You Never Lose: You're Either Winning Or You're Learning

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Today Doug opens the container with retailers Nick & Chikki Shajwani.

Doug begins this episode by recounting the life of his family who immigrated to the United States from Germany and discovered the outdoors while building a remarkable life in their new home country.

Doug is then joined by brothers Nick and Chikki Shajwani, immigrant entrepreneurs who have founded and developed Molly's Place, a prominent establishment for hunting and outdoor gear on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

During their conversation they talk about their experiences turning a hardware store to a specialized outdoor retailer, emphasizing their commitment to community engagement and embracing local outdoor culture. The Shajwani brothers reflect on the significance of their heritage, underscoring how it informs their business philosophy and fosters resilience in the face of challenges. They also share insights into their customer base, which is made up of hardworking individuals who embody a profound and often culturally infused appreciation for the outdoors.

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Episode Transcript:

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:00:00.720 - 00:09:04.480

Hey everyone. Before we get started today, I want.

To thank you for listening to Open Container and ask that you please subscribe to the show by clicking Follow on the podcast app you're using right now. Following the podcast is the best way to ensure that we will continue to crack open the container every single week. Thanks and let's start the show.

Welcome to Open Container. I'm Doug Schnitzpahn. I'm a journalist, writer, and overall lover of the outdoors.

I fought wildfires, reported on national politics, published magazines, and have caught striped bass on a fly rod in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.

On this podcast, we're going to have an open conversation about culture, conservation, policy, business issues that matter the most to the outdoor community. Let's get some I barely got to know my grandfather, but the strongest memories. I have of him are of his smile and of days that seemed like.

Dreams on the beach at Cape Cod. We had a metal detector and walked along the sand looking for treasures. What I do know about my grandfather is that he was a hard, hard working man.

He inherited a greenhouse business that was started by his father, who immigrated to this country at age 16. He came over with his siblings and mother on a boat called the Moltke departing from Hamburg.

The family was from Munich and try as I have, I've never been able to learn anything about their lives there or any relatives I might still be connected to in Germany. The family Americanized quickly. My great grandfather's name was Heinrich. When he came over, he changed it to Henry.

His brother Ludwig became Uncle Louis.

We did keep the Schnitzbahn name, however, which is both a blessing and a curse, but has always shown that my family was part of an immigrant heritage and even helped me bond with those of other heritages who have suffered through Americans mispronouncing their names. Soon my great grandfather had built a successful greenhouse business providing plants, seeds and berries a standby in the local community.

The Schnitzbahn Garden Centers on Union Avenue is still a place that old timers from Middlesex county remember. I wish I knew more about my family. My dad once told me that his grandfather, Heinrich Henry, who came over on the Moltke, was always working.

Once when my dad was playing with toy animals around a barn and put them inside to keep them out of the rain. His grandfather asked why.

My dad said it was to keep them dry, and his grandfather replied, the animals can take the rain, put the machines in the barn. My grandfather, also named Henry, was a playful man. We have videos of him splashing in the Surf with his children at Long Beach Island.

Out on a boat with my dad and Uncle Henry, smiling, laughing, Being a big kid, people often say I look a lot like him. And I think I share his playfulness, too.

He served in the 1st Marines during World War II in the battle of Okinawa, a fight so brutal it was referred to in Japanese as Tetsu no Ame, or the Storm of Steel. Okinawa was leveled, every building and plant incinerated.

I don't know how he survived, except that he had the skills in typing, which kept him away from the worst of the front lines. I do have his journal, in which he describes hiking through rain and mud to bury bodies.

The pages that deal with the battle at Shuri Castle, leveled to nothing but tunnels, speak of a vicious fight for the rest of the island. And then nothing, he says. Nothing.

And maybe that's for the better. What I do know is that when he returned, he was a loving father, husband, and a leader in the community. He was heavily involved in the Boy Scouts.

He had canvas tents, tables, cookware, gear that they'd load into the back of work trucks to take kids from the neighborhood out into the woods.

I've seen pictures of my dad at campouts and at other spots, with my grandfather smiling, leading the way into the outdoors, a place that must have felt like peace after the work life he inherited from his father and the horrors he witnessed in Okinawa and later during the Chinese Civil War. I do know that long after he was gone, members of the community would remember him fondly as a Boy Scout leader. He loved fishing, too.

There's a story that he took my grandmother fishing on their honeymoon. Because of the garden business, he had access to private ponds.

