At the Helm: Best of the best
Jonathan Sweet, Editor-in-Chief
December 1, 2012
A 16-percent increase in revenue. Nearly 4,000 more boats sold. More than $1.1 billion in total revenue. Those are just a few of the facts about the 2012 Boating Industry Top 100 Dealers. This elite group of dealers is leading the marine industry’s recovery from the recession through their high level... Read more »
“Generating” growth
Liz Walz, Contributing Writer
October 1, 2012
Recently, at a conference, I got a rude wake-up call. After a long day of educational seminars, I was getting ready to leave my hotel room for an evening of “networking” when I took a look at the fine print in the event brochure: the Young Professionals cocktail reception was limited to those “30... Read more »
At the Helm: What’s your bold move?
Jonathan Sweet, Editor-in-Chief
October 1, 2012
In this issue, we recognize 11 industry leaders for their willingness to take risks and challenge conventional thinking. As I interviewed most of them for the profiles that start on page 18 with our Mover & Shaker of the Year, Rob Parmentier of Sea Ray, a clear trend emerged: They were universally... Read more »
At the Helm: Moving You Beyond
Mike Davin, Senior Editor
July 1, 2012
Inside our latest print issue, you can get an early peek at the 2012 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo through the event’s first printed brochure. A digital version is also available here. On its cover, you’ll notice this year’s theme: Moving You Beyond. Naturally, the first question some of... Read more »
Uncover hidden opportunity
Liz Walz, Contributing Writer
July 1, 2012
A few weeks ago, I received a call from an investor trying to determine whether a marina property would provide the returns he was seeking. He was reaching out to Boating Industry in search of data that, unfortunately, I didn’t have, have never seen and probably doesn’t exist in our industry today. I’ve... Read more »
At the Helm: Fueling improvement
Liz Walz, Editor-in-Chief
May 1, 2012
Reading through the results of the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo Call for Presentations, one of the proposed titles jumped out at me: The Improvement Engine. As business executives, we all want to find ways to fuel the pursuit of continuous improvement within our companies. But it’s difficult... Read more »
At the Helm: Reinventing the Top 100
Liz Walz, Editor-in-Chief
April 1, 2012
In the first year of the Top 100 Dealers Program, Boating Industry’s editors took a one-week retreat to evaluate and rank the applications it received. And what a week – and an education – it was! Seven years later, it takes an entire week just to name the Top 10. From that, we can only conclude... Read more »
At the Helm: The right hire
Liz Walz, Editor-in-Chief
March 1, 2012
It was early in my career, and I was working to fill an open position on our team. This person would report directly to me, would be my right hand, and I was excited to start interviewing. I imagined someone smart, dedicated and driven to succeed, someone who would work by my side to take our products... Read more »
At the Helm: Building a future for boating
Liz Walz, Editor-in-Chief
February 1, 2012
We didn’t have a lot of money when I was a kid, but the one luxury my mom made sure to save for every year was summer camp. It was my escape (and hers). For as many as eight weeks each summer, I would play in the outdoors, swimming, hiking and canoeing in the mountains and rivers of Vermont, New Hampshire... Read more »
At the Helm: The customer romance
January 6, 2012
An older friend of mine recently broke off a budding romance in the wake of the following statement from her date: “I’m still trying to figure out who I am.” Her explanation was that, at this point in her life, she knows exactly who she is and wants a relationship with someone who has that same... Read more »
