Message From The Editor
SUCCESSION PLANNING IS A NECESSITY
When we talk about succession planning for our businesses, we have a vision of the well-crafted and orderly plan that rewards the present owner while providing a solid business opportunity for the new owner.
If you have that neat and orderly succession plan in place, an unexpected accident might not be the devastating event that it could be.
We learned recently that there are a number of marinas either on the market now or coming on the market soon. They all have one thing in common; you can't sell without a buyer.
I now have a much greater appreciation for what it takes to run a marina because I sat through the Marina 101 seminar put on by IMI, the International Marine Institute at IBEX in Tampa on September 18. The session was delivered by Carl F. Wolf and he broke the day into nine different sections. The first was titled, "The Daily Challenges of Managing a Marina on a Day-to-day Basis".
He broke the session into different size marinas first; National or "brand" Marinas, Large Marinas and Smaller Marinas. In Canada, we don't have very many chains of branded marinas although that may be a direction the industry will take in the future because a big marina has critical mass with back office support and resources to meet a wide range of customer needs.
Large marinas can justify the cost of department heads who work with and report to a main marina manager. That group of people have a wide range of responsibilities. To name a few; manager, administrator, bookkeeper, IT services, customer services, environmental stewardship, government liason, reporting to the landlord for a leased property, human resources, maintenance, marketing, retail manager and also being a long-term strategist for the business. It's a daunting list.
The manager is the leader of the group and organizational skills and time management are among the most critical functions. The manager is often the owner or owner's representative.In this one section, the first of nine if you were to take their full course, you would spend half a day or longer looking into these business areas in detail.
The point to listing these nine topics here, is to give our readers a moment to consider all the things that a successful marina manager will need to be able to do because for your succession plan, you need to identify at least one individual and perhaps more than one, who could handle all of these areas.
If you own a marina now and are hoping to sell or retire, it would be nice if somebody simply walked through the door with the money to buy it and asks nothing of you in the future. Unfortunately, many buyers will create a more complicated offer to purchase that might include vendor take-back financing, an "earn-out" or some other form of overlap between the old management and the new.
It would make good sense to investigate opportunities now, to begin the process of training some of your people with an eye towards your future succession plan. The industry needs successful marinas and you do too.
Andy Adams, Editor aadams@kerrwil.com
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Feature
Q&A WITH MERCURY'S RANDY CARUANA
Q: How have your latest product introductions improved the Mercury brand in your opinion?
A: Mercury has always led the industry with respect to new product introductions. Our pace of product unveilings over the past four or five years has been consistent...
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Changing Scene
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2018 VANCOUVER BOAT SHOW KICKS OFF THE BOATING SEASON
Western Canada's largest annual boat show, the Vancouver International Boat Show, is returning in the New Year, giving boaters the first opportunity to see the most sought-after boats and accessories in the industry.
Returning Wednesday, January 17 to Sunday, January 21, 2018
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INTERNATIONAL BOATBUILDERS' EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE IN TAMPA A SUCCESS FOR THE MARINE INDUSTRY
Despite Hurricane Irma being a challenging situation leading up to the event, the International BoatBuilders' Exhibition and Conference (IBEX), which took place September 19-21, 2017 in Tampa, Florida, attracted nearly 6,500 marine industry professionals, a 4% increase over 2016.
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SEA-DOO SET TO INTRODUCE NEXT MILESTONE WATERCRAFT TO IJSBA WORLD FINALS ATTENDEES
BRP recently launched the 2018 Sea-Doo watercraft line and will showcase the new models for the first time publically at the IJSBA World Finals. Sea-Doo is bringing the 'Escape the Everyday' Experience to the Lake Havasu City, Arizona based event on October 5-8.
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People
RON SCHMITT WINS NMRA MEL BARR AWARD AT IBEX
The National Marine Representatives Association (NMRA) presented its 2017 Mel Barr Award to Ron Schmitt, president and CEO at G.G. Schmitt & Sons. The award recognizes an individual who has contributed to the improvement of the industry and is named in the memory of marine rep Mel Barr, one of the founders of NMRA and its first president. Tim Hennagir, editor of Boating Industry magazine, and NMRA incoming president Neal Trombley...
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Events
REFUGIUM: POEMS FOR THE PACIFIC - BOOK LAUNCH AND ART EXHIBITION
On October 5th, 2017 the Maritime Museum of BC will be the host venue for the launch of Refugium: Poems for the Pacific, an anthology of poems that explore poets' deep concern for the Pacific Ocean and the creatures within, edited by the City of Victoria's Poet Laureate Yvonne Blomer.
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Launchings
TACTICAL CUSTOM BOATS SELLS FIRST BUILD IN NEW LINE OF BOATS
Tactical Custom Boats in Vancouver, BC has announced the sale of its first vessel in its new line of high-performance, tactical tough™ aluminum hull, all-weather boats. Tactical's first build is the T40-Express Yacht - Tactical One edition.
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New Products
KOHLER LAUNCHES NEW PREMIUM AFTERMARKET GENUINE OIL LINE FOR USE IN GENERATOR APPLICATIONS
KOHLER is introducing a new line of aftermarket genuine oil engineered specifically for generator applications. The premium oils are available in three formulations for different fuel types and are optimized for use in industrial, mobile, marine, and home generators.
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Boating Stock Market
THE BOATING STOCK MARKET
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Calendar
Check out all of the upcoming events in your Boating Industry
World Conference on Drowning Prevention
Oct 17 - 19, 2017
Vancouver, BC
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CC Marine Distributors 2017 Marine Trade Show
Oct 22 - 23 2017
Toronto, ON
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Mermaid Marine Distributors Show
Oct 27 2017
Moncton, NB
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... View All Events
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Daily Updates
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