He passed this love of fishing onto my father, who spent long, long hours at Long beach island, on boats, on the bay, on the shore, perfecting the craft even when the rest of the family was busy. That love of being outdoors, of fishing, of teaching these skills to others, to kids, to family, to community, was central to him.

It was certainly more important to my grandfather than the toil of running the greenhouses, which fell on hard times in the early 1960s. I'm sure that in many ways, all this time outside fishing, teaching, being in nature was his way of returning from the days of hell in Okinawa.

Like most men of his generation, he never spoke about the war. I never got the chance to fish with him before he died far too early from lung cancer. He was a smoker, as so many men of that generation were.

He worked in the greenhouse, exposed to who knows what chemicals. And who can say what the smoke and death of the battlefield, the storm of steel did to him.

His love of fishing and the outdoors left a lasting mark on my father.

Even when he was working 7am to 7pm at a bank in New York City, building a career and supporting our family, there were still days when we'd get outside. We'd walk and ask questions about trees and streams.

We'd go to the beach, cast lures, then later on, flies for bluefish, striped bass and the rare false albacore. That love and knowledge has passed on to my son and my daughter and I hope, someday to their children.

All of this is to say that at its most basic level, the outdoors is about community, local community. It's not an industry, it's not politics, it's not a social media reel. It's something to be lived, loved and shared.

Part of the fabric you build with the people you live among in your home, in your town and beyond. It's a place where we can feel most ourselves together.

I know you've seen this People who seem awkward or out of place in the day to day world come alive when they're outside. They are themselves again, away from all the junk we carry. These communities, these American communities, were built by immigrants over generations.

All of us are invaders on this continent. It's a sad truth we must account for and someday maybe even begin to repay. That's another conversation.

But when I think of my family, of my 16 year old great grandfather coming here and making a life, I asked myself, why did he work so hard so that we could enjoy this? Being outside, fishing, loving and caring for the land. This is our inheritance and it's what we must continue to cultivate.

My guests today are immigrants. They came here as teenagers from India and they too worked hard and have built a business that has become a pillar of their community.

Nick and Cheeky Shajwani are the owners of Molly's Place, the go to spot for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear in Kennedyville, Maryland on the Eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay. They started working at the location when it was just a hardware store, fixing lawnmowers and doing whatever it took to make cash.

They then helped brainstorm and open the new outdoor store Molly's Place about a decade ago, becoming important and well known members of the community in the process. This August they are opening the doors to a second storefront in Easton, Maryland with a new, innovative and curated focus.

So let's open the container with Nick and Cheeki Sajwani.

Well, here we are with Nick and Chiqui Sajwani and they are the owners of Molly's Place Sporting Goods, which you just opened a new store, I believe, which is some really good news, I think, considering so many people in the outdoor industry are currently so worried about the economy and outdoor business in general. Considering all those headwinds, how were you able to open a new store?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:09:04.640 - 00:10:04.600

Well, you know, in a world of the E. Comm where everybody wants to do some kind of drop ship or, you know, open this, this is where we are currently.

And we're actually going in the opposite direction, you know, since we've kind of been in, we're in retail, but we're in the hospitality industry, you know, because we're a destination where a customer comes in and takes their hard earned dollar and chooses to shop with us in return. More than the product, they get service, a conversation and a live human being that, you know, is there for their needs.

And so that's what has led us to go kind of against the E. Com grain. And we are, we also do E. Comm. But we want to make sure we are there for the brick and mort because that's what we are to our core.

And we're having the opportunity to go do it in a new area that has a little bit more population than we have here currently. Kennedyville, Maryland.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:10:05.480 - 00:10:10.280

But you've built the brand so people are going to know the brand when. They come to the new store in the process. Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:10:12.200 - 00:10:53.140

It takes decades to do things the right way. This most successful brands that you see, they last time. And we like to believe that we're in a journey and, you know, want to leave our mark.

Yeah. Just to add to that, it's like we really enjoy that side of the business. Right.

The customer interaction when they walk in, knowing the people who they are, just building that rapport with the customer means a lot to us. A lot of times as customers become our extended families, they're part of our network, they're part of everything we do on a daily basis.

So we really enjoy that side of the business. So brick and mortar really means a lot to us. So hence we are expanding and excited to serve another area.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:10:54.260 - 00:11:00.580

I love it. So tell me about your customers. Like who are they and what do they love about being outdoors?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:11:02.980 - 00:11:51.610

That's a loaded question. Our customers is all over the board. Right. But it's in general concept, it's hard working, American blue collar. They love the outdoors.

