LOTO or Offshore down south
 

OK everyone i would like to hear some advice since i am one of the younger guys (23) on OSO. I am graduating college next May (2007) as a marketing major and i want to get into a performance boat company. I had two plans in mind.

1. Move to LOTO which is 3.5 hours away from me now, start a business (detailing, boat dealer)....marketing?

2. Move to FL and try to get on with a performance boat CO and use my degree.....?

I am obsessed about boats and my dream was/is to own a 38 TG Cigarette. I really enjoy working outside and i also like to detail. Whats it really take to save up for such a rig (used around 100K), my goal is to own one by the time i am 30yrs old. P.S. i have no kids or strings attached!

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

move to chicago... become a marketing guru, make millions, then buy cigarette :eek:


sorry skip! :D

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Ask yourself if you like cold weather approx 3-4 months of the year. If the the answer is no, go south, way south.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Use your degree and get a good job with a good company that has potential for you to move up. Make your money with your job and finance your boat/hobby. Thats what most people do.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

I am in the same delima as you, but I graduate in May '06 with a degree in marine structural engineering... we design oil platforms. I think I have decided to go ahead and use the degree and begin to build a boat company on the side. If the boat thing ever takes hold, maybe I can quit my real job and play for a living. And by the way I'm married and have a baby on the way. :D

I wouldn't go into detailing just to be around boats... I would use the degree to be around your own boat.

Ernie

btw I'm 25 and boatless right now, but have had them in the past... actually I have a sailing catamaran now but please don't tell anyone :D

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

join the club. 22, graduating in may with BS in Mech Engineering Tech.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

job + $ = Boat

Seriously though, i have a friend who owns a detailing company. he makes over six figures a year but works his a$$ off 10-12 hrs a day no matter what.

I quit laboring around 7 years ago when I first got my Scarab and it payed off.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

LOTO is not your place if you want to get into high performance boats. As much as i hate to say it the cruisers are taking over. If you like the midwest try and find a good marketing job in KC or St. Louis so you can have weekends at the lake.

just my .02

Wild

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

This makes the most sense if you really think about it.

Find a job you absolutely LOVE...enough that you'd do it free.
You will be glad to go to work in the morning.

Owning a boat company is not easy, very competitive and cut-throat. Most small manufacturers are struggling and hanging by a thread most of the time. There are too many manufacturers going after a small market share. The percentage of boat buyers that are not affected by the economy is small.
I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Go South. Most people clean their own boats on lakes. In Florida they like them clean when they get there, and there's more of them. LOTO is seasonal like most other lakes. Florida is not!

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

I like the florida idea!

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

I think that owning your own boat company would be very time constraining and not allow you to get out on the water in a recreational sense. It might even take away your passion for boating.

I recommend going with Griff's idea in post #4 and Ed brings up many good points also.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

I'm 27, so I've only been out of college for a few years now. My advice to you would be to forget about the boat thing for now. Find something corporate that you enjoy doing and get a job with a good company and begin to gain experience and work your way up. Save your money and buy a house as soon as you can afford it (before buying a boat). Once you get your house, you will find it much easier to get into a position to buy a boat.

Starting your own business is high risk/high reward. Sure, you could hit the jackpot and make millions. But you're much more likely to struggle for a few years before you are forced to close down and find another job, setting you back further.

If I was bent on opening my own business, i would work for someone else so that I could gain experience on their dime for 10 years or so before trying it on my own.

Just my opinion..

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Do what YOU want to do ,if your good at it you will make all the money you need.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Don't waste your degree by detailing boats... your parents will kill you :)

How about trying to get a marketing spot with one of the big builders (Sea Ray, Baja) to get your feet wet?

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

I agree. Find a job you love. Working is much easier if you love what you do. If you have to sell yourself on the job, it is not for you.
I love the business I am in now (Garbage to energy) not glamorous, very low profile, sometimes dirty & often I'm out at 3:00 am to fix something at my plant, but the freedom & benefits are what make it what it is for me.
If you want to detail boats, do it. But be realistic. If you want to be on the water playing, a boat service position is not for you.
Good luck

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Do What You Do Well For A Living And Party On Boats If You Do It Well On The Weekends. Too Many People Have Told Me In The Past 15 Years That They Started Selling, Servicing, Cleaning, Etc. Boats Because They Loved Boats=====now They Hate Boats. My Wife And I Work Our A## Off To Enjoy Our Boat And Kids On The Weekends. Loto Is Fun To Vacation And We Have A Place There All The Time But There Is No Good Help Down There And That Unfortunately Reflects On All The Businesses. Market Yourself To Every Boat Manuf. In The Industry And You May Be Surprised What You May Find. They Like People With Passion For Their Product, But Be Ready To Work To Earn It And Then Enjoy The Boat Later.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

How much longer does it take to capitalize the first letter of every word? :D

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Thanks for all the input, just to clear up my 1st post, i would not start a boat co, i would buy good used boats and resell them.... i would love to work for cigarette racing, oso, mti, etc etc......i guess when i am ready i will just hit them all and see what happens.....
i also thought of living on my parents for a couple years after college to save up money to put towards a lake house rentals ie......condo's
i can also see myself going into real estate as well
the detailing in FL i could handle.......i work hard now (landscaping/construction).....

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

This past Monday I was at the marina I used to work for. The owners son was introducing me to all the new employees and telling them that I worked there a while back.

He said to the head mechanic; "This is Frank, he used to work here and now owns one of the speedboats on E-Dock." The mechanic shook my hand and said; "I see, so you left here and got a better job so you could afford to buy one of the boats."

At the time it was a big risk for me and I actually took a pay-cut with my new job. I was doing something that I loved but it just wasn't paying enough and I felt like there was a glass cieling.

I had two choices at the time; A. Start my own business B. Get into the corporate world. I choose B and it was the best decision I could have made. Even if I don't do what I'm doing for the rest of my life the learning experience in it self was worth it! I left the marina when I was 22 and I'm 28 now, I'm making more than 5 times what I used to make. (knock on wood I can keep it goin!)

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

I knew it, your a wanna be! :D E-dock taking over the world!! :evilb:

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

I have been obsessed with boats since I can remember. I had a good job selling Cigarette, Outerlimits, Skater, Formula, and Baja all under the same roof. I think I was 25 at the time, also have a degree in marketing. One day while sitting at the shop on a Sunday, wishing I was out boating, I realized, I don't want to sell boats, I want to OWN boats. So I started a construction co. in FL and now I own boats and am much happier.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Never do what you enjoy .. for a living. Make your living then do what you enjoy! Otherwise youll grow to hate it...

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Marry some old widow for a big pay day and to hell with work - its over rated. I wish I did.

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I could be wrong but I got a feeling the E-Dock that was built at my marina in the 60's was there way before your buddies E-dock.......... :evilb: :drink: :D

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

You sure it isn't D?

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

The day you make your hobbie your job is the day you have to find another hobbie.

I am 25 and a Mechaincal Engineer for Shaw Development in Naples, FL. When I moved down here a year ago I thought about getting into the marine industry but many people in the industry talked me out of it because it is my hobbie. My addvice would be to find a location that you like to live and then find the job.

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

Excellent point! That's essentially what I was trying to say when I said, "It might even take away your passion for boating."

Re: LOTO or Offshore down south
 

It could be, lol.

Since you had the pleasure of putting in all the lifts back then you tell me! :evilb: