What Wild Birds Unlimited Has Done for Our Family

Danielle and Mark Motley were never huge birdwatchers growing up. In fact, the couple happened upon the franchise by chance when Danielle got a job at her local Wild Birds Unlimited store in the Charleston, SC area and began learning more about the hobby.

“When I first started working for Wild Birds Unlimited I actually wasn't a birder. I just fell in love with the store. The customers were nice and the products were awesome and worked really well. I slowly started adding bird feeders to my home and eventually fell in love with the hobby,” shared Danielle.

She eventually became the manager and learned the current owners were planning on selling. The couple jumped at the chance to take over. Danielle had noticed opportunities for growth and was excited to have the chance to implement her own ideas. Once they took the reins, the couple made some changes and quickly watched the store flourish.

“When we took it over, our goal was to live by the franchise’s mission To Bring People and Nature Together,” shared Danielle. “We began implementing educational programs, in-store talks and bird watching events to keep the store an active, fun place where people could become educated and be around other people that have the same passion for the hobby.”

Mark was a grocery store manager at the time and took notice of the community their store was creating. “I wasn’t really into birding at the beginning either with but after we took over and I started seeing the same thing Danielle saw,” shared Mark. “It’s a different level than where I was at the grocery store. When it's someone's hobby or passion, they are excited to see you when they walk into a Wild Birds Unlimited.”

During the first few months, Mark was still working his grocery store job. He remembers missing special moments with the family, often working night shifts and not seeing his kids often. Once the couple felt stable, Mark quit his job and he’s never looked back. “Wild Birds Unlimited allows us to step out and spend more time with the family. I eat dinner at home every night and I’m not missing out on our kids growing up which is a huge deal.”

The Motely’s have big plans for their future with Wild Birds Unlimited. With support from the corporate team, Mark and Danielle are thinking about expansion and bringing their passion for birding to even more hobbyists around Charleston. According to the couple, Wild Birds Unlimited has taught them how to run a business, rather than how to work the store and they are looking forward to future growth.

Mark explained, “Wild Birds Unlimited provides us a business coach who we are extremely lucky to have. She helps with bouncing ideas back and forth from other stores. It’s nice to get feedback from 30 other stores. We don’t have to home grow every idea. We are able to see what has been successful in other markets, bring those ideas to our store and tweak the ideas for our community.”

It’s clear that the Motely’s are on their way to bringing the joy of bird watching to more people across South Carolina. And for Danielle and Mark, owning a Wild Birds Unlimited has brought them more joy than they could ever imagine sharing, “we feel like we’re living the dream life”.