They enjoy being outdoors with their family. It's a way of life for a lot of them.

So our customer really Enjoys the fact that they can go out there and enjoy this beautiful landscape that we have. We are very fortunate to have this here.

A lot of places don't have hunting and fishing as recreation, so this country, so to say, like, you know, we're very fortunate to have that. And a lot of people here enjoy the outdoors, which is great. It's better than sitting in front of a TV or a computer all day.

It's nice to be outside and actually take advantage of it.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:11:51.690 - 00:12:05.450

And you're located in Maryland in an area where our producer Colin was saying earlier, he kind of knows.

Could you tell maybe some people don't know the area as well, what your area of Maryland is like and what great outdoor opportunities there are there?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:12:06.340 - 00:12:25.500

Sure, yes.

So we're, we're blessed to be living on the Eastern shore of Maryland, which is actually the better, the only part of Maryland for what we care about. You know, it's away from the city of Baltimore and all the above. But it's, it's truly to its course.

Traditionally, it's a waterman's town and outdoors people's town.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:12:25.500 - 00:12:25.860

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:12:26.260 - 00:12:32.860

These people lived off the land. You know, there's watermen out there every day that go out and that's their way of life.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:12:32.860 - 00:12:33.220

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:12:33.300 - 00:12:54.830

So when it talking about crabbing or fishing or, you know, that's what these people lived for because that's how they put food on the table, whether it be whitetail hunting. Again, same concepts right there. They fed their families with this. So it was, it's. It's an.

What we are doing here is essential for their way of life of people on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:12:54.830 - 00:13:07.110

You know, I think the hunting and fishing communities really spoke up recently with this public land sell off that came up to stop it. Was that something that, that resonated with you guys and your customers? Were you hearing a lot about that?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:13:07.600 - 00:14:10.690

So, yeah, back to the same thing. Like it's very important to have the public land access. Right.

A lot of guys are not fortunate enough to have private land, you know, and it's very expensive to lease private land to go hunting and fishing and so on, so forth. So we. Again, back to same thing being where we are. We have Turner's Creek, which is right down the street. That's a public land. Great place to go.

We have Blackwater Refuge, where Easton, where our new store is opening. Right. For duck hunting. That's like a mecca. So it's very. It's essential to have public land access because hunting itself is an expensive hobby. Right.

It's not cheap to get out there and go enjoy this.

But the public land part of it definitely does help for somebody that just wants to go out there and enjoy it without spending a lot of money and, you know, investing a lot of dollars into it. So it's very essential to have that access. Our customers, yes. We have people every weekend that come up here, and they're out there going.

The public using the public land. So it's essential for the outdoor community to have that access.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:14:10.850 - 00:14:16.850

And is that something you're involved with in the store, too, getting people out to certain places, advocating for certain places?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:14:17.170 - 00:14:45.000

We haven't had that a whole lot here. Where we are, it's so rural that it's here. It's not as big a deal as some of the bigger.

If you go out in the cities and out Midwest and stuff, where their population is growing tremendously, there's a difficult. They're having a harder time than what we are here. Back to the same thing. We're in town of 300 some people, right. So we have access, but we do still.

There's plenty of people that use public land. And if there was ever opportunity here, I'm sure we'll be supporting it every which way we can.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:14:45.720 - 00:14:59.080

That's great. Now, what about for the two of you? Are you. How do you.

When you're not working, which I know is a lot of the time, how are you connecting out there, getting outdoors, you know, being a part of this community?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:14:59.400 - 00:15:26.040

Oh, for sure.

You know, again, we're blessed to live on the Eastern Shore, so, you know, get ourselves out there, kids out there on the water or, you know, hunting season, it's a little bit difficult because we're out here working in this store, as you can only imagine, but truly look forward to the. Almost like now it's, you know, you set up hunts with friends, especially waterfowl, Right. That's something special about that.

And try to keep those traditions going.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:15:26.280 - 00:15:28.680

Do you get any time to get out there, the two of you together?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:15:29.940 - 00:16:30.860

Two of us together, We've been to like, one or two. Yes. Fun.

That's usually like the fun hunts, right? Where you're like, all right, you know, this is. Yes.

But it's hard because, you know, during this season, you're asking everybody that loves is part of this, right? Like, people there. A lot of people that are working here, they love this, you know, that's part of their life. So it's hard to. We usually take time.

Everybody gets to. We allocate a little bit of time. So Everybody gets to go out and enjoy it themselves.

