For Wild Birds Unlimited’s Director of Retail Operations, the Business of Birds is a Lifetime in the Making

Amy Moore, who currently serves as Wild Birds Unlimited’s director of operations, is always eager to recount her storied history with the 35-year-old brand.

“I love taking a trip down memory lane—my career with Wild Birds Unlimited is something I’m very proud of,” Moore says.

Moore, who is the youngest of four siblings, was only 10 years old when Jim Carpenter opened the doors to the first Wild Birds Unlimited in Indianapolis in 1981. When he made the decision to franchise the business two years later, Moore was pleased to find a storefront pop up in her own neighborhood. As a youngster, she spent a lot of her time playing amongst the wooded area in her family’s backyard, and the outdoors had been engrained in her life for as long as she can remember. It made sense, then, for the Moore family to take a deep interest in everything their local Wild Birds Unlimited had to offer, and in 1983, Moore’s mother became manager of the store. Then, when the opportunity arose to purchase the store in 1986, Moore’s mother was eager to jump in and officially bring Wilds Birds Unlimited into the family.

As Moore grew up—through elementary, middle and high school—helping her mother out at the Wild Birds Unlimited store was a daily part of her life. Then, after graduating from college, Moore once again returned to the brand—while most of her classmates were embarking on international traveling adventures, she realized her true calling was to stay with Wild Birds Unlimited. In 1993, when she visited North Carolina with a friend that summer, she was excited to find a local Wild Birds Unlimited. After stopping in, Moore found out they needed some part time help. But after the store’s owner had to take a break from the business due to health issues, Moore stepped in as manager—a role that she proudly held for nearly a year.

“Wild Birds Unlimited was such an important part of my life—and my family’s life—growing up, and I knew I wanted keep moving forward with them. It was a brand whose work and people I really believed in,” Moore said.

After her positive experience with the brand in North Carolina, Moore decided to send out her resume to the Wild Birds Unlimited headquarters. At the age of 23, she was hired on as a sales and business consultant, where she would travel from store to store to provide on-site support services. Traveling the country and advising franchisees was daunting at first, she says. But because she had grown up with the business, relating to the Wild Birds Unlimited owners was easy.

Her dedication didn’t go unnoticed, and Moore was later promoted to the role of director of retail operations—a position that she holds to this day. Moore oversees a group of 11 employees, who provide one-on-one support to the system’s franchisees.

“Our goal is to help them grow their business so that they see the true value in investing in Wild Birds Unlimited,” Moore said. “It’s such a cool way to spend your day, your month, or, in my case, more than 22 years—working with the great people that make Wild Birds Unlimited what it is. I’m surrounded by people who are really invested in our company and our customers. In a way, it’s like being a part of this really big, incredible family. And I wouldn’t change any part of the past 20 years of my life—this is where I belong.”

Moore is proud to say that she’s celebrated a lot of milestones with the brand over the years. In particular, she remembers attending Wild Birds Unlimited’s annual convention in 2002 as a member of the corporate team. During the event, one exemplary franchisee is recognized with the brand’s Honor Award, and that year, the recipient was Moore’s mother.

“Being able to present my mom with the Honor Award and acknowledge all of the hard work she’s put in for Wild Birds Unlimited was a memorable highlight from my career,” Moore said. “A lot of what I’ve been able to achieve today was because of the lessons I learned from her and her business. Everything came full circle for me that day.”

Being part of a company with a strong vision has fueled Moore through the past 22 years, too. Bird feeding has been important to Carpenter since he founded Wild Birds Unlimited, and he quickly realized how important it was to others, too. For that reason, everything the business has done over the past 35 years has been inspired by a genuine passion for enhancing the lives of its customers and franchisees. And Wild Birds Unlimited does that by providing the finest feed products and some of the greatest customer service available in the industry. And that’s something Moore hopes to continue contributing to in the years to come.

“The wonderful thing about working with Wild Birds Unlimited is that no one day is the same. Jim Carpenter, the brand’s founder, is a true visionary, and there are a lot more exciting things on the road ahead,” Moore said. “I’m grateful to be a part of the brand’s past, present and future.”