[JasonG]

Opening any business that will compete with existing corporations in any industry is going to be tough, period. Make is seasonal? OW! After writing and rereading this, there are some tangents. Take it for what it is worth.

We can all say marine product/service is expensive. Well there is a reason. Short season, high overhead, knowledgeable employees are not cheap either.

Coming from someone who has owned (seasonal) retail stores, mail order, and consults other corporations on how to move their excess inventory in a dead economy....well you better have to give the masses a damn good reason to leave a local brand name they have known and they will trust. Otherwise you will have to call someone like me to dump your product.

Hypothetical: ( random names ) Channel marine customer X has been going there for 10 years and happy. One day they piss him off.... really piss him off. So he takes his 50k boat from them and now needs service. Who is he going to pick? The new guy or Shep Browns, Paugus Bay Marina, etc etc that has been on the lake since day one? He needs a good reason to go to you.

Similar to taking a road trip and getting hungry. You know the Golden Arches is junk food, but you know what to expect. People dont like the unknown, so they will pick what they know vs the local mom/pop shop that they never heard of. Now if that mom and pop makes their place have great curb appeal, a line out the door, and is promoting a better product at a better price, then you are more open. They needed to do something above and beyond. People like consitency and and comfortable with what they know, even if something is better and cheaper. It usually needs to be a LOT BETTER, and a lot CHEAPER to draw than out of their comfort zone. But with that usually comes lower profit to....and you know where that gets you... your mom/pop place could be giving away hamburgers and coke by girls in bikinis to every customer that pulls up and the McDonalds across the street still will be busy as usual.

And no body wants to be the test dummy with their 50k boat. a 1.50 coffee is one thing. Personally, I will try the new local java place, and then go back to star bucks or dunks if they suck. But if I need to get 10 dozen bagels and donuts...well dunks is looking pretty good because I know the quality as do the people that will eat them. Go back to the office with 120 bagles from Mom's Bagel Place and you will get some comments.

Point? Even if someone never used Paugus Bay Marina before and needs a new place for service, he is more comfortable with them because he sees the sign every day.

Now this is a total shot in the dark here....but I am going to assume the number of new boats in the region is not climbing to high these days and may be plateaued. Again, this is a guess. If that is the case, now you need to consider market saturation. There are a dozen boat dealerships that come across my mind without even goggling it. Adding one more doesnt mean you will make more customers. Now you have to hope and pray they customers will morph to you from other places. You are not adding a business to fill a need because all the dealerships cant handle all the work. You are adding because you think you can do better. May not be enough and you might need both reasons, customers in need and customers looking elsewhere.

I am not trying to be a negative person or telling you dont do it. You know more than anyone what you have at your disposal. But you are selling a nich product in a seasonal area. Granted, one of the best damn areas around for it, but it isnt coffee.

J Paul Getty would rather sell 100 items at $1 than 1 item at $ 100. Words that I live by for my own business. Lets face it, you are not selling $ 1.00 coffee which everyone drinks. You are selling $ 100 coffee machines that not everyone wants. You need to convince everyone to stop going to dunks. Everyone knows a machine is cheaper in the long run, but Dunks is still jammed on a sunday morning with a line out the door. Give that person a machine and a years supply of dunkins coffee and you will still see them in line. Why? Because its what they know, its their routine. Its in their comfort level.

You may have the best idea since Carl Kiekhaefer created Mercury Marine, but unless all the eggs are there and ducks lined up, it will fail. I have been there. The best prices and best service dont mean success anymore. You need more, lots more. Grass roots marketing is a start.

Good luck to you. Regardless of your endeavors, I wish you well.
Jason