Yeah, it's hard to balance.

A lot of times we tell our young associates, hey, go in the morning, come in a little later so they can go out there and actually hunt with their friends. And what about hunting is such a social concept there, right?

You're hanging out in the blind with four or five of your buddies, and it's, it's, it's a great time. So it's nice to go out there.

Unfortunately, you don't get to get out that much because usually they want to go out on a Friday, Saturday, which happens to be the busier time in the store. So we're trying to do our part and, you know, make sure we're in here. But it is fun when you get. To go out there and.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:16:30.860 - 00:16:38.820

And have you had any really, you know, transformational, really important experiences outside recently?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:16:40.340 - 00:16:41.020

Every time.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:16:41.020 - 00:16:41.300

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:16:41.300 - 00:16:43.940

Like the first light, I will describe that.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:16:43.940 - 00:16:44.180

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:16:44.180 - 00:17:02.030

Like the appreciation of just, you know, lights coming out, ducks are flying in. You know, like, I think it's like, never gets old. It's like each time you feel that, right. It's like, wow, and be grateful.

That kind of the joy of just being able to do that.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:17:02.110 - 00:17:18.110

So now tell me about the new store that you're opening. I read in the press release that your wonderful PR person Stacy sent me that it is going to be a lot more curated than the original Molly's Place.

So what does that mean? What's the store going to look like the new one?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:17:18.430 - 00:19:07.460

So what we mean by curated is we want to make sure we take the right brands, make sure the partnerships that we have, we are really taking advantage of that and trying to showcase these brands in a way that never been showcased before. A lot of times you go into a store, it's just a sea of camo, right. You go to a hunting store, it's just camo everywhere. Stuff's all over the place.

We're trying to take it where we're downsizing the amount of brands we're taking, but everyone we're taking, there's a purpose behind it.

I'm sure Stacy sent out the newsletter where you saw, like, we have a partnership coming through with Kuyou, which is a strategic partnership, first of its kind. We're going to be the first store in the nation to be able to have Kuyu in the store, which they've been mostly DTC brand. They have their own stores.

Yeah. They're direct to consumer. They have two of their own stores. They're building a new one in San Antonio now as we speak.

But we'll be the first one of its kind with this partnership that we have with them. We have a concept store going in with Bandit. We have a concept store going in with Tom Beckbee.

We have Benelli's doing their, you know, premier dealer wall, which is probably the first one to have a second wall in place. We already have one here. Beretta is doing a concept store which is again, first of its kind.

So we have a lot of partnerships that we have formed throughout the years. Now they're all coming in and trying to make this something that's never been done before.

So this place is going to be curated to, meaning is it's going to be the best quality gear that we can provide the customer with.

And these brands are going to really step up and tell their stories in their own way because we're going to give them the space within the store to do that by not having 20 of the brands in there. The partners that are there, they will get treatment where they can come in, showcase and tell the story to the consumer.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:19:07.460 - 00:19:22.740

Well, let's back up a minute and talk about, you know, we talked about the new store. What about the.

Let's, let's kind of get into the history and the story of the original store which you kind of took over from what was a hardware store once. Is that how it began?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:19:23.780 - 00:21:18.300

It started off as a hardware store when I first got hired to, you know, at Molly's, used to be called Chesapeake Diesel. Back in the day it was a small hardware store in the town of Galena.

Gentleman named Scott Mason just had opened it and hired me to stock shelves there. That's how it all began. Started working there in October. It was winter time.

Galena is a very small town, but, you know, the population, I don't even know if I'm doing it justice, but can't be more than 3, 400 people, right? But yeah, super slow in the winter. Just, you know, we're there the first year.

Next year we started selling lawnmowers and, you know, outdoor garden equipment. Winners coming around again and, you know, not used to sitting around so much. So we're like, hey Scott, we gotta do something in the winter.

It's super slow. Can't just sit around, we gotta do something. He's like, what do you want to do? I'm like, you're here. Scott was a very hands on person.

He used to be there every day. Like you go away in the winter, you're not around, what happens to you in the Winter, your summer, you're here every day.

And that's when it all began. He's like, hey, I go hunting with my friends. I have a little place in Dorchester. I go and duck hunt with my friend.

I'm like, do a lot of people do this? And they're like, yeah, that's what everybody does. In the winter, everybody goes hunting.

I'm like, well, if you hunt, your friends hunt and a lot of other people do. Why don't we open up a small hunting store and that will give us something to do in the winter while hardware and lawnmowers are slow.

