The Many Hats of Jim Vasichek

The Many Hats of Jim Vasichek

— by Dima Williams

If there's a person who embodies what it is to be a North Dakotan, Jim Vasichek might be the one. That’s because his success at the helm of one of the country’s best John Deere dealerships has not affected his modesty, friendliness and dedication to his community, traits North Dakotans admire.

Vasichek is easy to chat with and quick to smile. He seldom talks about his own accomplishments – and not because they’re scarce. The Michigan, North Dakota, native shifts the spotlight to those around him.

When explaining the success of Leading Edge Equipment, a four-shop operation that sells John Deere farm machinery and parts, he points to the people who staff the business that three generations of Vasicheks have owned. “It's the continuity of our staff,” he said. “We have so many people who've been here for 20 to 40- plus years. And that's how you get loyalty, because our customer base doesn't change at a rapid rate. We feel that there's a lot of value in having a crew that doesn't change faces frequently, either."

So, how does he keep the same people who worked for his father and, before that, even his grandfather, who, with a cousin, started the company in 1963?

Vasichek, who obtained a business degree from UND in 2005, said he does his best to relate to his employees personally. After all, he is a business owner in a rural setting, where life and work interweave, where small-town residents know each other well and where life moves at a John Deere tractor's pace.

Photo by Shawna Noel Schill

A Knack for Business

Vasichek’s daily routine includes chauffeuring his three kids – 6-year-old Lauren and the 4-year-old twins, James and Claire – to daycare in Lakota, North Dakota, where the family lives. Lakota also is where Vasichek sits on the City Council and his wife, Amie, serves as city auditor.

Then, most days, Vasichek is off to Devils Lake, North Dakota, a 30-minute drive west, where Leading Edge has a large outpost. There Vasichek gravitates toward the sales department. He has a knack for it, one he has cultivated for years.

He started out in the family business mowing grass and later transitioned to work on combines and headers in high school. After graduating from UND, he became an ag loan officer in Grafton, North Dakota – following his father’s advice to gain diverse experiences.

In 2006, Vasichek returned to sell parts and handle equipment financing. A decade later, he bought the company from his father.

“I think it's just been our culture – my dad was also very sales oriented as well,” he said.

His secret to great salesmanship is a lesson he learned long ago: grasp customers’ perspectives.

With stores in Michigan, Devils Lake, Hampden, and Carrington, Leading Edge caters to farmers who grow wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, and canola, among other crops – in a 10-county area, stretching from the the Red River to Bismarck.

A Focus on Community

As a Lakota City Council member, Vasichek helped support extensive road enhancement projects, the construction of a new water tower and the establishment of a daycare center.

“It's really been an excellent learning experience, just to see how people can come together for some of those projects,” he said. “It's been fun to see how a small town can accomplish some big things.”

Leading Edge has the same mantra. The business has teamed up with Devils Lake’s community-based career education center to offer employment for students who struggle in the conventional work environment. The partnership has even delivered a full-time employee to Vasichek’s staff.

Reasons for Pride

There are a few things in which Vasichek openly takes pride. His relationship with his father, who oversees finances at Leading Edge, is one.

“Over the years, we've worked together and we still work together just in different roles,” Vasichek said. His family is another. “I really need to credit my wife Amie as being the greatest partner I could have in marriage, parenting and business,” said Vasichek.

And, with three young kids, the Vasicheks try to foster traditions to last for decades – including Saturday trips to Grand Forks for UND football.

Yet another reason for gratification is the success of a family business that has become a community staple and a John Deere standout. Attesting to the latter is Leading Edge’s position among the top 10% of John Deere dealers in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

“So, I would say what I'm proudest of is the relationships both with my family and with employees and customers,” Vasichek said. ///

Photo by Shawna Noel Schill