he has built today is a pretty amazing example of what can happen when you keep learning, keep building relationships and keep looking for ways to make your business better.

Gears was added in 2020 because Jon wanted riders to have somewhere to sit down, grab a sandwich or a drink and hang out after a ride. And when Jon is organizing rides for 100-plus riders several times a week, that turns out to be a pretty good idea.

Then came the tour, and there was SO much to see. The bike museum. The displays. The wood and metalwork. The old gas pump. The suspended bridge that runs through the space. It is one of those things you definitely don’t expect to find in a bike shop, which is probably exactly the point.

And then there’s the old van Jon bought, removed the floor, cut in half, painted fancy and turned into a dressing room. Because in Jon’s world a normal dressing room just wasn’t going to be interesting enough!

Every part of the business feels intentional. Jon talked about wanting this to be more than a place where you simply come in and buy a bike. He wanted an experience, a sense of community and a place people wanted to come back to.

But one of the biggest lessons Jon shared had very little to do with bikes.

He talked about relationships. A lot.

He told the students that getting to know people is about much more than selling them something. It is about developing relationships and becoming someone people trust. He is still in touch with students from last year’s CEO class, and he reminded our students that they never know where a relationship they make today might take them 10, 15 or 20 years down the road.

That is one of the things I hope our students really understand about this program. The people they meet, the conversations they have and the relationships they build can be just as valuable as anything they learn in a classroom.

One of my favorite moments of the morning was about midway through the morning when Nathan raised his hand.

“I don’t know if you remember this, but you kind of saved my life.”

A few years ago, Nathan had been out riding when he got a flat tire and his phone died. Somehow, Jon found him, picked him up and brought him home.

Jon had just spent the morning talking about showing up, building relationships and being someone people can trust. And Nathan reminded all of us what that can actually look like.

Sometimes you have no idea how much simply showing up for someone might mean.

Kyle wrapped up the morning by asking if anyone had any more questions for Jon. Then he said, “You did a great job today teaching us about the creativity of your business. So thank you. Let’s give him a round of applause.”

I loved Kyle’s closing. He didn’t just thank Jon for having us. He recognized what Jon had actually taught them, and he did it in his own words. Then the class gave Jon a well-deserved round of applause.

And because apparently a normal group picture was not going to be enough, Luke had one more request.

“Can I get up on the bridge for a picture?”

Luke is 6’5”, the tallest student in our class, so he is usually in the back of our group pictures for very practical reasons. This time, we decided to put him somewhere he could really stand out.

And yes, Jon eventually let him up there. The resulting picture is pretty great.

Luke was also our photographer for the day, snapping pictures throughout the visit and catching all the little things that made this morning so much fun.

Thank you, Jon, for the doughnuts, the warm welcome, the stories, the honesty and the time you spent with our students. Thank you for continuing to mentor our students, making connections for them and being the kind of community leader who doesn’t just talk about the importance of relationships, but actually lives it.

There was a lot to see at Bike Surgeon & Gears. But more importantly, there was a lot for our students to take with them: show up, build relationships, be someone people can trust, and never underestimate where those relationships might lead.