And he was willing to take a chance and decided, we're going to open a hunting store. We used to have a lawnmower shop behind the hardware store. We used to service lawnmowers. It was a little 900 square foot level area.

We moved the lawnmower shop, built a new building, move it in the back. And we opened our hunting store in 2009, back of the hardware store in a 900 square foot lawnmower shop. That's how it all began.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:21:18.460 - 00:21:22.940

So but before that and before that, you guys were. You guys immigrated, you guys were immigrants.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:21:23.340 - 00:21:33.180

Yep. And, yeah, the American dream's still out there. You just gotta be willing to go get it. That's right.

At the end of the day, right, if you put in hard work and do the right things, eventually things will work out.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:21:34.150 - 00:21:45.590

Well, tell me a little bit about that journey. It takes a lot of bravery, I think, just to come somewhere new and make it with nothing. Right. I mean, that's an incredible story.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:21:47.190 - 00:22:54.770

I think that truly is the foundation of this country.

If you look at anybody that's truly made something of themselves from nothing into something, and we were just blessed enough to have the opportunity to do it. Hence, you know, that out there, being outside in the blind, you know, that, that sunrise coming up. Like, I grew up in a different country, right?

So it's like you're just grateful if, you know there's millions of people there and it's kind of like in your mindset. I don't know if I'm supposed to be here, but I'm, you know, blessed to be here. Yeah, it's the imposter syndrome. We still live with it all the time. Right. It's like, we're here now, but I don't think we're supposed to be here.

It is.

And, you know, we grew up in India. There's no hunting there, there's firearms, don't exist. Right. So you come up here and you see how fortunate we are to have everything that's here.

You want to work hard to be here and make something of it.

And we were fortunate enough to have some great mentors throughout our life, great individuals that helped us and put us in some positions that we would never would have been able to do ourselves. And then hard work, some luck, and here we are.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:22:55.490 - 00:23:05.250

Yeah. I'm sure when you were kids in India, you probably never thought you would have been kingpins in the Maryland hunting and fishing industry.

It was probably the furthest thing from your mind, right?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:23:05.570 - 00:23:10.090

No, it is. We migrated to Galena, Maryland in 2002.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:23:10.090 - 00:23:10.410

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:23:10.410 - 00:23:33.540

Galena is the town that we Molly's. I mean, technically, everything formed that's where the hardware store was. So. Yes, sir. It's a lot of good synergies. Got a lot of good energies there in Patagalia Arena. That again, very thankful for.

I mean, we've lived here on the Eastern shore for, you know, 23 years now. This is home, right? This is. We've spent more of our life here than in India, so.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:23:33.540 - 00:23:47.860

Yeah. Yeah. And as there ways that the immigrant experience, you know, do you think there's ways it's helped you, you know, helped you succeed more?

And is there ways that it's thrown more roadblocks in your way as well, moving forward?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:23:49.170 - 00:23:50.050

I think it's both.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:23:50.050 - 00:23:50.450

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:23:50.770 - 00:24:06.050

So again, I don't know if Stacy forward this or not. My brother and I were fortunate enough to create core values for our company over the last.

During COVID We kind of started this process in 2020 and we finished in February 2024.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:24:06.050 - 00:24:06.450

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:24:07.010 - 00:24:15.010

Our five core values are family quality, flexibility, personal growth, and number five is resilience.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:24:15.170 - 00:24:15.490

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:24:15.490 - 00:24:19.530

I think that's. It was kind of like us or Molly's on a piece of paper.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:24:19.530 - 00:24:19.930

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:24:19.930 - 00:24:55.200

Not just us, but how we Molly's operates. Moving forward. I'm going to read off core value 5.

Resilience is like no matter the challenge we face, we move forward as a team with determination and willingness to see it through. We will always find a way to make ourselves bigger, better, stronger.

And I think that truly forms from not just our immigrant beginnings, but also having mentors like a Scott Mason and working with him and watching him and just having that, you know, resilience, grit, whatever you want to call it.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:24:55.200 - 00:24:55.520

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:24:56.320 - 00:25:25.050

What doesn't, you know, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. You can use any of those lines. It truly.

I think anybody that goes through any hardship, I've never found anybody that's at a point in their life where, you know, they've found some success or done well. It's. They've always had a tough journey, and it's just. That's what makes us who we are again. That's what we. Our thing is we.

