RVWA Spotlight: Introducing Jenn Crooks of Bundutec USA

EDITOR’S NOTE: Several times a month RVBusiness will post an “RVWA Spotlight,” which will highlight a member of the RV Women’s Alliance (RVWA) in each instance. Provided by RVWA, the member spotlight series interviews many of the women who make up the RV industry, highlighting how they got into the industry, what they currently do, and advice for other women. The series also dives deeper to better understand these women and what drives them.

Jenn Crooks – Being close to home pays off with persistence.

Being close to home can make just about any situation seem better.

When Jenn Crooks graduated from college, she knew she wanted to stay in the Midwest, but the opportunity didn’t precisely come knocking right away for Crooks, who these days works for truck camper manufacturer Bundutec USA in Raymond, Iowa.

Crooks had earned an associate’s degree in accounting and a bachelor’s in business.

“From the research I did at that time, the Midwest doesn’t want to pay you for a bachelor’s in accounting,” she said. “When I graduated from college, where I’m at, everybody wants five-plus years experience. When fresh out of college, you don’t have that experience.”

So Crooks set about applying for jobs anyway – jobs she knew she could handle but that technically she wasn’t qualified for because of the lack of experience.

All in hopes that somebody would just give her a chance to prove herself.

That opportunity finally came when a small truck camper company brought her in and set her to work in the manufacturing accounting world.

That job only lasted so long, as Crooks said she was more interested in a general accounting position, but the seed had been planted.

“It just wasn’t challenging. It was supermundane and boring,” she said of the general accounting world. “I’ve always enjoyed being outside and camping with my family when growing up, so (the truck camper company) was in my wheelhouse.”

Fortunately, Rory Willett was getting ready to launch Bundutec USA, and the company was even going to locate in Crooks’ backyard, so she joined Willett and his team in 2014.

At that time, she could only imagine how the job would blossom over the next eight years.

“I do pretty much anything but research and design,” she said. “So, I run all the back end of the office; I do the pricing; I do the marketing, and I attend the shows. I also use our Roof Top Tent and awning myself, allowing me to speak to customers about how it functions and how great it is, which our customers enjoy rather than hearing a shpeal from a salesperson who has never used the product.”

Crooks said she has found working for Bundutec and the RV industry enjoyable with all the variety.

“It’s been terrific,” she said. “It’s helped me grow individually and in business, especially in learning how to run a business. My career came about by chance, all because Rory gave me the opportunity when I was fresh out of college at his previous company and reached out to me again when he decided to start Bundutec USA.”

In addition to building campers, Bundutec imports and sells a full line of rooftop tents, awnings, and an expedition trailer manufactured in South Africa.

Bundutec probably has a wider variety of customers between the camper and tent markets than most RV manufacturers.

The company offers everything from rooftop tents and small pop-up campers for vehicles such as the Tacoma to their largest more RV Style unit, the Roadrunner, fitted for 1-ton pickups complete with a dinette area large enough to sleep on if needed.

Because of the different camping experiences offered, the company never knows who the newest customer might be.

“The versatility is what I think I love the most,” Crooks said. “I love that we see a variety of people. Everything from people with an old rusted-out vehicle who still use their old Igloo cooler and want to have an adventure to people who are fully decked out with all the latest and greatest offroading gear – we see a wide variety. I love the willingness of our customers not only to share our product with other people but to help share their stories and where they went.”

Crooks said she hopes to see the industry continue to grow. She said COVID got the ball rolling in that direction, but she hopes that continued growth brings more young people and women into the lifestyle and the industry.

She said that the newer customer demographic seems more likely to listen to her when looking for the right camper for their needs than in the past.

“The change is starting, but I still get quite a few people calling who only want to talk to Rory. And he’s going to tell you to talk to me,” she said with a laugh.

She said that for anyone, especially a young woman, to be successful in the industry, they need to keep an open mind and not judge a product or people by face value.

She said she was guilty that when she started her career with the other truck camper company, she could not imagine someone wanting to use something that seemed so small, but after getting inside and learning the product, there was much more space than she thought.

With Bundutec, she has gotten much more involved, and by using all of their products at one time or another since 2014, she understands the products’ features and benefits, which she calls eye-opening.

She said the best advice she could give young women considering a career in the RV industry is not to let other people intimidate them.

“Stand your ground,” she said. “If people ask you a question and you give them an answer, don’t let their reaction to your answer deter you from believing what you’re talking about. The other thing that has re-iterated in me is never being afraid to say, ‘I don’t know.’ If someone has a question and you don’t know the answer, don’t be afraid to say, ‘I have to ask.’ You get a better rapport with your customers, when they know youre being honest with them.

“The biggest thing, though, is if you’ve been doing this a while and it’s your wheelhouse, remember that you know what you’re talking about,” she continued. “You’ve had the experiences. So don’t let other people make you second-guess yourself if you know the answer. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous.”

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/rvwa-spotlight-introducing-jnn-crooks-of-bundutec-usa/