A Brown’s Shoe Fit Family: A Father, A Son, and a Business Built on Showing Up
Chapter One:
Mike & Jackson Meyer
Some careers are chosen. Others are lived in, long before they’re ever officially “chosen” at all. That’s the story of Mike Meyer, owner of Brown’s Shoe Fit in Stillwater, and his son Jackson Meyer, owner of Brown’s Shoe Fit in Warrensburg. Their journey kicks off our new Brown’s Family series, where we’re spotlighting the families — parents and kids, siblings, multi-generational crews — who’ve built their lives around this company. This one is about the work as much as it’s about the family — because for the Meyers, you can’t really separate the two.
Mike Meyer
Building a Business, Raising a Family
Mike Meyer’s Brown’s story started in Alva, Oklahoma, more than 30 years ago — and it started with a friendship. He met Craig Jarrard and his family through his then-girlfriend, now wife, Carrie. Craig shared the Brown’s business plan with him, and as Mike puts it, the rest is history.
Three decades in, Mike is candid that the business side was never easy. Ownership meant early mornings, late nights, and paperwork that didn’t wait for a good night’s sleep.
“I can remember multiple nights I would help put the boys to bed and then go back to the store to finish my paperwork, reset displays or other tasks I needed to do.”
— Mike Meyer, Owner, Brown’s Shoe Fit Stillwater
The early years were harder still. Building a store into something sustainable took time — and it cost the family some things along the way. “There were some rough years early on in my journey with Brown’s. My family sacrificed material things, trips, things — but the times I was able to just be a dad were never lost on me.”
What made those years survivable, Mike says, was the flexibility ownership eventually gave him — the ability to run a business and still be a constant presence for his kids.
“Missing my children growing up and their school and athletic functions was a hard pass for me. The flexibility and functionality of Brown’s allowed me to have the free time I needed to be with my kids, whenever, wherever.” -Mike Meyer
Mike is also quick to point out that the business ran on more than his own effort. Carrie carried her share of the weight too — the long days, the worry about hitting the month’s numbers, the stress that didn’t always stay at the store.
“The Brown’s wives and significant others deserve a ton of recognition and respect.”
— Mike Meyer
And running a Brown’s store, in Mike’s experience, was never a solo act. The company itself became part of his support system. “The ups and downs of retail can be brutal, but the relationships I’ve built in the company have provided me with mentors and best friends.”
Mike has two sons, Jackson and Kory. Kory — a “really good salesman,” by Mike’s account — hasn’t been talked into joining the family business just yet. Jackson was a different story. He worked on and off for his dad growing up, picked up shifts at the Coffeyville store during college, and eventually earned his own store — and then a second. Along the way, Jackson met his fiancée, Alyssa, in Centerville, which brought Mike’s granddaughter, Parker, into the picture.
“I never knew the joy I would get from hearing her call me PaPa, but it is awesome!”
— Mike Meyer
Jackson Meyer
Choosing His Own Path Into the Business
Jackson Meyer grew up with a front-row seat to the business — but he’s quick to note that Brown’s was never something his dad pushed on him. What he noticed instead was what ownership made possible for his dad as a parent.
“My #1 reason for choosing Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. as a career was how present my dad was in my childhood. Whether it was football or baseball he was always there — even through my college career, my parents found a way to always be there.”
— Jackson Meyer, Owner, Brown’s Shoe Fit Warrensburg
Jackson wasn’t sold on Brown’s growing up, or even in college. What changed things was going into it alongside someone he trusted. He and his best friend, Conner, started working for Mike, went through ownership orientation together, and both came out the other side convinced. Today, Conner owns the Brown’s store in Algona, Iowa, and Jackson owns his in Warrensburg, Missouri — a path that started with his first store in Centerville, Iowa.
For Jackson, the business decision and the family decision are really the same decision. He chose ownership for the same reason his dad did.
“I have always wanted to be a father, and the main reason I chose Brown’s as a career is to be more involved with my family. Even on the days where work is a little rough, getting to come home to tiny hugs makes it all worth it.”
— Jackson Meyer
Jackson’s fiancée, Alyssa, and her daughter, Parker — who turns two this August — now call Warrensburg home alongside him.
A Legacy Still Being Written
Mike sums up his 30-plus years with Brown’s simply: family, God, friends, a successful business, and a great company. He believes everything happens for a reason — that he was meant to be exactly where he is, doing exactly what he loves.
What’s clear talking to both Mike and Jackson is that the business and the family were never competing priorities. The work built the flexibility. The flexibility built the relationships. And the relationships are what got passed down from Stillwater to Warrensburg.