We get to do this every day. We don't have to do this every day.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:25:25.050 - 00:25:25.370

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:25:25.370 - 00:26:08.970

That's the, that's the process.

Because when you do things that you don't like to do, you know, you go through that process of that, or you have to do it because you have no options in life because you're in immigrant, you know, it's, you know, we get to do this and we're.

Blessed to do this. Yeah. We don't take it for granted. A lot of times people take things that you have granted. Right. We've seen the other side.

We grew up in a different country. We know how things are. So this to us is special. And we'll do everything to keep this going forward and can't take it for granted.

That's the reason the new store. Right. How do we do this better? How do we do it again? Right. We have one store. How do we do this again? You can't just get stagnant.

You have to keep moving forward. And that's our mindset.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:26:09.850 - 00:26:22.170

Now, you mentioned you had a lot of mentors who helped you along the way, especially Scott. What about, you know, passing that on? Have you been. Have.

There's been people you've been mentoring along, been moving along as well, kind of the next generation.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:26:22.890 - 00:26:24.330

Well, you got to pay it forward.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:26:24.330 - 00:26:24.730

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:26:24.730 - 00:27:22.910

That's, that's. It would be, you know, God, higher power, whatever, you know, you believe in. I think it's. We reap what we sow. So it's, you know, when we.

Good things happen to you, you don't go back and pass that forward. We're not deserving of those.

So, yes, we try to do our best to bring other younger generation of, you know, men, women along and help them and give them a stepping stool that we didn't have.

Yeah. Anybody that's willing, we're open book. We'll be happy to share. Right. We're happy to share our experiences and what we've been through.

If they can avoid making the mistakes we've made, we're happy to share because there's plenty of people that have done the same for us. And it's only right thing to do to keep this circle moving forward. It is.

But, you know, back to that same thing. You gotta testify yourself to find out if it's hot or not, you know, and then so it's. But yes, we could say, hey, it's hot. You know.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:27:24.830 - 00:27:28.710

Are there some of those mistakes you're willing to talk about? Places where you've kind of messed up.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:27:28.710 - 00:28:55.060

And learned from or, you know, we've done things differently, built things differently, laid things out there. Like, you know, it's all. Every day is a learning experience. Every day we're going to make mistakes.

Yeah. The best way I can tell you, Chicken and I, neither one of us went to college, right? So, you know, the whole business thing, we're learning as we go.

So we make mistakes every day, but we're not scared to make those mistakes and we learn from them and we keep going.

So we're willing to try a lot of different things that most people are not because we don't have that, you know, I don't know, whatever that mindset is. We didn't go through college to learn. Oh, this is how you're supposed to do business.

Like, hey, this sounds like reasonable, let's try it and if it doesn't work, we'll do something else. So we're constantly making mistakes, to be completely honest, and we just try not to do too many of them.

It's like, you know, sometimes, as silly may it sound, you know, you're a football fan, you got to have a little bit of, you know, quarterback's mentality.

You're going to throw an interception, you, you know, game's not over, you know, you gotta go back in there and go down, score and it's back to normal, you know, so it's, that's the best part, right? Like, miss, I tell my kids this, it's like you only learn or you never lose, right? Either you're winning or you're learning. That's it.

You either win or you learn because you never lose. Losing is quitting, you know, or not trying or going, giving up on yourself. And you know, our core values don't allow us to do that.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:28:55.860 - 00:29:13.940

Well, and I said, you know, your two kids came over from India and now you've become part of the fabric, right. Of the American outdoors, hunting, fishing world too. How do you think you've added to that or added something different to that?

What unique perspective have you brought into the American fabric?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:29:15.170 - 00:29:31.890

Great question. Like again, we were a little bit outside the box, right. To come into this industry.

So we try to have an open minded approach and teach all our associates the same way, right? Like never judge a book by its cover. Somebody's Coming in and doesn't know. Our job is to educate them and help them.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:29:31.890 - 00:29:32.130

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:29:32.130 - 00:29:47.020

We don't need to. Well, just because they don't know that doesn't mean that they're not going to be a great store for outdoors.

And you know, we have to educate them and teach them. So being a little bit more open minded and try to educate people more. Yeah. That may not know.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:29:47.020 - 00:29:47.420

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:29:47.420 - 00:30:05.020

Because it's uncomfortable when you don't know how to do something or XYZ to go ask somebody how to do it. And we wanted to kind of build a place right. Where people could come in and hey, how do. I've never. I don't own a firearm.

How do I go through that process?

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:30:05.260 - 00:30:05.620

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:30:05.620 - 00:30:15.110

Or I've always wanted to. Where I've never went fishing before. Somebody will help them teach you how to tie knots or you know, what bait they just that whole process.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:30:15.350 - 00:30:15.750

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:30:15.910 - 00:30:34.640

Making it a place where people can come in. Hey, I've never done it before. Can you guys help us? Absolutely. That's the difference.

Because we were one of those people. We've never done some of these things. So we kind of, you know, can relate a lot better because hey, I used to be the same way not too long ago.

So let us help you. Right. That's part of the paying it forward too.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:30:34.640 - 00:30:34.840

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:30:34.840 - 00:31:15.820

Like people taught us. So it's. Now if we can do that on it.

Another part is like, you know, back to the same thing when we were not. We didn't have any of this growing up. So a lot of times these people are like, hey, don't take it for granted. Go enjoy it.

That's other part of the thing that we can tell them. We've seen it from the other side. This side's a lot better. Go enjoy it. Don't complain. Don't take it for granted.

Because you know, a lot of times people don't get out of their box. Right.

When you grow up in a different country and you've seen different things, you kind of have a different life experience, experiences and you can tell them like, hey, this was not what we had every day. This is great that you have these opportunities every day and somebody's willing to go take you fishing or take you hunting. Go do it.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:31:16.380 - 00:31:23.420

Do you feel at home now in. In the hunting and fishing community? Do you feel like you're. This is where you belonged all along?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:31:25.100 - 00:32:39.130

This community is so special. Like saying we've met so many great individuals, so many like all those other store.

Store owners we talk about, we belong to Like a small buy group, which is about 500 stores in the country that we get together and we buy together to have some buying power to compete with some of the box stores. It's called Nation's Best Sports. And like, you know, you go there now, this is again, all part of our extended families.

We compete with a lot of them, but these are our friends, these are our, you know, mentors and we talk to them a lot more than we probably should and we spend a lot of time together and it's, it's such a great community, such a small community. People don't leave this community, they just change jobs.

A lot of times you'll have somebody that's in one spot, they never leave, they just change their position title with a different company. And it's always a cycle there. So this is a very small knit community.

People take care of each other, people are willing to share information which you don't see in a lot of these other businesses.

So it is hunting industry is a very small industry. And you know, it's, of course we, it's, you know, to any guys in the community. So you always stick out like sore. Thumbs to something, right?

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:32:39.130 - 00:32:40.770

Yeah, you know, you got to play.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:32:40.770 - 00:33:30.950

The card you're dealt. So no, it's, you know, we look at it as, you know, again, we are who we are.

People are, you want to make sure you leave a positive impact and what people remember you for. And we feel like we've tried to, we've always strived to do that and still are going to do that moving forward.

So it is, and we're, we're fortunate to have all those amazing people that have welcomed us with opening open arms, you know, and been our teachers and, you know, given us a lot of guidance over the last decade and a half that that's what shaped Molly's into where it is today.

It's of course, our hard work and our team's hard work, but so much of it comes from so many other great people that have mentored us and given us advice and, you know, took the time to teach to kids that are not from the industry.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:33:31.110 - 00:33:31.510

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:33:31.670 - 00:33:43.750

Especially like at NBS at Nation's Best Sports, you know, they're again, that group of individuals there that they're, they're great humans and they understand that at the end of the day, as long as we get people outdoors.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:33:43.750 - 00:33:43.950

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:33:43.950 - 00:33:55.360

I don't care if you buy from me, them, somebody else, you support your local outfitter, you take people, your families outdoors. That's what's important at the end of the day. And you. If we just want this way of life to continue. That's right.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:33:56.640 - 00:34:07.600

Do you see.

Do you think we're at a point where the hunting, fishing, outdoor industry will start changing, where you guys won't stand out as much as two different people or it'd be a lot bigger mosaic?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:34:08.880 - 00:34:10.160

I think it already is.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:34:10.160 - 00:34:10.480

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:34:10.480 - 00:34:13.320

Like, the hardest part is trying to get people to go.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:34:13.320 - 00:34:13.600

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:34:13.600 - 00:35:24.460

We had this influx of people during COVID Right. You saw what took place and what it did for that.

I think it's kind of plateauing out again, where people who are back in, you know, not being outside. So it's a constant thing that you're dealing with and battling right on the outdoor side of things.

But, you know, as you go back and look back at it five years ago, when the whole world stopped, right, people decided to go outdoors.

That's all they could do. Everybody had to go outside. Nobody could kind of go do anything else.

So that was great for the industry to get a lot of more people involved into hunting and fishing. Fishing especially, saw one of the biggest booms ever during that time.

But you can see that dwindling down a little now that they're going back to other things. And, you know, you always have political thing, policy changes, you know, all those things you're always fighting. So it's very.

This industry gets scrutinized a lot from that side. You're always still fighting weather, politics, economy.

There's always something going on that affects what happens with what you're trying to do on a daily basis. Tariffs in this day and age, you know.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:35:24.620 - 00:35:25.100

Yeah.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:35:25.180 - 00:35:35.820

But overall, it's a great industry to be in, and we're hoping to keep hoping it stays around for a long, long time. We're going to do our part to do what we can to keep it.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:35:36.700 - 00:35:54.130

That's great.

Well, we're getting near the end of the podcast, so I guess the next thing I'd like you to let everyone know is, you know, how they can find the store, how they can learn more about what they're. What you're doing, how anyone who's interested can contact you for mentorship, even. How could people do that?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:35:55.730 - 00:36:29.580

Simple, easy, anywhere in the country or in the world. You can go to my mollys.com, learn about our business and what we do. We have a little bit of our stuff that's there. That website's kind of growing.

We're going to change it as well. But currently you can go to mymollies.com or follow us on Instagram for Molly's Place Sporting Goods and our Meadow and Facebook, you know, whatever.

We're kind of on all the platforms. TikTok. If anybody's trying to reach out to us personally, feel free to send a message on any of those things and somebody will get us in touch.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:36:30.460 - 00:36:35.980

And what if someone wants to. Someone can stop in the store if they want to go visit that area of the country as well.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:36:35.980 - 00:37:03.590

Absolutely. We're located 12503 Augustine Herman Highway, Kennedyville, Maryland. Come on through.

It's a beautiful place. If you've never visited the Eastern Shore of Maryland, come on through. And then pretty soon we're going to be available in Easton, 219D Marlboro Ave. Eastern Maryland, right on the bypass. We'll be there two locations and come see us either place. And we'd love to serve you.

Yes. Hopefully to many more.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:37:05.280 - 00:37:15.680

Fantastic. Well, the final question for you too is one we ask everyone at the end of this podcast every time. And it is simple. It is just what gives you hope?

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:37:16.560 - 00:38:09.600

Well, it's like a natural thing for us as entrepreneurs to have hope, right? That's what gets us going every day. We look at things on the bright side every day. That's what gets us going.

We have a lot of responsibilities, not employees. So we always are hopeful sometime to our own fault.

But we have to make sure we're the one bringing the positive energy every day and that hope that everything's going to be great even when times are not great. So, you know, for us, that's the only way we can keep moving forward and just, you know, hope what guides everything for us, you know, like a.

Little statement of duck in the water, right? You see a duck, it's so calm over top, but the legs keep kicking away.

That's kind of what I would describe the same question on the, you know, the worry, you know, like you worry about the people that you've taken on. You know, you have 80 some people that, that you're responsible for their Christmases and, you know, xyz and they are also the hope.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:38:09.600 - 00:38:09.920

Right.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:38:09.920 - 00:38:42.320

Because you know, what kind of impact we're having on not just our lives, but the people that are committing to be here with us in this journey. So that's a big driving force. And truly, again, when you're. We grew up in a different country, right?

Different world to some degree, where it feels like it's to be able to be doing this every day. And it's like there's some magic in this, right? Where you wake up excited and you again, you get to do this. We get to do this.

We don't have to do this. So we're blessed in that regard. We're fortunate to be here.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:38:42.480 - 00:38:51.920

Amazing. Well, it was fortunate for me to be able to talk to you both. Chiggy, Nick, I really appreciate it.

Good luck with the new store and thanks so much for being on the show.

Nick & Chikki Shajwani

00:38:52.800 - 00:39:00.500

Thank you so much for your time and everything that you're doing, you know, for this community industry and we're honored to be part of this and thank you.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:39:01.620 - 00:39:25.150

Thanks for imbibing Open Container, a production of Rock Fight llc.

Please take a second to follow our show on whatever podcast app you're listening to us on and send your emails and feedback to myrockfightmail.com learn more about Molly's Place at my mollys.com our producers today were David Karsad and Colin True. Art direction provided by Sarah Genser. I'm Doug Schnitzbaun. Get some thanks for listening.